Pittsburgh classic
The story
Prantl's is a bakery with German roots that has been on Walnut Street in Shadyside for more than 50 years. Plenty of good things come out of its ovens, but one cake made it famous.
In 1970 Henry Prantl went to a national bakers convention in California and was inspired by a torte he found there. He adapted a recipe from an Anaheim baker, filled the cake with custard, frosted it with buttercream and coated the whole thing in toasted almonds. It didn't hurt that 1970 was a year of surplus almonds.
That was the burnt almond torte. In 2014 HuffPost called it "The Greatest Cake America Has Ever Made," and in Pittsburgh it has become the cake for birthdays, graduations and showers.
The original is Prantl's Bakery, 5525 Walnut Street in Shadyside.