Lined up alongside green, paper-skinned pistachios or buttery pecans, almonds - anaemic, lozenge-shaped, creamily bland - can seem rather dull. But they're at the heart of baking, and for good reason: the almond's mellow flavour means that it can form the foundations of frangipane, flourless cakes, macaroons, pralines and marzipan, without overpowering other ingredients or leaving the recipe unpalatably rich. The unassuming almond is a baking building block. The following recipes are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to showcasing almond's versatility - one is a heartily savoury biscuit, the other a moist cake with seasonal rhubarb.
Black olive and almond biscuits
As far as after-dinner snacks go, you could do worse than these elegant, simple biscuits. Because the olives are blitzed to a paste, they leave the biscuits a charcoal grey colour - a smart backdrop to the flakes of toasted almond. These really are very easy to make: jKeep a close eye on them while they're in the oven: such thin biscuits burn easily. If you must serve them with something, make it a soft, mild goats' cheese, but they're delicious just as they are.Makes 18-2050g toasted flaked almonds, plus 2 tbsp
125g plain flour
25g parmesan, finely grated
75g cold unsalted butter, cubed
100g black kalamata olives, drained and patted dry 1 Put 50g flaked almonds into the bowl of a food processor with the flour and a pinch of salt. Pulse several times until the almonds are finely chopped. Tip in the parmesan and pulse again until the cheese and almonds are evenly distributed throughout the flour. Add the butter to the mixture and pulse until the whole thing resembles course breadcrumbs. At this point stop whizzing and tip the almond mixture into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
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Almond rhubarb cake
Something as deliciously sour as rhubarb shouldn't have to vie for attention on the plate. It can stand its ground against robust flavours such as ginger and anise, but I find it's best paired with milder ingredients. In this case, almonds happily set the scene so the rhubarb can steal the show: both its bright taste and flush of pink stand out against the creamy base.Serves 8125g unsalted butter plus extra for greasing
200g rhubarb
100g caster sugar plus 30g for dredging
50g light brown soft sugar
3 medium eggs, lightly beaten
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g ground almonds
75g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
A large pinch of salt1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease a 20cm-diameter loose-bottomed or springform cake tin, and line the base with parchment.
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