Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is a rich almond batter, somewhere between a madeleine and a small almond cake base. Ground almonds, icing sugar and a generous amount of egg yolk are loosened with lemon juice and zest, then finished with hot cream and melted butter, which gives the baked bases a fine, moist, buttery crumb and a soft almond flavour lifted by lemon.
The batter is rested overnight so it thickens and pipes cleanly, then piped into small rounds or shell moulds and baked briefly in a hot oven. Baked this way the bases stay flexible and tender, which makes them ideal as the bottom layer of small layered cakes and petits gâteaux, or served plain with coffee.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 585
Number of Units: 2
Unit Size: tray of about 100 small piped bases (30 x 40 cm tray)
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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150 |
5.3 ounces
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Almond Meal
Almond meal, almond flour or ground almond is made from ground sweet almonds. Almond flour is usually made with blanched almonds (no skin), whereas almond meal can be made both with whole or blanched almonds. The consistency is more like corn meal than wheat flour.
It is used in pastry and confectionery – in the manufacture of almond macarons and other sweet pastries, in cake and pie filling, such as Sachertorte and is one of the two main ingredients of marzipan and almond paste. In France, almond meal is an important ingredient in frangipane, the filling of traditional galette des Rois cake.
Almond meal has recently become important in baking items for those on low carbohydrate diets. It adds moistness and a rich nutty taste to baked goods. Items baked with almond meal tend to be calorie-dense.
finely ground
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B
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90 |
3.2 ounces
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Icing Sugar Mixture
Icing sugar mixture, also known as confectioners' sugar or powdered sugar, is pulverised granulated sugar crushed together with a small amount (about three percent) of cornflour. This icing sugar is great to use when making icing for kids' birthday cakes or dusting sweet treats.
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sifted |
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C
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160 |
5.6 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
caster
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D
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2.5 |
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Baking Powder
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid, and is used for increasing the volume and lightening the texture of baked goods. Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles in the wet mixture to expand and thus leavening the mixture. It is used instead of yeast for end-products where fermentation flavors would be undesirable or where the batter lacks the elastic structure to hold gas bubbles for more than a few minutes, or for convenience. Because carbon dioxide is released at a faster rate through the acid-base reaction than through fermentation, breads made by chemical leavening are called quick breads.
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sifted |
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E
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225 |
11.3 Egg Yolks
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Egg Yolk
The egg yolk is the internal yellow part of an egg.
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room temperature |
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F
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5 |
0.2 ounce
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Lemon Zest
Lemon zest is the thin, brightly coloured outer layer of the lemon skin, removed with a fine grater or zester without taking the bitter white pith underneath. It holds the fruit's aromatic oils and gives a fresh citrus lift to batters and creams.
fresh
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finely grated |
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G
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20 |
1 tablespoons
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Fresh Lemon Juice
Fresh lemon juice is the juice squeezed from whole lemons and strained of seeds and pulp. It gives a natural sharpness and aroma that bottled juice cannot match, and roughly three medium lemons will yield the amount needed here.
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strained |
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H
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1.5 |
0.3 teaspoon
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Vanilla Essence
Vanilla Extract is made with 100% pure vanilla beans. With a sweet, syrupy consistency, this Vanilla is ideal for use in icings, drinks and whipped cream as well as classic baking recipes. Vanilla Essence is commercially manufactured by chemicals and is more of a watery consistency as opposed to vanilla extract which is thicker and a lot fuller and richer in flavour. You can replace one with the other but use 50% more of essence. For example, for 1 teaspoon of extract, use 1.5 teaspoons of essence.
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I
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1.5 |
0.3 teaspoon
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Almond Essence
Almond essence is a concentrated flavouring made from bitter almond oil or its synthetic equivalent, used a few drops at a time to lift the marzipan-like flavour of almond bakes. It is very strong, so measure it carefully.
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J
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0.5 |
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Salt
Common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent; the open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2 oz) of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%. Salt is essential for animal life, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous of food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation.
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K
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98 |
3.4 ounces
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Cake Flour
Cake flour is a finely milled white flour made from soft wheat. It has very low protein content, between 8% and 10%, making it suitable for soft-textured cakes and cookies. The higher protein content of other flours would make the cakes tough. Highly sifted cake flours may require different volume amounts in recipes than all-purpose flour. Using the scoop and level method, well-sifted flour usually produces 125 g per cup. However, most American recipes are written with 140 g of flour per cup, so weighing and experimentation can be helpful in baking unfamiliar recipes. Small weight differences can greatly affect the texture. American Cake flour is bleached; in countries where bleached flour is prohibited, plain flour can be treated in a domestic microwave to improve the texture of the end product.
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sifted |
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L
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165 |
0.7 cup
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Thickened Cream
Cream is used as an ingredient in many foods, including ice cream, many sauces, soups, stews, puddings, and some custard bases, and is also used for cakes. Perfect for pouring, baking, whipping or adding the indulgent touch to your favourite recipes.
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M
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250 |
8.8 ounces
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Butter
Butter is a solid dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk, to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water.
unsalted
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diced |
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1167
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Mix |
Combine A and B (almond meal and icing sugar mixture) in a bowl and rub or whisk them together. |
Evenly blended, no lumps of icing sugar |
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2 |
Mix |
In a second bowl, mix C and D (caster sugar and baking powder). |
Baking powder evenly dispersed through the sugar |
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3 |
Whisk |
In a large bowl, whisk E, F, G, H, I and J (egg yolk, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla essence, almond essence and salt) together. |
Smooth and slightly lightened |
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4 |
Combine |
Add K (cake flour) to the yolk mixture, then add the yolk and lemon mixture, the sugar and baking powder mixture and the almond and icing sugar mixture gradually, mixing between each addition. |
A smooth, thick batter with no dry pockets; do not over-beat |
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5 |
Heat |
Warm L and M (thickened cream and butter) together in a saucepan over low heat. |
Butter fully melted and the mixture hot but not boiling |
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6 |
Combine |
Pour the hot cream and butter into the batter slowly, in a thin stream, mixing constantly. |
Glossy, smooth and pourable, fully emulsified |
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7 |
Rest |
Cover the bowl and rest the batter in the refrigerator overnight. |
Thickened to a soft piping consistency |
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8 |
Pre-heat |
Pre-heat the oven to 185°C (365°F) and line flat baking trays with baking paper, or grease small madeleine or shell moulds. |
Oven fully up to temperature before the bases go in |
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9 |
Pipe |
Fill a piping bag fitted with a 5 mm plain nozzle and pipe small rounds or fingers onto the trays, leaving space between them for spreading. |
Even sizes so they bake at the same rate |
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10 |
Bake |
Bake at 185°C (365°F) for 5 to 7 minutes. |
Set, lightly golden at the edges and still soft in the centre |
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11 |
Cool |
Slide the paper off the tray and leave the bases to cool before lifting them. |
Cool and firm enough to lift without tearing; they should stay flexible, not dry |
Important Notes
The quarter batch given here makes about 1.17 kg of batter, enough for roughly 100 small piped bases over two trays; pipe them all the same size so they bake evenly. The overnight rest is not optional — it thickens the batter so it holds its shape when piped and gives a finer crumb. The bases bake very quickly at 185°C (365°F), so watch them from 5 minutes. Once cool, store them in an airtight container, layered between baking paper, for a few days, or freeze them well wrapped. They can be piped into flat rounds for layering into small cakes, or into greased madeleine or shell moulds for serving on their own. No PUFF POINTS were filled in on the sheet.
Tools & Arrangements
Mixing bowls, whisk, small saucepan, fine grater or zester, sieve, scales, piping bag with a 5 mm plain nozzle, flat baking trays and baking paper (or madeleine/shell moulds), palette knife, cooling rack.
