From Sabrina Welserin's cookbook c 1553
132: Cinnamon Tart
Take a half pound of ground almonds, more or less, according to how large a tart one will make. Take butter and the whites from seven eggs. Mix everything together, afterwards put a half ounce of cinnamon into it, the largest part, however, sprinkled on top, and sprinkle the tart with rose water. Also take about a half pound of sugar and put it in. The white fat from a leg of veal, cooked and finely chopped, is also especially good.
My recreations of the Cinnamon Tart
See below for the different attempts and results
Ingredients
7 eggs, separated
4 T butter, softened to room temp
1 c sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t lemon juice
4 t cinnamon
2 1/4 c Trader Joe's almond meal (ground whole almonds)
2 t rose water
Method
Preheat oven to 350 F and butter bottom of spring form pan
Separate 7 eggs and let egg whites sit in large bowl and come to room temperature
Add half of egg yolks to butter/sugar mixture, and beat well. Add the rest of the egg yolks and beat until the butter/sugar/egg yolk mixture is smooth, creamy and a rich medium yellow.
Whip egg whites with salt and lemon juice until frothy. Add 1/2 cup of sugar. Whip until it reaches the soft peak stage.
Add almond meal and 1 T cinnamon to egg white mixture and mix.
Whisk egg yolk mixture into egg whites, and then put into pan immediately. Sprinkle top of tart with 1 t cinnamon and pop in hot oven.
Bake for 40 min, or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool on rack, still in pan. When cool, sprinkle top with 2 t rose water, or more if desired.
Notes
First attempt with all egg whites and no yolks, cake came out with thin layer of sweet white stuff on the bottom, very odd. Decided that cake needed egg yolks to keep almonds and whites from separating.
Second attempt, made with egg whites and yolks. I didn't really measure the almond meal that closely, I just added it in until it felt right. Cake came out well and didn't fall in middle, it was perfect.
Third attempt made with egg whites and egg yolks. Whipped egg whites in mixer. Used 1 1/2 c almond meal and 2 T cinnamon. Cake fell in middle, very disappointing, think it needs more almond meal, next time perhaps 2- 2 1/4 c almond meal?
Fourth attempt: used both egg whites and yolks as well as 2 1/4 c almond meal. Cake turned out quite well.
For attempts 1, 2 and 4 I mixed everything by hand, and had no problems with falling cakes. For attempt 3 I used the mixer for whipping the egg whites as my wrist felt odd that day. I think I prefer whipping the egg whites by hand with a wire whisk. It makes the tart a little bit more work, but it also gives me more control over the egg white stage. It also gives me a good understanding of what a cook in period would have gone through to make this. Its a pretty easy dessert to make with a mixer, take out the mixer and you sweat a little bit more.
Fifth attempt: I tried making this cake again with just egg whites, and a slightly different method of mixing ingredients from attempt 1. I whipped the egg whites with the lemon juice and salt in the mixer to stiff peaks while I creamed the butter and all the sugar in a seperate bowl. Then when the egg whites where ready, I added the butter and sugar mixture and whipped it in until smooth. Added in 2 cups almond meal and 1T cinnamon and whisked it in. Poured it into buttered pan and baked as mentioned above. Using this new method there was no seperation of almond and egg white, no funny layer and the cake tastes great, if a bit on the sweet side.