Active Time

　　30 min

　　Total Time

　　2 1/2 hr

　　

Ingredients

Makes 8 to 10 servings

　　

For cake

7 oz almond paste (not marzipan)

　　1 cup all-purpose flour

　　1 teaspoon baking powder

　　1/2 teaspoon salt

　　2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

　　1 1/2 cups sugar

　　1 teaspoon vanilla

　　8 large eggs at room temperature

　　

For topping

1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream

　　2 tablespoons kirsch

　　1 cup lingonberry preserves

　　Special equipment: an 11- by 2 1/2-inch (12-cup) springform tube pan with a decorative bottom, or a 9- by 4-inch (14-cup) tube pan

　　

Make cake:

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter pan generously and dust with flour, knocking out excess.

　　

Step 2

Break almond paste into pieces and pulse in a food processor until finely ground. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and very fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add almond paste and vanilla and beat until combined well, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down side of bowl. Add flour mixture and mix at low speed 30 seconds. Finish mixing batter by hand with a rubber spatula, scraping bottom of bowl.

　　

Step 3

Pour batter into tube pan, smoothing top. Bake in middle of oven, rotating pan halfway through baking, until a tester comes out clean and edges begin to pull away from pan, 55 minutes to 1 hour total.

　　

Step 4

Cool cake completely in pan on a rack. (Cake may shrink and buckle slightly, but don't worry. This won't be visible once cake is inverted.) Run a thin knife around outside and inside edges and invert a plate over pan, then invert cake onto plate.

　　

Make kirsch cream:

Step 5

Just before serving, beat together cream and kirsch in a chilled bowl with cleaned beaters until soft peaks form.

　　

Step 6

Serve cake with kirsch cream and lingonberry preserves.

　　Cooks' notes:

　　· Cake can be made ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at cool room temperature 3 days or frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil, 2 weeks. Defrost (without unwrapping) at room temperature.

　　· Kirsch cream can be spooned into center of cake and drizzled with some of preserves.