Last weekend we were downtown for dinner, and friends who lived but a stroll away from the restaurant invited us over for dessert. We said yes (obviously) and were treated to her family's traditional birthday cake, Flo Braker's Butter Almond Cake. She served it with boozy cherries and whipped cream served from her bar cart, which for the evening had been transformed into a dessert trolley. It was absolutely charming. My husband is very fond of almond cake and he said this was the best. The recipe can be found in Flo's book, "The Simple Art of Perfect Baking" but an almost exact adaptation is linked here.
That dessert led us down Memory Lane, revisiting some of our favorite recipes. We remembered Yotam Ottolenghi’s giant meringues, which I made for our dinner group in March 2020. I remember the evening clearly because we spent much of it talking about a new virus and wondering whether we should lie low for “a few weeks.”
The following night we met another group of friends and had the same conversation. Driving home that Saturday night, we reluctantly agreed we should probably stay in for a while—but the next day the decision was made for us. The country went into lockdown.
I had taken plenty of photos that night, but somewhere during those early weeks everything else took over and I forgot all about this dessert. Thanks to last Friday night’s reminiscing, though, I’ve rediscovered it—and now finally have it to share.
- February 13, 2026
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