Separate the eggs, and addthe egg yolks to a mixing bowl. Set aside the egg whites.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees andgrease a 9 inch spring form pan. You can also add parchment paper on thebottom, which I forgot to do. I have a 10 inch spring form pan, but I think asmaller version would yield a thicker looking cake.
Beat the egg yolks and thegranulated sugar for at least 3 minutes, untilpale and fluffy. Add in the olive oil, slowly, and keep mixing on a slightlylower speed since the mixture will become more thin with the addition of oil.Add in the citrus rind, thejuice, the Grand Mariner, and the milk. Mix on low speed untilincorporated. Add in the vanilla and almondextract and mix briefly to incorporate again.Add in the almond flour, bakingpowder, baking soda, and salt and beat until the mix thickens again forat least a minute or two. Set aside for a moment. Beat the egg whites until theymove past foamy and soft peaks are achieved.
Very carefully fold the eggwhites into the cake mixture, being sure to integratewithout knocking the air out of the egg whites. Once it comes together, thebatter is ready.Drop batter into the pan and sprinkle the almonds on top (if preferred, you can leave out.) Bake for at least 30-35 minutes (ifusing a smaller pan and have a thicker cake, add in an additional 10 minutes orso, 45 total. Watch the cake well--it will get quite dark because we are notusing flour, only almond flour. The sides will begin to darken and come away,and a toothpick should come out of the center of the cake perhaps sticky, butclean.)
Let cool for 10 minutes, thenremove the sides of the pan and allow at least 15 additional minutes on a wirerack to cool completely. You can also then remove the bottom of the pan andpaper so the cake will cool from the bottom up.
You can serve with a dollop ofwhipped cream, creme fraiche, or more simply as I did it, with powdered sugarand some additional citrus rinds. This cake works for dessert, an afternoontreat with tea, or, in my case, breakfast.
