How to make
Bake the almonds in a dry pan until they release their flavor and grind them into flour. Beat the egg whites, gradually adding the sugar, until you get a hard snow. Add the almond essence, vanilla and almond flour to the egg whites. Stir well with a spatula.
Draw 4 circles with a diameter of about 10″ (25 cm) onto baking paper and dispense equal amounts of the egg white blend on each and level off. Bake the layers in a moderately heated oven.
Bake each layer for about 7-8 minutes or until the edges get a slight tan. Slightly cool the layers and separate them from the paper carefully.
For the cream, beat the egg yolks with the sugar well and add the sifted flour, heated milk, lemon zest, vanilla. Put the cream to boil in a water bath, stirring continuously until it thickens. Then leave it to cool. Separately, beat the butter into fluffy cream. The cream and butter need to be of the same temperature.
Add the butter to the cream spoon by spoon and gently mix. Bind the layers with the cream, finish off with a thin layer of cream and cover the cake’s sides with it too.
Whip the egg white with the lemon juice for the glaze. Gradually add the powdered sugar until you get a smooth, shiny and creamy glaze. Grate the chocolate and melt it in a water bath. Put it into an icing piping syringe with a thin tip. Without wasting any time, carefully add the glazing over the cake. Slightly tilt the tray to allow the glaze to spread evenly over the surface.
Using the chocolate, start drawing a spiral, starting from the middle and increasing the size of the circles. Using a skewer, very quickly draw 8 strips from the center toward the edges and immediately draw another 8 between them - from the edges to the center. You need to work really fast, because the chocolate can tighten and you will not get a good pattern.
Cover the sides of the Esterhazy cake with ground almonds and store it in a cool place for 1 night.
