Michelle Darmody: Different forms of almonds in baking

Almonds are a very versatile baking ingredient, they can be used in cakes, cookies, and in pastry as well as sprinkled over desserts or made into soft marzipan.

Sat, 06 Apr, 2019 - 01:00

Michelle Darmody

Almonds are a very versatile baking ingredient, they can be used in cakes, cookies, and in pastry as well as sprinkled over desserts or made into soft marzipan.

Their flavour tends to change depending on how the nuts are treated, slivered they are light and crisp in texture and flavour, but when ground almonds tend to take on more subtle notes. Toasting almonds in any form before using them intensifies their flavour and gives more colour and crunch.

Ground almonds are not just used to add flavour but are a good substitute for wheat flour as the main bulk in a recipe. They create a dense, moist texture and allow a cake to be naturally gluten free. Tunisian orange cake or similar dense cakes have almonds at their heart.

You can also ground almonds that have the skin removed. These will give you a stronger flavour than the pre ground ones, found in shops, which can become stale quite quickly. When you ground your own you can do this in small batches to ensure freshness every time you bake. The oil content of ground almonds is far higher than of most other flours so it is important to keep an eye for burning while baking. If the top of a cake starts to darken due to the excess oil, cover it with some parchment for the remainder of the time in the oven.

In American recipes they may call what we know as ground almonds, almond flour. If they refer to Almond meal this is slightly different. It is more coarsely ground and made without removing the skins.

Liqueurs such as Disaronno or non-alcoholic almond essence are good for enhancing desserts and have a flavour similar to a freshly plucked almond before it is dried in any way.

Ground almond cake with thyme and honey

Ingredients

85g of soft butter

85g of golden caster sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

200g of ground almonds

1 tsp of finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

25g of plain flour

1tsp of baking powder

4 tbsp of honey

Method

1. Heat your oven to 180 degrees and line an 8 inch round tin with parchment.

2. Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy.

3. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time then fold in the ground almonds and thyme.

4. Sieve in the flour and baking powder together and gently fold these into the mixture.

5. Scoop into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

6. Remove from the oven and while the cake is still hot drizzle it all over with the honey.

7. Leave in the tin to cool. It is nice served either warm or cold.

Vanilla cake with sherried almonds

Ingredients

170g golden caster sugar

175g of soft butter

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp of vanilla essence

220g of self-raising flour

50g of ground almonds

To decorate

A handful of slivered almonds

1½ tbs of sherry

60g of icing sugar for the icing, plus an extra teaspoon for the almonds

125g of mascarpone cheese

20g of soft butter

Mehod

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line an 8 inch round tin with parchment. I use either a loose base or spring-form tin Beat the sugar and butter until it is turning pale in colour.

2. Stir the vanilla through the eggs.

3. Stir the almonds through the flour.

4. With a wooden spoon or spatula stir the eggs and flour mixtures into the butter. Combine completely and scoop into the prepared tin.

5. Smooth the surface of the cake batter and bake for about 35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin and then place onto a wire rack to cool completely.

6. Toss the slivered almonds in the sherry and a spoon of icing sugar until coated. Spread on a baking tray and bake in a low oven for about 10 minutes until they are golden and crisp.

7. Whisk the rest of the icing sugar with the mascarpone and butter. Spread this on the cooled cake and sprinkle with the almonds.