• Time

    50 minutes

  • Difficulty

    Medium

  • Course

    Desserts and Fruit

  • Italian Region

    Sicily

Ingredients

  • 1 lb sugar
  • 1 ¾ lb almonds, finely chopped
  • Italian "00" flour or all-purpose flour

Version 1

  • 2 lb sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 lb almonds
  • 7 oz all-purpose flour

Version 2

  • 1 lb sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 lb almonds
  • ⅝ lb all-purpose flour

Version 3

  • 2 ½ lb sugar
  • vanilla
  • 2 lb almond flour
  • 2 ½ oz water

Preparation

25 minutes preparation + 25 minutes cooking

Melt the sugar over a very low heat in a glass of water and, as soon as threads begin to form, add the almond paste and the soft flour (if possible of the “Maiorca” variety). Mixing continuously over a low heat, cook until the mixture comes away in one piece. Cool it, work it, and put into a mold of the desired shape and then color it if you want to produce fruit or other objects.

Food history

The origins of the almond are to be found in Asia Minor: something testified by the wealth of recipes based on this most fragrant of nuts.

In antiquity, its use as a foodstuff soon spread all over the Mediterranean basin: in Italy almonds provide real gastronomic pearls, as “confetti” (sugared almonds), and in biscuits, pastries, and marzipan.

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