Quand on en a marre du brouillard – Gâteau aux amandes au sucre de palme et mirabelle – pêches grillées, crème fouettée à la vanille

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What is better than a slice of moist and delicious almond cake with a cup of tea when you are looking through the windows and only see a white and grey sky? I don’t know about you, but I tend to have sweet cravings when I get into fall and winter type of weather. 

I brought mirabelle from France, it’s a hard liquor made with mirabelle fruits, they’re a kind of small and yellow plum that supposedly only grow in Lorraine region (where I grew up), don’t tell any Lorrains (people from Lorraine), but I have seen them in other parts of France too, I think they grow in iron-rich soil. Lorraine is famous for its mirabelles, and we pick them in late August or fall. They’re delicious in tarts, like tarte à la mirabelle which is a local specialty.

My parents have a huge garden with a bunch of mirabelliers (mirabelle tree) and they produce a lot of those pretty and sweet plums, so every year my dad, picks them and gives them to a friend who has the license to distill the alcohol…and here we go, he produces a lot of liters of mirabelle (I know he has over 100 bottles in his cellar). Every year when I go home, I bring back a few bottles which always remind me of home when I have a “coup de blues” (homesick).

The liquor is very flavorful and fruity, and I use it when I bake cakes like this one, it goes wonderfully with almond flavor, or if you have a tough mouth, you can sip some of it after a meal, it’s great for digestion. In my case, I can hardly drink it, it’s too strong. I have seen mirabelle at “Beverages and More” if you are interested.

I used palm sugar that is a healthy alternative to sweetener, it has a lower glycemic index than other sugars and only have 20 calories per 2 tsp. Palm sugar is produced from nectar of coconut palm trees, and it has a wonderful raw and nutty flavor.

Ingredients for 6-8 people

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 lb almond meal
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil or butter
  • 1/2 cup palm sugar
  • 3/4 cup white flour
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • Vanilla powder
  • 2 tbs mirabelle liquor
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • white peaches (1/2 per person)
  • Honey or agave nectar for the peaches
  • Heavy whipping cream

Preparation

Mix eggs and almond meal. Add sugar and mix well. Add oil or butter and mix to get a smooth consistency batter. Add flours, almond extract, vanilla powder, mirabelle liquor. At the end, add baking powder and baking soda.

Bake in a pre heated oven at 370F for about 30-40 minutes. Let it cool before serving.

Cut white peaches in 6 quarters, and grill each side on a grill pan. 

Whip heavy cream, adding some vanilla powder and a little sugar.

Serve with a slice of cake, a few slices of peaches drizzled with honey or agave nectar, and serve with whipped cream on the side.