Dustin's Burnt Almond Torte

Okay, so Dustin and I don't get each other gifts for holidays, and this includes birthdays. Most people think it's weird, but we don't. We can't hide anything from each other anyway! So usually, all we ask for is a specific cake and/or restaurant outing. I almost always got a DQ ice cream cake, but obviously, that's not vegan. So I thought about what would be the most amazing thing I could imagine veganizing, and demanded that Dustin, who is new to cooking and baking in general, make it for me: A BURNT ALMOND TORTE.

I don't even know how to make a burnt almond torte. But I thought the internet could help, so I wasn't worried. Little did I know that burnt almond tortes are a Pittsburgh thing, so the internet wasn't helpful at all! Since I demanded such a crazy thing, I ended up helping out a little, but most of the credit really should go to Dustin. He is the best. :) (Also, this is based on my memory of the last one I had from Prantl's bakery in like 2004, so it might not even be close. But who cares? It was great!)

From Valerie Goes Vegan!

From Valerie Goes Vegan!

He made two 8" round cakes using the vanilla cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, substituting mostly almond extract for the vanilla. He did the same thing with the buttercream frosting from the same book, making the BEST almond frosting I've ever had in my life. The almonds are just slivered almonds cooked in sugar over a low flame until they caramelized a little.

Seriously, I was SO happy with this!