What recipes work well with almond flour? Are any forgiving?
October 31, 2021 10:16 AM Subscribe
I would love to do some baking with almond flour, such as making cookies or something similar to banana bread. Are there any recipes that you recommend, and which are ideally a bit forgiving? Recipes that require exact measuring are not ideal for this. Thanks!
Linzertorte. It says hazelnuts, but many recipes call for almonds and I always used almond flour.
This recipe requires measuring in the sense of "two cups of X" but isn't a recipe that will fail if you don't, like, weigh your ingredients. I used to make this all the time because it's easy to make vegan.
This recipe makes two tarts but I used to make it in a 9"x13" cake pan.
If you're like me and a total klutz with pastry, you can just pat the dough into the pan with your hands as evenly as possible. Then roll out the rest of the dough to the best of your ability, but don't worry about getting it perfectly thin. I never made a lattice - I cut it into squares and rectangles and just laid them on top of the jam in a pleasing random pattern. You can also use a cookie cutter and make stars or hearts and distribute them over the jam. Baking time is pretty forgiving since it's a fatty nut pastry base.
This cuts up into bars if you bake it in a cake pan.
posted by Frowner at 10:32 AM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
This recipe requires measuring in the sense of "two cups of X" but isn't a recipe that will fail if you don't, like, weigh your ingredients. I used to make this all the time because it's easy to make vegan.
This recipe makes two tarts but I used to make it in a 9"x13" cake pan.
If you're like me and a total klutz with pastry, you can just pat the dough into the pan with your hands as evenly as possible. Then roll out the rest of the dough to the best of your ability, but don't worry about getting it perfectly thin. I never made a lattice - I cut it into squares and rectangles and just laid them on top of the jam in a pleasing random pattern. You can also use a cookie cutter and make stars or hearts and distribute them over the jam. Baking time is pretty forgiving since it's a fatty nut pastry base.
This cuts up into bars if you bake it in a cake pan.
posted by Frowner at 10:32 AM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
I just substitute a quarter-cup of the recipe's flour with almond meal, whenever making any kind of nutty cookies, including chocolate chip.
posted by Rash at 10:37 AM on October 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Rash at 10:37 AM on October 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
I just made scones this morning using almond flour. I substitute about a third of the flour for almond meal. I never use a recipe for scones. I mix the dry ingredients (flour, almond meal, a little sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt), cut in cold butter and add a beaten egg and milk until I get the consistency I want (firm not wet) to form a round. Cut 'em into wedges and bake at 400 for about 16-20 minutes.
posted by perhapses at 11:16 AM on October 31, 2021
posted by perhapses at 11:16 AM on October 31, 2021
Nigella Lawson’s clementine cake is my go-to cake. It’s so easy and foolproof it will spoil all other cake recipes for you. Wonderfully moist and delicious.
https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/clementine-cake/
posted by redlines at 11:47 AM on October 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/clementine-cake/
posted by redlines at 11:47 AM on October 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
Try just regular roll cookies or shortbread cookies, and substitute almond flour for 1/3 of the wheat flour in the recipe, as a starting attempt. You could probably get away with more -- the dough might not hold together as much, but it will still be tasty. Recipes with a little more egg may hold together a bit better than those that rely on wheat flour for consistency. Try using almond extract for flavoring to double-down on the almond theme and bring out the flavor.
Linzertorte is a great idea already mentioned above.
Lots of rich, flourless traditional tortes are made entirely with almond--or hazelnut--flour. That also makes many of them gluten-free by definition, if that's of interest. You will find yourself separating a lot of eggs, beating egg whites, and folding in the nut flour/butter/chocolate batter.
If you can get hold of Lilly Joss Reich's Viennese Pastry Bakebook, you'll find multiple great ideas. I've relied on it as a resource for decades. Probably most books on Austrian, Hungarian, general central European baking will have lots of recipes to try.
Once you're comfortable with almond flour, hazelnut flour works the same way, and is absolutely amazing in any chocolate-heavy recipe.
posted by gimonca at 11:52 AM on October 31, 2021
Linzertorte is a great idea already mentioned above.
Lots of rich, flourless traditional tortes are made entirely with almond--or hazelnut--flour. That also makes many of them gluten-free by definition, if that's of interest. You will find yourself separating a lot of eggs, beating egg whites, and folding in the nut flour/butter/chocolate batter.
If you can get hold of Lilly Joss Reich's Viennese Pastry Bakebook, you'll find multiple great ideas. I've relied on it as a resource for decades. Probably most books on Austrian, Hungarian, general central European baking will have lots of recipes to try.
Once you're comfortable with almond flour, hazelnut flour works the same way, and is absolutely amazing in any chocolate-heavy recipe.
posted by gimonca at 11:52 AM on October 31, 2021
Best answer: https://food52.com/recipes/64554-torta-caprese-chocolate-and-almond-flourless-cake
This almond flour chocolate cake is delicious and very easy - I think it'd be pretty forgiving as far as measuring goes!
posted by euphoria066 at 12:36 PM on October 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
This almond flour chocolate cake is delicious and very easy - I think it'd be pretty forgiving as far as measuring goes!
posted by euphoria066 at 12:36 PM on October 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
I am also a person who will just sub almond flour into recipes by replacing one quarter to a third cup of flour. This works great with waffles, to which I also add orange zest and a tiny bit of almond extract.
posted by oneirodynia at 12:51 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by oneirodynia at 12:51 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Ricciarelli are like unfussy macaroons - come together in minutes and absolutely delicious.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 2:02 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by I claim sanctuary at 2:02 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Recommend this, esp. for desserts: The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:26 PM on October 31, 2021
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:26 PM on October 31, 2021
We make almond cake; I don't know where the recipe is from, but it's easy and delicious:
1½ cups almond flour
4 eggs, separated, at room temp
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon zest
Grease a 9" diameter baking pan and line its bottom with parchment paper
Combine the egg yolks and the sugar, beat until thick and creamy
Fold in the almond flour and lemon zest
In a second bowl beat the egg whites to stiff-peak
Fold the egg whites into the almond mix a bit at a time until just smooth
Put the mix in the baking pan. Bake at 350°F until top is firm (about half an hour)
Rest for 15 mins then turn out. Sprinkle powdered sugar.
posted by anadem at 7:53 PM on October 31, 2021
1½ cups almond flour
4 eggs, separated, at room temp
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon zest
Grease a 9" diameter baking pan and line its bottom with parchment paper
Combine the egg yolks and the sugar, beat until thick and creamy
Fold in the almond flour and lemon zest
In a second bowl beat the egg whites to stiff-peak
Fold the egg whites into the almond mix a bit at a time until just smooth
Put the mix in the baking pan. Bake at 350°F until top is firm (about half an hour)
Rest for 15 mins then turn out. Sprinkle powdered sugar.
posted by anadem at 7:53 PM on October 31, 2021
When my buddy was doing keto, he made a sugar-free cheesecake with an almond flour crust. It was really good! And I never would have guessed it was sugar-free.
posted by panama joe at 10:06 PM on October 31, 2021
posted by panama joe at 10:06 PM on October 31, 2021
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posted by janell at 10:30 AM on October 31, 2021