Have you tried homemade almond paste yet? Nothing daunting about making it at home — quick and easy. Plus, you’ll get more ideas from these recipes that use almond paste. Enjoy!
What is almond paste?
It is ground almonds, sugar, and milk — all combined and turned into a paste.
Used in many desserts as a filling, it provides a contrast in the texture and flavor of every pastry that uses it.
And, as you can see in the Swedish recipes below, it’s also excellent as a base for cookies and cakes.
Is almond paste the same as marzipan?
Absolutely not.
There is generally less sugar in it compared to marzipan — the most you’ll get is an equal ratio of sugar and almonds.
Bottomline, it is definitely less sweet than marzipan.
IF YOU WANT MORE HOMEMADE IDEAS, THEN YOU WILL LIKE THESE POSTS!
Ingredients
- Almond meal – almond meal has a coarser (less refined) texture compared to almond flour.
- Powdered sugar – just use your favorite brand.
- Milk – I typically use full cream milk.
- Sugar – you can either use caster or granulated sugar.
If using regular granulated sugar, I suggest pulsing it first in the food processor and then combining it with the rest of the ingredients.
Preparation
Start making your homemade almond paste by combining the almond meal, sugar, and powdered sugar in a food processor (photo 1).
Add five teaspoons of milk and continue mixing.
Check the texture of the paste by rubbing it between your fingers.
If it’s still too dry, add another teaspoon of milk (and so on).
Continue checking between adding more milk until you get the desired consistency (photo 2).
Transfer everything on top of your counter (photo 3).
Use your hands to combine and push everything together — until you form a log (photo 4).
Cover with a plastic and store in the refrigerator to chill.
Remove your homemade paste from the fridge once you are ready to use it.
Helpful tips
- To get a finer texture, ensure you run the granulated sugar in the food processor — before combining it with the rest of the ingredients.
- If you’d rather make your almond meal from scratch, you must blanch the almonds first and make sure you don’t overprocess them, or you’ll end up with almond butter.
- Once you intend to use your homemade paste, take it out of the refrigerator earlier, so it’s less chilled (or at room temperature) when you use it.
Recipe variation
- It’s completely fine to skip the blanching of the almonds if you want to prepare your almond meal.
However, be mindful that the skin of the almonds is bitter, so you might need to adjust the amount of sugar to balance everything out.
How to store homemade almond paste?
Wrap it tightly in plastic and place it in the refrigerator — it will be great for about a month.
If you want to keep it longer, keep it in the freezer, which will be good for about six months.
Homemade almond paste uses
As you can expect, these are all desserts. 🙂
This homemade paste is excellent as a filling for tarts, pies, or some pasty buns — and it’s delicious as a base for cakes and cookies.
One of my most popular recipes, Swedish almond tart, uses almond paste filling.
You think marzipan could also work? Nope, it will not because the top of the tart is also made of caramelized almonds.
Hence, the perfect balance of sweetness and nuttiness in the homemade almond paste filling is crucial to every bite of this fika pastry favorite.
An Easter tradition for Sweden, semlor buns have a surprise inside — yep, almond paste filling.
Combined with the softness of the bun and smoothness of the whipped cream on top, this Swedish treat is just heavenly.
As the name implies, you will use your homemade paste as the base for this Swedish almond cake.
You just add a bit more sugar, some eggs, and almond extract — mix, and voila!
Although they are shown as mini almond cakes, a regular cake pan will also work (or even small muffin tins for mini cakes!).
You only need to add egg white to make these delicious, chewy cookies.
A fair warning, though, you’ll surely end up eating more than a handful of these almond paste cookies if you don’t watch it. Yum!
See how easy it is? So, don’t even think twice — try making your own now, then try these Swedish desserts and pastries! 🙂
Homemade Almond Paste Recipe
Ingredients
- 220 grams almond meal (7.75 ounces or about 2 cups)
- 110 grams sugar (3.85 ounces or about 1/2 cup)
- 50 grams powdered sugar (1.75 ounces or about 1/3 cup, heaping)
- 6 to 7 teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Combine the almond meal, sugar, and powdered sugar in a food processor.
- Add 5 teaspoons of milk and continue mixing.
- Check the texture of the paste by rubbing it between your fingers. If it’s still too dry, add 1 teaspoon of milk (and another one).
- Keep checking between adding more milk until you get the desired consistency.
- Transfer everything on top of your counter.
- Use your hands to combine and push everything together to form a log.
- Cover the log with plastic and store it in the refrigerator to chill (and for storage).
- Remove your homemade almond paste from the fridge once ready to use it.
Notes
- Cook’s Tip #1: When using regular granulated sugar, run it first in the food processor to get a finer texture; then combine it with the rest of the ingredients.
- Cook’s Tip #2: If you want to make your almond meal from scratch, you must blanch the almonds first and make sure you don’t overprocess them, or you’ll end up with almond butter.
- Cook’s Tip #3: When you need to use your homemade paste, take it out of the refrigerator earlier, so it’s less chilled (or at room temperature) when you use it.
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