Bunya Smoothie and Atherton Nut Cake

Bunya Smoothie and Atherton nuts

It is bunya and Atherton nut time again. We now use a cold press juicer and smoothie maker.

The smoothie

GET

2 cup of milk (cow or vegan)

2 bananas

1 avocado

5 cooked bunya 'nuts'

3 tbsp. cacao powder

A pinch of cinnamon/ vanilla (optional)

DO

Peel the fruit. Cut into small pieces that will fit into your machine. Mix the cacao powder with milk and stir. Close the chute off. Add half of the liquid into the machine, then add half of the banana and let the machine run for a while. Add  the rest of fruit pieces and milk and open the chute. Close it again then add the bunya nuts and the optional cinnamon/ vanilla. Let it run for a while, then open the chute and refrigerate for 25 min. Serve cold.

Coffee enthusiasts could of course replace the milk with strong coffee instead.

The Atherton nuts are visible if you click the picture

The cake

The delicious Atherton nut and fruit cake was prepared and baked by the North Bank Institute. There are many cake recipes here that could be utilised for an abundance of endemic nuts.

Bello Linzer torte

The Linzer torte is a shortcrust pastry filled with jam and topped with a double lattice. In Italy the Crostata is a "rustic free-form version of an open fruit tart". In Greece, Egypt, and South America they call it Pastafrola. The history of the Linzer torte goes back to Egypt and the Roman empire. It usually contains  red jam, lemon and nuts as the main ingredients for taste. Exotic ingredients like cane sugar, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla and nutmeg were only added later in Europe.

The Bello Linzer torte is adapted for local NSW ingredients. Seasonal native Davidson's plums have been made into a prize-winning jam by Jan. And Ross baked the 'rustic free-form version' of the open fruit cake. Edible Culture found the result very delicious.

GET
A 26 cm cake form ca 4 cm high

350g davidson plum jam (or any thick jam)

200 g wheat flour
125 g butter or macadamia oil
150 g macadamias or almonds, grated
125 g honey
2 egg yolks
1 sm spoon of cocoa
½ tsp cinnamon
some nutmeg
a pinch of cloves
vanilla
½ lemon peel grated
some Kirschwasser
egg and lemon rind

DO

Mix honey, nuts flour and cocoa, cinnamon cloves and vanilla in a large bowl. Form an indentation and add the egg and the kirsch liqueur in the middle. Add the butter or Macadamia oil on the edges and quickly knead into a dough. Cover it and let it rest for an hour in the fridge. Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Take two thirds and roll it over the bottom cake form. Keep some for the sides, ca 2- 3 cm high, trim edges. Roll out the remaining dough and cut it into equal strips.

Cover the casing with a thick layer of jam and lay the strips into a double lattice across the jam. Cover the lattice and margins with a mixed egg, Kirschwasser and the lemon zest.
Bake for approx. 60 minutes at 180 degrees on the second shelf from the bottom.  Let it cool on a rack in its form.

Fruit and nut cake

Get
50g dried apricots
110g blanched chopped almonds
200g sultanas
250g butter
150g honey
7 eggs
400g flour
4 tbsp rum
Butter paper and wheatgerm for the form


Do 

Butter a bread form and sprinkle with wheatgerm.
Pre-heat oven to 190°c.
Chop apricots. Mix with sultanas and mix both with a little flour.
Beat egg whites stiff, add some honey and beat again till stiff.
Beat butter and honey until smooth. Add egg yolks on at a time while beating for a few minutes. Add alternately a little flour and egg whites until a smooth mixture forms.
Then add the rest of the floor and egg whites and carefully lift under the mixture.
Add the fruit and nuts and lift under.
Add the rum and lift under.
Pour into the bread form.
Form the top into an M shape.

Bake on the second bottom shelf for 40 minutes.
Cover with parchment paper and continue baking for another 20 to 30 minutes.
Leave it in the hot oven for a further 10-20 minutes in necessary.
Test if it is baked with a wooden skewer or small narrow knife. Even if the skewer comes out clean, leave it in the turned-off oven for 10 more minutes to ensure it does not have a soggy centre.
Remove from the form and cool . Wrap in paper.

This cake lasts well even in hot weather out of the fridge. Good for camping trips.
Optional: leave out the fruit and nuts for a dry cake ('sand cake').

Banana Blueberry Cake

Get

200g organic macadamias
9 ripe bananas (more if small)
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
5 eggs separated
180g unsalted butter
about 100g flour
5 tsp baking powder (no aluminium or phosphate, quantity depends on the type of baking powder, do not use too much)

Do

Peel the bananas, cut them up.
Whip the egg whites until stiff, then add 1 tbsp honey and continue beating until stiff.
Beat the butter in a large bowl with a mixer until it is soft. Beat in alternately the egg yolks and 2 tbsp honey.
Beat well into a soft mixture.
Mix in half the banana pieces.
Grate the macadamias coarsely. Beat them into the mixture.
Add the cinnamon.
Add the flour a tablespoon at a time while beating. Alternately add the baking powder so it mixes in evenly. Only use enough flour so that the mixture is thick but still falls slowly - “heavily” - from the spoon (maybe only 3-4 tbsps). Beat well.
Lift the egg whites under the mixture. 

Preheat the oven to 190°. Butter a baking form and dust it with a little flour.
Add half of the mixture to the form and spread it evenly to cover the whole bottom. Place the remaining banana pieces on top and press in a little. Cover with the remaining mixture.
Sprinkle some fresh blueberries on top.
Bake on the 2nd shelf from the bottom for 40 minutes. If it starts to get too brown cover it with paper after 25 minutes. It should be golden. Test with a thin knife that it is cooked. The knife should come out clean. If it is not clean, return covered to the oven for another 10 minutes and test again.
Remove from form and cool.
Store in a glass dome.

It's Atherton Nut Time Again

It's Atherton nut time again. Athertonia diversifolia is a rainforest tree closely related to the macadamia. The proteaceae is endemic to north-east Queensland, but produces generously on the Mid North Coast of NSW. Nectar eating birds love the food tree.

The Atherton oak tree still has its name from a colonial pastoralist who associated it with the English oak back home. The Yidinji people of north-east Queensland who most likely have cultured the nut have their own name that might soon awake from the amnesia in the botanical nomenclature. 

The task is to get the seeds from the ground as quickly as possible. After spending some time admiring the colour/s and patterns, peel off the blue/white coat surrounding the shell. A very short time of airing the seeds and then cracking the woody seed with a hammer. The nut then has a tight coat like an almond. Pour some boiling water on them for a quick soak. Blanch like almonds.
The cripy white/ivory like nut is best consumed immediately. If they need to be stored, make sure they are dry and are kept in a sealed container in the fridge.

The taste it is said is similar to macadamia. But the oral tactile sensation of chewing the fresh nut is nothing like a macadamia or almond. Both of these nuts are quickly reduced to a mush in the mouth, whereas the Athertonia nut has different stages of decomposition. The end result is reminiscent of coconut fiber. It is delicious and like no other nut.

Should you have to store the nut for some time it might be best to roast the nuts to regain their crispness.
The empty woody shells could make for decorative mulch or craft projects.
Jan and Ross made a cake with Athertonia nuts. It was most likely the first Atherton nut cake in the universe.

Cheese Cake from Yoghurt Quark

Yoghurt

Get  

1 liter organic full-cream milk
1 tbsp live yoghurt

do

Heat the milk in a small pot slowly until bubbles appear. Turn the stove off but allow the milk to stay hot for another hour or so. This can be automated with a timer on an electric stove to switch itself off after a given amount of time (e.g. 47 minutes on setting 4).
Cool to body temperature.
Mix in the yoghurt starter culture and whisk it.
Pour into a yoghurt maker and turn it on for about 10 hours.
Cool.
Cooking the milk produces milk solids and keeping it hot promotes more solids for a thick yoghurt. The amount of time in the yoghurt maker may influence this too. When in doubt leave it longer. 

 

Quark

Pour 1 liter of refrigerated yoghurt into a large fine sieve over a large bowl. Cover it. Allow the liquid to drain off into the bowl in the fridge for 24 hours. From time to time pour off the clear liquid (whey) into a cup and continue draining.
Tip the quark from the sieve into a bowl, cover and keep cool.
Eat it fresh or use to make a cheese cake.
 

Cheese cake without pastry

Get

2 portions of quark
4 eggs
8 tbsp agave nectar
sultanas soaked overnight in lime juice (or blueberries)
9-10 tbsp spelt flour 

 

do

Preheat the oven to 180°c.
Butter a baking dish.
Drain the quark and put it in a mixing bowl.
Separate eggs.
Add egg yolks and 4 tbsp agave nectar in the middle of the quark and mix well.
Lift the flour under.
Lift the sultanas under. 

Click to enlarge

Beat the egg whites in another bowl with 4 tbsp agave nectar. Lift under.
Put mixture into the baking dish and bake on the 2nd shelf for 50 minutes. Turn the oven down to 130° and bake for a further 25 minutes until lightly golden. Turn off the oven and cool in the oven without rapidly or suddenly cooling. The cake will rise when baking and sink again when cooling.
Let it settle down for a day in the fridge. Best on the 2nd and 3rd days. And the 4th if there is any left.
Serve with blueberries.

The above cheesecake variation was created by Ross. Quark made with lemon and topped with Davidson's plum jelly.

More cheesecakes: here, here and here

Macadamia Tahitian lime sponge

get

7 large eggs
200g macadamias, medium grated
50g spelt flour
3 tsp baking powder
5 tbsp agave nectar

80g macadamias, finely grated
1 tbsp honey
1 Tahitian lime
1 tbsp agave nectar

Kaffir lime

do

For the sponge
Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Add flour and baking powder to the coarsely grated macadamia and mix.
Separate the eggs.
Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff. Add 2 tbsp agave nectar. Continue beating until very stiff.
Beat the egg yolks in a bowl until creamy. This takes a few minutes with a hand beater. Add 2 tbsp agave nectar. Continue beating until very creamy.
Gently lift the egg white mix under the egg yolk mix resulting in a light creamy foamy mixture. Lift the nut mixture gently under the egg mixture a little at a time.
Butter a 28cm baking form. Cover the bottom lightly with a sprinkle of flour.
Pour the mixture into the form and smooth the top.
Bake for about 25 minutes until golden on the second shelf from the bottom. Test using a knife or skewer which should come out clean. Turn the oven down to 150°C if necessary.

With cooling lychees

For the filling 
Medium grate the macadamias. Add 1 tbsp honey. Mix well.
Set aside  a little less than half of this macadamia-marzipan for decoration.
Add the juice of 1/2 lime to the rest. Mix into a spreadable paste.
Remove the cool cake from its form. Cut into 2 flat disks using a linen thread. Place the bottom sponge on a cake plate.
Mix the remaining lime juice with agave nectar. Dribble it evenly onto the bottom sponge.
Spread the paste evenly on top. Then place the top sponge on the filling.

Decoration
Roll out the remaining marzipan and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes appropriate to the occasion, (e.g. hearts). Arrange them on the top of the finished cake.

Serve in thin slices. Store wrapped in a linen cloth in a cold place or under glass.

Sunken Sour Cherry Nut Cake

Get
70g organic almonds
300g organic hazelnuts
8 tbsp agave nectar
3 eggs separated
125g unsalted butter
about 80g light spelt flour
1 packet Weinstein baking powder (15 - 20 g)
250g fresh dark red sour cherries

Do
Wash and pit the sour cherries. Place in a bowl to save some juice.

Grate the almonds and hazelnuts coarsely.
Preheat the oven to 190°.
Beat the soft butter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until it is smooth. Beat in alternately the egg yolks and 5 tbsp agave nectar. Beat well into a soft mixture.
Add the flour mixed with the baking powder a tablespoon at a time while beating. Beat well.

Whip the egg whites until stiff, then add the remaining agave nectar and continue beating until very stiff.
Mix some of the egg white under the mixture to keep it soft and moist.

Fold in the nut meal into the mixture gradually.
Fold in the remaining egg whites.

Butter a 28 cm baking form and dust it with a little flour.
Add the mixture to the form and spread it evenly.

Decorate with the cherries. Dribble a little of the juice on the fruit
Bake on the 2nd shelf from the bottom for 25 minutes. Cover it with paper. Turn the oven down and bake for a further 20 minutes at 150°c. It should be golden-brown on top. Test with a thin knife that it is cooked. The knife should come out clean. If it is not clean, return covered to the oven for another 10 minutes and then test again. Turn off the oven. Allow the cake to cool in the oven with the door partly open.
Remove from form onto a cake plate when cool.
Store in a linen cloth.

This sour cherry cake is a good alternative to Black Forest cake. When served with whipped cream it has a similar character, without chocolate but more nutty than the Black Forest cherry cake.

Gooseberry hazelnut cake

Get
70g organic almonds
300g organic hazelnuts
8 tbsp agave nectar
3 eggs separated
125g unsalted butter
about 100g light spelt flour
1 packet Weinstein baking powder (5 level tsp)
250g fresh ripe red gooseberries (or Cape gooseberries)

Do
Grate the almonds and hazelnuts coarsely.
Preheat the oven to 190°.
Beat the soft butter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until it is smooth. Beat in alternately the egg yolks and 5 tbsp agave nectar. Beat well into a soft mixture.
Add the flour mixed with the baking powder a tablespoon at a time while beating. Beat well.

Whip the egg whites until stiff, then add the remaining agave nectar and continue beating until very stiff.
Mix some of the egg white under the mixture to keep it soft and moist.

Click images to enlarge

Fold in some of the nut meal into the mixture gradually.
Fold in the remaining egg whites. Fold in the remaining nut meal.

Butter a 28 cm baking form and dust it with a little flour.
Add the mixture to the form and spread it evenly.

Decorate with the gooseberries. Dribble a little agave nectar on the fruit
Bake on the 2nd shelf from the bottom for 25 minutes. Cover it with paper. Turn the oven down and bake for a further 30 minutes at 120°c. It should be golden-brown on top. Test with a thin knife that it is cooked. The knife should come out clean. If it is not clean, return covered to the oven for another 10 minutes and then test again. Turn off the oven. Allow the cake to cool in the oven.
Remove from form onto a cake plate when cool.
Store in a linen cloth.

Cape gooseberries dreaming

Tip
The tangy sour gooseberries compliment the sweet nut cake. Cape gooseberries (Physalis peruvian) could be used in the southern hemisphere.

Hazelnut and cherry cake

Get
100g organic almonds
200g organic hazelnuts
8 tbsp agave nectar
4 eggs separated
150g unsalted butter
about 100g light spelt flour
1 packet Weinstein baking powder (5 level tsp)
20 large dark cherries, pitted

Do
Grate the almonds and hazelnuts coarsely.
Preheat the oven to 190°.
Beat the soft butter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until it is smooth. Beat in alternately the egg yolks and 5 tbsp agave nectar. Beat well into a soft mixture.
Add the flour mixed with the baking powder a tablespoon at a time while beating. Beat well.

Whip the egg whites until stiff, then add the remaining agave nectar and continue beating until very stiff.
Mix some of the egg white under the mixture to keep it soft and moist.

Fold in some of the nut meal into the mixture gradually.
Fold in the remaining egg whites. Fold in the remaining nut meal.

Butter a baking form and dust it with a little flour.
Add the mixture to the form and spread it evenly.
Decorate with the cherries and press them lightly into the mixture.
Bake on the 2nd shelf from the bottom for 25 minutes. Cover it with paper. Turn the oven down and bake for a further 10 minutes at 120°c. It should be golden. Test with a thin knife that it is cooked. The knife should come out clean. If it is not clean, return covered to the oven for another 10 minutes and test again. Turn off the oven.

Cool in form in the open oven.
Remove from form when cool.
Store in a linen cloth.

Note
This cake can also be made with other fruit such as black currents or plums.
Coarsely grated nuts give it a good texture but finely grated is also good.

Blueberry Banana Cake Pacific Style

The mid-north coast of NSW is converting from banana production to blueberries, so this recipe takes advantage of the presence of both fruit in one place. You can use as many blueberries as you wish.

Get
150g organic almonds
1 bowl blueberries
8 fat ripe cavendish bananas (more if small)
some lemon juice
8 tbsp agave nectar
4 eggs separated
200g unsalted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
about 150g flour
5 level tsp baking powder (no aluminium or phosphate, quantity depends on the type of baking powder, do not use too much)

Do
Roughly mash 8 bananas with some lemon juice.
Grate the almonds finely.
Preheat the oven to 190°.
Beat the soft butter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until it is smooth. Beat in alternately the egg yolks and 5 tbsp agave nectar. Beat well into a soft mixture.
Add the cinnamon.
Beat the bananas into the mixture one at a time.
Beat the almond meal into the mixture gradually.
Add the flour a tablespoon at a time while beating. Alternately add the baking powder so it mixes in evenly. Only use enough flour so that the mixture is thick but still falls slowly - “heavily” - from the spoon. Beat well.

Mix in the blueberries keeping some aside for decoration.
Whip the egg whites until stiff, then add the remaining agave nectar and continue beating until stiff.
Lift the egg whites under the mixture.
Butter a baking form and dust it with a little flour.
Add the mixture to the form and spread it evenly.
Decorate with the remaining blueberries and press them lightly into the mixture.

Vaccinium myrtillus

Bake on the 2nd shelf from the bottom for 25 minutes. Cover it with paper. Turn the oven down and bake for a further 25 minutes at 120°c. It should be golden. Test with a thin knife that it is cooked. The knife should come out clean. If it is not clean, return covered to the oven for another 10 minutes and test again. Turn off the oven.
Cool in form in the open oven.
Remove from form when cool.
Store in a linen cloth.

Sugar banana almond cake

Get
 
200g organic almonds
12 fat ripe sugar bananas (more if small)
some lemon juice
8 tbsp agave nectar
4 eggs separated
140g unsalted butter
some grated lemon rind
about 150g flour
5 tsp baking powder (no aluminium or phosphate, quantity depends on the type of baking powder, do not use too much)
1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

Do 

Peel 4 bananas, slice them and sprinkle with lemon juice. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 190°.
Beat the butter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until it is soft. Beat in alternately the egg yolks and 5 tbsp agave nectar. Beat well into a soft mixture.
Mash the remaining 8 bananas with some lemon juice. Beat them into the mixture one at a time.
Grate a little lemon rind into it. Mix in the cinnamon.
Grate the almonds finely. Beat them into the mixture gradually.
Add the flour a tablespoon at a time while beating. Alternately add the baking powder so it mixes in evenly. Only use enough flour so that the mixture is thick but still falls slowly - “heavily” - from the spoon. Beat well.
Mix in the banana slices.
Whip the egg whites until stiff, then add the remaining agave nectar and continue beating until stiff.
Lift the egg whites under the mixture.
Butter a baking form and dust it with a little flour.
Add the mixture to the form and spread it evenly.

Bake on the 2nd shelf from the bottom for 25 minutes. Cover it with paper. Turn the oven down and bake for a further 25 minutes at 140°c. It should be golden. Test with a thin knife that it is cooked. The knife should come out clean. If it is not clean, return covered to the oven for another 10 minutes and test again. Turn off the oven.
Cool in form in the open oven.
Remove from form when cool.
Store in a linen cloth.

Macadamia Lemon Sponge

It is fortunate that macadamias drop and lemons ripen at the same time. Freshly cracked white nuts and freshly picked lemons make a delicious combination in this nutty lemon sponge.

get

8 bantam eggs (or 5 large eggs)
200g macadamias, medium grated
50g spelt flour
4 tbsp agave nectar
3 Meyer lemons

50g macadamias
1 tbsp honey

1 orange

do

For the sponge
Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Grate the lemon rind into the grated macadamias. Add flour and mix.
Separate the eggs.
Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff. Add 2 tbsp agave nectar. Continue beating until very stiff.
Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl until creamy. This takes a few minutes with a hand beater. Add 2 tbsp agave nectar. Continue beating until very creamy.
Gently lift the egg yolk mix under the egg white mix resulting in a light creamy foamy mixture. Lift the nut mixture gently under the egg mixture a little at a time.
Butter a 28cm baking form. Cover the bottom lightly with a sprinkle of flour.
Pour the mixture into the form and smooth the top.
Bake for about 25 minutes until golden on the second shelf from the bottom. Test using a knife or skewer which should come out clean. Turn the oven down to 150°C if necessary.

For the filling
Medium grate the macadamias. Add the juice of 1 lemon. Add 1 tbsp honey. Mix well.
Remove the cool cake from its form. Cut into 2 flat disks using a string. Place the bottom disc on a cake plate. Juice the orange and pour the juice evenly over this. Distribute the filling evenly on top. Then place the top disc on the filling.
Serve in thin slices. Store wrapped in a linen cloth in a cold place.


Fancy extras
If you want to make this cake more fancy, make macadamia honey marzipan and roll it out thinly, larger than the cake. Place this on the cake and form it around the sides. Decorate with icing sugar mixed with lemon juice.
However the cake will then be much sweeter and it tastes perfect without this topping.

Nut cake with lemon

Get

125g butter

4 eggs, separated

4 heaped tbsp honey

200g almonds, grated
30g haselnuts, grated

150g spelt flour

1 packet Weinstein/wine stone baking powder

1 lemon
75g icing sugar

Do
Beat butter with 2 tbsp honey in a bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add egg yolks one at a time while beating.
Whip the egg whites until stiff. Add 2 tbsp honey and whip until integrated.
Add weinstein baking powder to the almonds and add the haselnuts. Mix a little.
Beat half the nuts into the butter-egg-yolk mixture. Add a little egg white and mix it in. Continue to add more nuts and small amounts of egg white until the nuts are all mixed in. Lift the remaining egg whites under the mixture.
Gradually add the flour while carefully and slowly mixing with a wooden spoon. Add just enough flour so that the mixture remains moist and light. Finely grate in the lemon rind.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Put the mixture in a buttered 28cm cake form and smooth it on top.
Bake for 25 minutes on the second shelf from the bottom.
When finished, check that the cake is baked through with a skewer or fine knife. If not, return to the oven. If it is getting dark on top, cover it with a piece of natural paper.
Remove from the form when cooled.
Make icing from icing sugar and lemon juice and decorate the cake with it.

This nut cake does not need to be too sweet. Just a touch of lemon icing complements it well.

Images:
Vincent van Gogh, Sprig of Flowering Almond Blossom in a Glass 1888

Zurbarán, Francisco de, Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose, 1633

Torta di Mandorle - Almond Cake

250g spelt flour
125g butter
7 eggs separated
3 ½   heaped tbsp honey

350g finely grated almonds
4 tbsp Apricot jam
all organic

Place flour in a bowl. Add in the middle 1 tbsp honey and 1 egg yolk. Mix into the flour with a wooden spoon. Add the butter in flakes. Mix then knead to a pastry. Cool covered with a tea towel.
Grate the almonds using a hand grater or an almond mill. Do this 100g at a time to avoid fatigue.*
Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Roll out the pastry and make a pastry shell on the bottom and sides of a 28cm round baking form with it. Cover it with grease-proof natural paper and place weights on the paper (e.g. 6 Walnuts).
Bake for about 8 minutes, until the pastry starts to lift off the baking form bottom. Remove from oven. Remove paper.

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Beat them well for a couple of minutes. Add 1 tbsp honey and continue beating until it is integrated into the egg white mixture.
Beat the egg yolks until very smooth and creamy for a few minutes. Add 1 ½ tbsp honey and continued beating until it is very creamy.
Carefully lift 150g almonds in small amounts under the egg yolk mix using a wooden spoon.
Spread the apricot jam evenly over the baked pastry shell bottom.
Pour the egg yolk mixture into the shell on top of the apricot jam. Smooth the surface.
Bake for about 8 minutes until the egg yolk mixture starts to become a little golden on top.
Remove from oven.
Beat the egg white mixture again for a short time to refresh it. Gradually add the remaining almonds and lift them under.

Add the egg white mixture to the cake on top of the partially baked egg yolk mixture. Smooth the top. Return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes until the top is lightly golden. Turn off the oven and leave the door open with the cake inside for another 30 minutes.
Remove the cake and cool.
Remove it from the cake form.

Torta di Mandorle is a layered almond cake reflecting the colours of the egg. Serve it with tea or coffee. It is an ideal cake for a picnic.

* Almonds need to be grated to get the right texture. Do not put them into a food processor. A hand grater is laboursome but worth the effort. It is good excercise and you keep control over your ingredients.