Ingredients:
Spice Mix 15ml ground cinnamon 5ml ground aniseed 1ml tsp ground white pepper 2ml ground ginger 2ml ground coriander 5ml ground cardamom 2ml ground nutmeg 2ml ground cloves
Dough 100g unsalted butter at room temp + 1 tbsp melted for brushing 100 grams dark brown sugar 15ml whole milk 2.5ml baking soda 180 g flour 2.5ml salt
Almond Paste 200 g almonds flour 150 g sugar 1 large egg 30ml lemon juice plus the zest of one small lemon 60g of candied citrus peel chopped
To Decorate 1 large egg lightly beaten 30 grams of whole blanched almonds
Method:
1. To make the spice mix: combine all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside until ready to use.
2. To make the dough: place the room temperature butter in the bowl and cream with the brown sugar and milk until smooth and creamy.
3. Sift the baking soda, 20ml spice mix, the flour and salt into a bowl, then add this to the dough. Continue to mixt until the dough is soft and pliable, adding a little more milk if needed.
4. Transfer the dough to your work surface and lightly knead. Cover in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
5. To make almond paste: place the almonds in a food processor along with the sugar, egg and lemon juice and blend until it is slightly smoother but still grainy. Finally add the lemon zest and candied peel and pulse once or twice, just to mix. The paste should be sticky and softer than the dough, but still hold its shape. Transfer to a a small bowl until ready to us
6. Preheat oven to 180C
7. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to from a 35cm x 20cm rectangle, just over 0.5cm thick.
8. Spoon the almond paste lengthways down the centre of the dough to form a long sausage.
9. Draw in the left side of the dough on top of the paste. Bring in the right side on top of this so that the two-side overlap. Press gently to secure and carefully turn the whole thing over so that the seal is at the bottom and the paste is secured.
10. To decorate brush the dough evenly and lightly with some of the beaten egg and arrange the whole almonds to top
11. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until the dough begins to colour and the almonds are golden. Roll will flatten out. Set aside on baking sheet until completely cool then cut into 12 slices.
