Buckwheat Cake

Makes one 9-inch cake

This recipe is very traditional from South Tyrol and comes from a widely popular book called “So kocht Südtirol” which means as much as “This is how we cook in South Tyrol”. Any decent ski lodge, coffee shop or bakery will have this cake on offer and mixing the buckwheat with the hazelnuts makes this cake a delicious treat for the cooler winter months. Given its richness, this isn’t something we bake and consume very often at home.

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1 1/2 cups ground hazelnuts
1 apple, coarsely grated
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (using an organic lemon)
6 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 360 F.
Beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy.
Add egg yolks one by one, continuing to beat.
Add flour, nuts, apples, baking powder and lemon zest and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
Fluff egg-whites and add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.
Carefully incorporate the egg white into the rest of the mixture.
Bake in a buttered 9-inch springform baking pan for approx. 40 minutes.
Let cool, remove the spring form and, if desired, cut the cake horizontally in two and fill with lingonberry jam.