Thursday, 4 December 2008

Almond Paste

Ready to marzipan that Christmas cake? Well here is the recipe I always use. It is from my old faithful 'Dairy book of Home Cookery'. This book has everything in it, it's like a little cooks bible!



Sufficient to cover top and sides of a 20.5-23cm (8-9inch) fruit cake fairly thickly.

275g (10oz) ground almonds

225g (8oz) icing sugar, sifted

225g (8oz) caster sugar

1 egg plus 2 egg yolks (remember you can freeze the whites and use them in meringues another time!)

5ml (1tsp) lemon juice

2.5ml (1/2 tsp) vanilla essence

1. Combine almonds with both sugars.

2. Mix to a fairly stiff paste with remaining ingredients.

3. Turn out onto a board or table covered with sifted icing sugar. Knead lightly with fingertips until smooth, crack-free and pliable.



I then heat a little apricot jam and brush it over the cake before rolling out the almond paste and covering the cake with it.

Enjoy!

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