Begin the preparation of this very special cake by boiling water in a pot and pouring the almonds inside for a few minutes in order to blanch them.
When the almonds are softer, drain them and dry them carefully.
At this point peel them and chop them finely. They represent in fact the “flour” of this cake.
Take the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites, arranging them in two different bowls.
Add the sugar to the bowl with the yolks and mix the two ingredients together until you get a frothy mixture.
Insert the chopped almonds and, after grating the peel, also the zest of the two lemons.
Pour in the baking powder as well (you can also not put it, it is optional) and mix all the ingredients carefully and until they are well blended together.
Now, take the bowl with just the egg whites and beat them until stiff. This will need to be very firm.
Incorporate the stiff egg whites into the rest of the mixture, helping yourself with a wooden spoon or spatula and making wide, circular motions. It is very important that the egg whites do not come apart and that the final mixture is therefore firm, puffy and homogeneous.
Take a cake mold with a diameter of 20 cm and pour your dough inside it.
Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for 35 minutes and until the cake appears golden brown on the surface.
When the almond cake according to the Sardinian recipe is finally cold, dust it with powdered sugar and serve it. If desired, almond slivers can also be added before the powdered sugar.
On special occasions, it is customary to decorate the cake with a sugar glaze. To do this, simply cover the whole cake with the icing and add some sprinkles giving it the shape of a flower or composing greeting words. This is a simple way to festively dress up a cake that, in this way, always proves suitable for any context.
