A fudgy almond square to which one can
add nuts, dried fruit and sweet meats.
There are many different spellings and versions of this Russian sweet.
It needs to rest overnight in a fridge, so prepare ahead of time.
Ingredients
- 300g ground almonds
- 55g organic dried apricots, very finely chopped
- 55g pistachios, roughly chopped
- 40g dried cherries, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons runny honey (unfiltered)
- 400g caster sugar
- 20g of molasses
- 2 egg yolks
- 30g roasted Marcona almonds
- 20g of finely crushed peanuts
Method
- Place the ground almonds, apricots, pistachios, dried cherries, 10g peanuts, honey and molasses in a mixing bowl and set aside.
- Place the sugar in a saucepan and pour in 100ml water. Let the sugar dissolve over a low heat, stirring occasionally. When no granules remain turn up the heat and boil until the temperature on a confectionery thermometer reaches 120°C. Carefully pour over the almond mixture and beat vigorously by hand until combined. Leave for 3-4 minutes until cool enough to knead in the egg yolks by hand. You can do this with a spoon but it is much easier with slightly damp hands.
- Tip the mixture into a small rectangular tin lined with baking parchment and press down to form an even slab. Push the Marcona almonds and 10g of crushed peanuts into the surface, then cover with cling film and leave in the fridge or icebox overnight.
- To serve, turn out on to a chopping board and cut into even squares. Serve with coffee, liqueurs or sweet wine.
To drink: would choose: Muscat de St Jean de
Minervois, £4.99 for 37.5cl, Sainsbury's.
Enjoy !
-bird
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