PASTRY
1 1/2 cup flour
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 lb butter
FILLING
1/4 lb butter
1 cup chopped almonds
3/4 cup ground almonds
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup potato starch or cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
Directions
FOR THE PASTRY: Combine pastry ingredients by hand or in a food
processor to form a soft dough. Do not overmix. Chill for 30 minutes.
Roll out and line an 11-or-12-inch pie or tart pan. Prick the base
and chill for 15-to-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375F. FOR THE
FILLING: Heat 1/3 of the butter in a saute pan, add the chopped
almonds and saute over medium heat until browned. Cool. Melt the
remaining butter in a small saucepan. Cool. Mix the ground almonds
and sugar in a bowl and add the eggs one by one, beating after each
addition until the mixture is light and thick. Sift the potato or
corn starch with the baking powder and salt and fold into the almond
mixture. Fold in the melted butter. Do not overmix. Pour the mixture
into the tart shell and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the batter
begins to set. Quickly scatter the chopped almonds over the top in
one even layer. Return the tart to the oven and continue baking for
17-to-20 minutes or until the pastry is brown and the filling is firm.
Servings: 10 servings
Almond Cake Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cake; Dessert; Nut
The History of Recipes
It is possible to track the history of `recipes` far back into distant history, in truth as far back into recorded history as pharonic Egypt, and possibly even further. In practice though, in the main part, these early records were just simple pictorial instructions for preparing meals.
In fact, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to academics is a collection of tablets in Sumerian which describe the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who drank it feel exhilarated and blissful. Later on, in The time of the roman empire 25BC a roman called Apicius created some scripts which described recipes enjoyed by wealthy Romans. In his publication, he tells us how the meals were divided into starters, main course and dessert, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius also tells us how the ancient chefs were skilled in the use of many aromatic flavors, including many that are still in use today such as basil, rue and dill. For the decades that followed, the powerful and rich tried to serve the most extravagent banquests, and because of this chefs and their recipes were at a premium. Notwithstanding that, it was during the nineteenth century that haute cuisine and recipe publications reached a high level of popularity. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, devoted much of their lives to collecting, trying out, and recording recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. The arrival of television gave us celebrity chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, permitting us all to access massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on sites such as this. |
We hope you enjoy this Almond Cake recipe.
