Small Acts of Kindness and Gateau Nantais

Directions

• Step 1 Butter a 9-inch round baking pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the rack in the middle position in your oven.
• Step 2 Beat eggs in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Step 3 Set up your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat butter, sugar and lemon zest at medium speed for 2 or 3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add almond flour and salt and beat for about 30 seconds until the almond flour is incorporated into the butter mixture. Gradually add the eggs to the mixture. Scrape the bowl as needed while you beat the mixture for about 3 minutes. You want this mixture to be light and fluffy when properly beaten. Leave your mixer on low speed and gradually add the all-purpose flour. Mix until the flour is incorporated. Add the rum and mix to combine. At this point you will need to be careful that there are no pockets of raw flour in your mixture. Scrape the bowl a few times to check for pockets of flour. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top of the batter. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 50 to 55 minutes. When your cake is done it will be a pretty brown on top and the center will spring back when gently pressed. You can check your cake for doneness by inserting a wooden skewer into the center of the cake. The skewer should come out clean.
• Step 4 To make the rum syrup, add sugar, water, allspice and peppercorns together in a saucepan. Boil this mixture over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rum. Put the mixture back on the heat and simmer for about 2 minutes to thicken it a bit. Remove from heat and strain the mixture into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer. Set aside.
• Step 5 Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before you invert it on a second wire rack. While the cake is still a bit warm, brush the top and sides of the cake with the rum syrup. Now, completely cool the cake to room temperature. This will take about 1 hour. Transfer the cake to a serving platter.
• Step 6 Prepare the lemon glaze. Whisk the powdered sugar and salt together in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the lemon juice and continue to whisk until your glaze is thick and smooth–about the consistency of yogurt. You can add additional lemon juice (1/2 t. at a time) until you have the proper consistency. Pour the glaze over the top of your cool cake using an offset spatula to spread the glaze. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the toasted almonds. Let the glaze set for about an hour before cutting and serving.