Almond Paste
This recipe makes more than enough to cover the previous cake recipe, probably double what you need, but don’t worry I have a way to use it that comes from my mum, an idea which she thought of many years ago and which has become a family tradition. You could of course half the recipe with no problem. It’s a super easy recipe, well worth the little effort required, but you do need to get in there with your hands, because there is no way a wooden spoon is gonna cut it. Whilst this is called almond paste its probably nearer to marzipan but isn’t quite as firm as marzipan and not as smooth or soft as normal almond paste. From what I gather traditional almond paste is usually just ground almonds, water and sugar mixed together and cooked to obtain a smooth consistency. Marzipan has more sugar (normally icing sugar) and egg whites so this recipe kind of straddles the two.
Almond Paste
700g Ground Almonds
350g Icing Sugar, sieved
350g Caster Sugar
2 Large Eggs
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/4 Tsp Almond Essence or Flavouring
1/4 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tsp Orange Flower Water
2 Tsp Sweet Sherry (or rum or brandy)
1. Mix the almonds and sugars together making sure well combined.
2. Beat the the whole egg and mix in the lemon juice, flavourings, orange flower water and sherry.
3. Using a wooden spoon mix in half the egg mixture and once you have worked it in as well as you can add the second half. Once it becomes to hard to mix get your hands in the mix and bring together until you have a smooth consistent mix. Kept in a bowl covered with plastic wrap this will keep at least a week in the fridge.
Posted in christmas, Easy 
