Nigella Lawson must be my favorite when it comes to cooking and baking. I was watching her christmas program today and this lady is just gorgeous. Not only does she has great looks, but she simply loves what she is doing and shows her expressions for that in an amazingly way. Her love for every single spice and ingredient makes me view all this in a new and inspring way. I have seen a lot of cooks and bakers do their work, but Nigella has something magical going on when she makes food and goodies. You can feel the love in every word, movement and expression of her which can make anyone wish they could cook, bake and east as Nigella.
Anyways, back to reality and an amateur baker as me, I made these almond squares some time back. These sweet pastry-based cakes have a moist almond and glace (candied) cherry topping and are some lovely bites for coffee. The candied cherries I bought was canned and very dark in color which kind of ruined the beautiful color combination of the cakes. Try to look for candied cherries that are not canned or atleast nice red in color. I found the recipe in one of my favorite baking books "Cakes and Cake decorating" by Rosemary Wadey from 1979. Yes, this book is pretty old, but as they say "old is gold" and this recipe book is a gold discovery. My daddy brought it from England back in the 1970's and it has recipe of the best moist and perfect chocolate cake ever which I will post very soon.
Makes about 12 pieces
Anyways, back to reality and an amateur baker as me, I made these almond squares some time back. These sweet pastry-based cakes have a moist almond and glace (candied) cherry topping and are some lovely bites for coffee. The candied cherries I bought was canned and very dark in color which kind of ruined the beautiful color combination of the cakes. Try to look for candied cherries that are not canned or atleast nice red in color. I found the recipe in one of my favorite baking books "Cakes and Cake decorating" by Rosemary Wadey from 1979. Yes, this book is pretty old, but as they say "old is gold" and this recipe book is a gold discovery. My daddy brought it from England back in the 1970's and it has recipe of the best moist and perfect chocolate cake ever which I will post very soon.
Makes about 12 pieces
Calories: ~ 1816
each piece: ~ 151
I n g r e d i e n t s :
75 g allpurpose flour
pinch of salt
25 g sugar
50 g butter or margarine
75 g glace cherries (halved, rinsed and dried)
icing sugar for dredging
Topping
50 g butter or margarine
1 egg, beaten
50 g ground almonds
almond essence
Lightly grease a shallow 20 cm square cake tin.
1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and mix in the sugar
2. Add the butter/margarine and rub in until the mixture binds together
3. Press the dough into the bottom of the tin and arrange the cherries over it
Topping
1. Cream the butter/margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy
2. Beat in the egg
3. Mix in the ground almonds and a few drops of almond essence (extract) and spread over the cherries
Bake in a moderately hot oven at 190C for about 40 minutes or until just set and golden brown.
Cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn carefully onto a wire rack. When cold, dredge with icing sugar and cut into squares.
each piece: ~ 151
I n g r e d i e n t s :
75 g allpurpose flour
pinch of salt
25 g sugar
50 g butter or margarine
75 g glace cherries (halved, rinsed and dried)
icing sugar for dredging
Topping
50 g butter or margarine
1 egg, beaten
50 g ground almonds
almond essence
Lightly grease a shallow 20 cm square cake tin.
1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and mix in the sugar
2. Add the butter/margarine and rub in until the mixture binds together
3. Press the dough into the bottom of the tin and arrange the cherries over it
Topping
1. Cream the butter/margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy
2. Beat in the egg
3. Mix in the ground almonds and a few drops of almond essence (extract) and spread over the cherries
Bake in a moderately hot oven at 190C for about 40 minutes or until just set and golden brown.
Cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn carefully onto a wire rack. When cold, dredge with icing sugar and cut into squares.
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