What Is Almond Paste Used For?
Almond paste is an old-fashioned dessert filling and marzipan ingredient made from ground almonds and sugar. It has a subtle, hard-to-duplicate flavor not found in almond flavoring that pastry chefs and bakers prefer. Does this Spark an idea?
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History
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Almond paste dates to the Turkish Ottoman Empire as a sweet in the royal palace. For centuries, Europeans in Holland, Sweden, Germany and France used almond paste in all kinds of what was called sweetmeats. These countries still make some of the same almond paste sweets today, especially during Christmas and Easter.
How It's Made
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Good-quality almonds ground in a high ratio to sugar makes the best quality almond paste. In the past, chefs used an almond mill to grind almond paste themselves. Today, you can buy good quality, commercial almond paste in the can or make it at home using a food processor to blend blanched almonds and sugar.
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Features
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Look for the best quality almond paste available, made from top-quality almonds. The best almond paste is more than 60 percent almonds and has only two ingredients: quality blanched almonds and sugar. Almond paste is kosher and gluten-free.
Almond Paste Desserts
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Almond paste is used in desserts. Almond paste helps baked goods retain moisture and adds a creamy richness from the almond oil that's released when ground. Almond paste works well as a flavoring or filling for pastries, muffins, croissants and cakes. Many pastry chefs prefer almond paste over artificial almond flavoring in desserts for its well-rounded, authentic almond flavor without bitterness.
Warning
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Marzipan candy is a popular sweet. Products using almond paste or marzipan use nuts, and possibly eggs, which can be a health hazard for people with allergies. Almond paste often is used as a cookie or cake filling, and marzipan dough is used to create cake decorations. Be aware that almond paste and marzipan may contain not only almonds but also meringue powder or egg protein called albumen (also spelled albumin).
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Tiago Ribeiro Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of James Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Jackie
