Almond paste for Christmas cake
The perfect compliment to a moist, decadent Christmas cake, this almond paste is rich, firm and delicious
SERVES
12
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
15
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
15
MINUTES
Ingredients
450g ground almonds
450g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 drop of pure almond essence
50 ml Irish whiskey
To brush on the cake:
1 egg white, lightly beaten
For the glaze:
2 egg yolks
Method
Sieve the caster sugar and mix with the ground almonds. Beat the eggs, add the whiskey and 1 drop of pure almond essence, then add to the other ingredients and mix to a stiff paste. (You may not need all of the egg).
Sprinkle the work top with icing sugar, turn out the almond paste and work lightly until smooth. Remove the paper from the cake. Take about half the almond paste and roll it out on the greaseproof paper: it should be a little less than 2cm thick.
Paint the top of the cake with the lightly-beaten egg white and put the cake, sticky side down, onto the almond paste. Give the cake a ‘thump’ to make sure it sticks and then cut around the edge. If the cake is a little ‘round shouldered’, cut the almond paste a little larger; pull away the extra bits and keep for later to make hearts or holly leaves. With a palette knife press the extra almond paste in against the top of the cake to fill any gaps. Then slide a knife underneath the cake or, better still, underneath the paper, and turn the cake right way up. Peel off the greaseproof paper.
Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Next, measure the circumference of the cake with a piece of string. Roll out 2 long strips of almond paste: trim both edges to the height of the cake with a palette knife. Paint both the cake and the almond paste lightly with egg white. Press the strip against the sides of the cake: do not overlap or there will be a bulge. Use a straight-sided water glass to even the edges and smooth the join. Rub the cake well with your hand to ensure a nice flat surface.
Roll out the remainder of the almond paste approximately 5 mm thick. Cut out the heart shapes, paint the whole surface of the cake with some beaten egg yolk, and stick the heart shapes at intervals around the sides of the cake and on the top. Brush these with egg yolk also. Carefully lift the cake onto a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until just slightly toasted. Remove from the oven, allow to cool and then transfer onto a cake board.
