Throughout Abraham Lincoln's political career, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, would periodically bake for him the Todd family's favorite cake, based on a recipe dating back to 1825. On first tasting it, Lincoln is reported to have said that this white almond cake was the "best I ever ate." That's high praise, but we've made a good thing even better by adding a coffee-cinnamon layer and drizzling the cake with a luscious coffee glaze.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Streusel
Cake
Glaze
Preparation
For Streusel:
Step 1
Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until well blended. Set aside.
For Cake:
Step 2
Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Mix flour and baking powder in small bowl. Finely grind almonds in processor. Using electric mixer, beat butter and almond paste in large bowl until blended. Gradually beat in 1 1/3 cups sugar. Continue beating until fluffy. Beat in extract. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with milk. Mix in ground almonds. Using electric mixer fitted with clean dry beaters, beat whites in another large bowl to medium peaks. Gradually add remaining 1/3 cup sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold meringue into batter in 2 additions. Transfer half of batter to prepared Bundt pan. Sprinkle streusel over. Spoon remaining batter over. Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes. Turn out cake onto rack and cool completely. (Cake can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)
For Glaze:
Step 3
Stir powdered sugar, whipping cream and instant espresso powder in small bowl until well blended. Drizzle glaze over cake, allowing excess to run down sides. Sprinkle cake with sliced almonds.
