Ingredients:
2 cups unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature (plus 2 tbsp)
6 large eggs, separated
1 ⅓ cups sugar, divided
12 oz. almond paste (not marzipan), cubed
2 ¾ cups AP flour (plus 1 tbsp)
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp red food coloring
1 tsp green food coloring
¾ apricot marmalade
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped, melted
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350°F
Line 3, 13x9x2 baking pans with parchment paper; grease with 2 tbsp. Butter; set aside
Put egg whites in a bowl of a stand mixer; beat until soft peaks form
Slowly add ⅓ cup sugar, beating until still peaks form
Transfer to a large bowl; cover and chill
Batter:
Using a paddle attachment, beat almond paste and remaining sugar on medium-low until mixed evenly (roughly 4-5 minutes)
Increase speed to medium-high; gradually adding remaining butter; beat until fluffy
Beat in yolks, then flour and salt
Fold in beaten egg whites
Divide and color. Divide batter evenly among 3 bowls.
Mix red coloring into one, green coloring into the second, and leave the third plain (no coloring)
Spread 1 bowl of batter into each prepared pan; smooth tops evenly
Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until just set, 9-11 minutes
Let cool in pans
Gently:
With a pastry brush or small offset spatula, spread half of the marmalade over green cake layer
Lift the plain layer out of the pan, and place on the green cake layer
Brush remaining marmalade over the plain layer
Lift the red layer out of pan; place onto the plain layer; cover this top layer with parchment paper and tin foil
Top the 3 cake layers with a 13x9x2 pan; weigh down the pan with several heavy cans to compress the layers together
Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight
Remove cans, top pan, and foil. Transfer cake to waxed paper-lined baking sheet
Spread half of the chocolate over cake in a thin layer; freeze for 10 minutes
Cover with wax paper, invert the baking sheet on top and flip the cake
Uncover and glaze with remaining melted chocolate; freeze for an additional 10 minutes
Serving:
Trim edges of the cake to make a rectangle; cut crosswise into 2”-wide strips; cut each strip crosswise into ½”-wide cookies
Store in an airtight container
Written by:
Rachel Gramuglia
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