This versatile cake recipe works with so many ingredients, like fresh blueberries, raspberries and blackberries in the winter and stone fruit in the summer.

One of my most memorable Shabbat luncheons was spent at the picturesque Ruth Rimonim Hotel in the heart of the Old City of T’zfat (Safed) in August 2015. The hotel, which was built around the remains of a lavish 17th-century Turkish khan retains the arched ceilings, stone walls and lavish gardens of the Ottoman building. I was enchanted on learning the history of this inn that was erected along the old perfume road. Wealthy traders of myrrh, jasmine, frankincense, cinnamon, clove, fresh fruits and colorful silks would water their animals and rest in the beautiful lodgings on their journeys between Damascus and the rest of the East. 

The massive windows of the restaurant overlooked the breathtaking view of Mount Meron in the distance. We were there with my talented cousin, children’s book author Sarah Sassoon and her amazing husband David. They had just made aliyah from South Africa that June and our kids (all similar ages) were just getting to know one another. It was wonderful to watch my three girls teasing, laughing and bonding with their four boys over lunch. 

In typical Israeli fashion, the sumptuous buffet offered lush salads, crispy pastries, tender meats and a crossroads of Jewish Shabbat foods. There was Yemenite jachnun, hardboiled eggs, grated tomato and spicy green s’chug, Iraqi t’bit (overnight baked chicken and rice), Moroccan dafina and Ashkenazi-style kugels. 

It was divine. 

If you have ever made the pilgrimage to the hilltop town of T’zfat, you will have felt the incredible mysticism that pervades the air. It is a town that is forever linked to the great Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, who is known as the Ari. The Ari, a descendant of Rashi and other great Ashkenazi rabbis, was raised by his Sephardic maternal uncle in Alexandria, Egypt. Many of his mentors, peers and students were Ladino-speaking Sephardim who had escaped Christian persecution on the Iberian peninsula. 

The Ari only spent two years of his life in T’zfat but his imprint is evident in the two ancient synagogues that bear his name (fittingly, one Ashkenazi and one Sephardic). 

The Ari and his students in T’zfat would face the setting sun every Friday afternoon, welcome the Sabbath with the psalms that are now standard in synagogues around the world. 

The Ari also created the Tu B’Shevat Seder. The Tu B’Shevat holiday (celebrated on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat) is traditionally viewed as the birthday of the trees and this mystical seder has become a popular tradition for “Chag Ha’Ilanot,” the Festival of the Trees. 

Though the meal is centered on red and white wine and the seven species special to the Land of Israel — wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates, it also includes citrus, pistachios, almonds, carob and lots of dried fruits. 

The incredible life of the Ari and his Tu B’Shevat seder inspired Rachel and me to bake a traditional Sephardic frangipane fruit cake. 

Almond cakes originated in the Spain of the Middle Ages. While there is no proof that the Ari ever ate almond cake, we can imagine that along with their knowledge of Kabbalah, his Sephardic contemporaries might have shared some of this prized dessert with him. 

—Sharon 

We Moroccans love almonds and we love to include them in so many desserts.

While generations of Sephardic women had to soak almonds, then grind them in order to bake this cake, I am grateful that nowadays almond flour is so readily available. It makes this my favorite recipe to bake on Friday afternoons when I need a quick and delicious dessert. Of course, it helps that it’s an easy one-bowl recipe and completely gluten-free. 

This versatile cake recipe works with so many ingredients, like fresh blueberries, raspberries and blackberries in the winter and stone fruit in the summer. The nutty flavor of the almonds contrasts beautifully with citrus — I like to add fresh lemon zest and a few teaspoons of lemon juice or orange zest and orange juice. It’s also fun to add semisweet chocolate chips. Or to just keep it traditional with crunchy almonds on top.

This Tu B’Shevat inspired version was a perfect combination of sweet almond crumb, nutty pistachios and almonds and tangy dried apricot and cranberries. 

We hope you try our fruity take on this old recipe and share it with your friends and family!

—Rachel 

Almond Cake Recipe

4 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup avocado oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

2 cups almond flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 

1 cup roasted, sliced almonds, divided 

1/3 cup roasted, unsalted pistachios 

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

1/2  cup finely chopped dried apricots

Confectioners sugar to sprinkle on top 

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line a springform cake pan with parchment paper. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Add sugar and beat until mixture is a pale yellow and creamy. 

Add the oil, vanilla and almond extract and mix well. 

Add the almond flour, baking powder and salt, then mix to create a smooth batter.

Pour half the batter into the cake pan and add half the almonds and the pistachios, cranberries and apricots. 

Pour the remaining batter on top. Sprinkle the remaining almonds on top. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cake is golden. Allow to cool, then sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff have been friends since high school. The Sephardic Spice Girls project has grown from their collaboration on events for the Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem. Follow them
on Instagram @sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic Spice SEC Food