Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate-Covered Chai-Tea Bars

 Makes 16 bars

1 cup almond flour

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Finely grated zest of 2 clementines, 1 tangerine, or 1 orange

3 large egg whites, at room temperature, lightly beaten with a fork

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and still warm

1 tablespoon loose chai tea leaves (from 3 teabags)

3 ounces coarsely chopped milk chocolate, for the glaze (optional)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Put both the flours, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl and whisk (or stir with a fork) to blend and work out any clumps of almond flour. Stir in the zest. Pour the whites over the dry ingredients and mix them in with a flexible spatula. It takes a minute or so to blend in the whites; when they’re in, you’ll have a thick batter. Stir in the honey and vanilla. Stir the tea into the warm melted butter and pour the butter over the batter. Working patiently (you’ll think there’s too much butter, but there isn’t), stir and fold the batter until the butter is fully incorporated. You’ll have a beautiful, smooth batter with a silky sheen. Scrape it into the pan — it will be a thin layer — and use the spatula to even the top.

Bake for 25 to 27 minutes, until the cake is a deep golden brown and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Poke the top, and it will feel firm and just a bit springy; a tester inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and wait for 3 minutes, then run a table knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Invert the cake onto the rack, peel away the paper, invert onto another rack and allow to cool to room temperature.

If you’d like to glaze the bars, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water or in the microwave. However you do it, melt it slowly and carefully — milk chocolate has an unpleasant way of going from smooth to grainy and then burnt; baby it. Pour the chocolate over the top of the cake and spread it evenly over the surface. Slide the glazed cake, on the rack, it into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set the chocolate.

Cut the cake into 16 bars or, if you’re not using the entire cake, only as many bars as you need; the rest of the cake will keep better if it’s in a larger piece. If the cake was glazed and refrigerated and the bars are still cold, let them sit until they come to room temperature.

Recipe comes from "Everyday Dorie" by Dorie Greenspan