This past weekend was one in which I finally felt like I was able to accomplish everything I wanted to do. In a normally-never-long-enough two days, I checked out the de Young Museum after hours, caught up with a longtime bestie, played sloshball in the park, celebrated the engagement of two of my amazing friends, and made this cake. When I needed something to top this cake off, of course I chose something that showcased how I felt about this weekend—a big ass, hands in the air emoji made of powdered sugar.

I love this cake for so many reasons. For one, I learned how to make it while traveling in Sicily last month, thus bringing back those Mediterreanan vibes in sliceable form. Moreover, it takes hardly any time to prepare. It’s simple, fresh and delicious, like most things were in Sicily; traits I also try to emulate as I cook and eat back here in San Francisco.

This cake’s simplicity also allows itself for various permutations. The original torta is full of almonds and lemon. In my version, I combined equal parts of almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts—fall AF, plus it kind of reminds me of my weekend, with little pieces of everything pulled together. I also added in vanilla for an extra layer of warmth that we’ll be needing soon as Daylight Savings takes away the light.

Here’s to a week that we can hopefully preach about as much as the weekend.

Recipe: Torta Siciliana with Almonds, Hazelnuts, and Walnuts

Created by Shikha on November 6, 2016

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Prep Time: 20m
Cook Time: 1h
Total Time: 1h 20m

Serves: 12
Yield: 1 torta

Ingredients

100 grams walnuts
100 grams almonds
100 grams hazelnuts
300 grams granulated sugar
2 lemons
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 eggs, separated
1 dash powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch baking dish and line the bottom with parchment paper. Spray again.
Zest both the lemons. Reserve one of them to juice for later.
Toss the zest, nuts, sugar, and salt into a food processor and grind until everything looks mealy. It's okay if there are a few chunks of nuts left - it's a rustic dish!
Put the nut mixture into a large bowl that you can easily stir everything by hand in. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the yolks and vanilla extract and add into the nut mixture, stirring with a spatula until just combined.
In a clean bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until medium-stiff peaks form.
Using a spatula, fold the whites into the nut mixture, being careful not to deflate the whites.
Pour into prepared pan until it is half a centimeter lower than the top of the pan. You may have extra batter leftover, which is normal. You don\'t want to overfill it or it won\'t be flat for you to lay your stencil on.
Bake for 50-55 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. The top may look dark, but that\'s okay.
Cool completely on a wire rack. It HAS to be at room temperature or the powdered sugar will melt into the cake.
While the cake is baking, you can make your stencil. Draw out your favorite emoji on a large enough sheet of paper and cut it out.
Once the cake is ready to go, carefully lay your stencil over the top of the cake and pour powdered sugar over it using a strainer so it creates an even design. Carefully lift off the stencil and there you have it!

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Recipe: Torta Siciliana with Almonds, Hazelnuts, and Walnuts

Ingredients

Instructions

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