Chocolate and Almond Tiger Cake

Almond cakes appeared in Paris in the late 1880s. Tigré is a round
cake with chocolate, covered with a touch of ganache. 

INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CAKE:

    5 tablespoons/70 grams unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
    ½ cup/65 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
    ¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar
    ½ teaspoon baking powder
    ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
    ⅔ cup/70 grams almond flour
    6 large egg whites, at room temperature and lightly whisked
    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    5 ounces/142 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely
chopped

FOR THE TOPPING (OPTIONAL):

    ⅓ cup/80 milliliters heavy cream
    3 ounces/85 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely
chopped
    ½ cup/48 grams sliced almonds, toasted

PREPARATION
Make the cake: Center a rack in the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan and fit a circle of parchment
paper at the base.
Bring the butter just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Turn off the heat and leave the saucepan on the burner to keep the
butter warm while you make the cake batter.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking
powder, baking soda and salt until thoroughly blended. Add the almond
flour and whisk. If the almond flour is lumpy, use your fingers to
break up the clumps. Switch to a spatula and add the egg whites in 3
additions, stirring until the batter is smooth and easily flows off
the spatula. Stir in the vanilla until incorporated. Add the butter in
3 additions, folding until it is completely incorporated and you’ve
got a smooth batter with a light sheen. Stir in the chopped chocolate,
mixing well. Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly.
Bake until golden brown, evenly risen and pulling away from the sides
of the pan, 37 to 40 minutes. A tester inserted into the center of the
cake should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and
leave for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the sides of the pan,
flip the cake over, remove the pan, peel away the parchment and invert
the cake onto another rack. Allow the cake to come to room temperature
before serving or covering with ganache.
If you’d like, make the topping: Put the cream in a small saucepan and
bring just to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate. Gently
stir the chocolate and cream together until blended, thick and shiny.
Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and use an offset spatula or
kitchen knife to spread it across the cake. Scatter over the toasted
almonds. Either leave the cake on the counter to allow the ganache to
set a bit (it will never be really firm) or refrigerate the cake for
15 minutes to set the chocolate. The cake is best at room temperature.
Covered, it will keep for about 3 days at room temperature.