You might remember a few weeks ago the recipe with all the doses to make the legendary and renowned almond granita! Unfortunately, for those who do not live in Sicily, it is difficult if not impossible to find the base block needed to make it, and given the numerous requests, I had promised to share with you also the doses and procedure to obtain the paste! Preparing it is a piece of cake, besides being much more economical, and from now on you will have no more excuses! Besides granita, with this preparation, you can create many other typical Sicilian pastries, like the famous almond pastries! In short, this is one of those recipes you absolutely have to write down because I guarantee it will come in handy on many occasions! The only precaution for the good success of this block, which we also call lactating paste or royal paste, is the choice of almonds, which must be of excellent quality. So, please, do not use raw materials from abroad, or the final result will be affected! I’ll leave you with this gem and the promise of posting the recipe for our almond pastries in September after a short summer break.

If you love Sicilian desserts, try these other recipes that are all worth tasting:

Difficulty: Very Easy
Cost: Economical
Rest time: 3 Hours
Preparation time: 25 Minutes
Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

783.63 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 783.63 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 74.11 (g) of which sugars 55.93 (g)
Proteins 21.17 (g)
Fat 49.93 (g) of which saturated 3.80 (g)of which unsaturated 43.88 (g)
Fibers 12.50 (g)
Sodium 2.90 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; buying them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it costs you nothing extra!

5.3 oz almonds
5.3 oz powdered sugar
2.8 tbsp water
1 tbsp honey

Tools

1 Saucepan
1 Tea Towel
1 Wooden spoon
1 Cling film

Preparation

Blanch the almonds for about 3′- 4′, drain and dry them quickly with a tea towel.
Remove their outer skin by pinching the peel with your fingers, then put them in a mixer.
Operate the food processor in several batches until they are ground into a very fine flour*.
In a saucepan, completely melt the sugar with water over low heat for 2′**.
Add the tablespoon of honey and the almond flour.
Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough has thickened.
Turn off the heat and spread the obtained mixture on a wide surface and lightly sprinkled with a little powdered sugar so that it cools quickly.
Briefly work the obtained mixture by hand, giving it the shape of a block, then transfer it to a sheet of cling film, roll it up as if it were a candy, sealing the edges and place in the fridge for about 3 h but overnight is better.
And voilà…the almond paste block is ready to be used!
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di FeFè!

Storage

👉If it is left over, you can freeze the block inside freezer bags or cling wrap. Before using, you just need to defrost it, first in the fridge and then at room temperature.

Tips, notes, variations, and suggestions

🟣* For those who wish to skip the tedious step of removing the skins, you can buy blanched almonds or directly the already ground raw material, namely almond flour, but I warn you that, unless it is quality or certified Sicilian, the product’s final taste will be compromised!

🟣** In some recipes, instead of water, the same amount of egg white is added, which should be lightly beaten without frothing it before being added to the powders (almond flour and powdered sugar) and processed in a planetary mixer with a paddle attachment for about 15′. Then proceed as per the recipe.

🟣The dark color of the block you see in the photo is due to the choice of using whole cane sugar for more health-conscious choices, but you should obviously use powdered sugar or at most granulated sugar, but obviously, the texture will be coarser.

🟣To give a more intense aroma and flavor to your almond paste, you can add a few drops of almond flavor to the dough, but it is absolutely optional.

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Almond Paste Pastries Sicilian Almond Tart with Dark Chocolate Ganache and Strawberries