Mum’s Home-made Almond Paste
When you have made your Christmas Cake (which ideally should have been done 4-6 weeks ago!) it will need to be covered with almond paste about a week before Christmas. Home-made almond marzipan is very different from the bought variety and well worth going to the trouble to make. In fact it is simple with a food processor. Apricot jam warmed gently in a saucepan and brushed over top and sides of cake will help stick the marzipan to cake. These quantities are enough to cover an 8”/20 cm cake on the top and around the sides to a thickness of about 1/4”/ 5 mm.
Ingredients:
12 oz (340 g) ground almonds
6 oz (170 g) caster sugar
6 oz (170 g) caster sugar
Few drops vanilla essence, and almond essence
A little sherry or brandy
3 large egg yolks
Preparation:
Stir all together in a mixer, roll out or press onto cake with fingers. Cover with cling
film and allow 2 days to dry before icing with Royal Icing.
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Theo Hodges
Theo Hodges was born in Kent. After a degree in Graphic Design she joined J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency as an Art Director working on accounts such as Rowntrees, Kraft and The Butter Council. While she was at University in Perugia, Italy she started collecting recipes from friends and family. In 1980 she set up her own design agency: Theo Hodges Design Consultants. For many years when they were young Theo, her sister and six cousins used to spend vacations at her Grandmother’s Victorian vicarage in Kent. ‘The thing about remembering childhood’ she says, is ‘there’s a whole lot of oblivion, and then out of it something floats up, quite sharp and clear. Many of the meals I can still see vividly and various recipes of mine were originally from Granny’s kitchen. ‘The kitchen garden was stuffed with raspberries, huge red dessert gooseberries, strawberries, runner beans, peas and much more with the hens in a shed at the back. But Granny only ate chicken breast and runner beans, followed by raspberries and Jersey cream - and therefore so did we. When raspberries were out of season, and in those days the season was much shorter, Granny made Victoria sponge cakes sandwiched with cream and home-made raspberry jam. On this limited but delicious diet we all thrived’. Theo’s mother was an excellent cook as well, and had been taught by the house- keeper at their house in Mougins, South of France. And once rationing was withdrawn in England in 1952 and good, fresh ingredients became available again, she amassed an enormous number of recipes which has formed the basis for Theo’s collection of family desserts.