Almond crunch: the recipe for the delicious Christmas cake

He almond crunch it’s a my dear typical of the local pastry, made with almonds and sugar, appreciated by young and old. Inevitable in Christmas timeand ubiquitous on the stalls of festive markets, it can be reproduced at home without any difficulty, even by those who are new to cooking.

To pack it, we start from caramelhere made according to the “dry method”, which consists of dissolving the sugar directly in a saucepan, without adding water and with a line of lemon juice: optional ingredient, but important to guarantee the preparation a beautiful amber color and facilitate the fusion of sucrose.

Then add the almonds, lightly toasted in the oven and, finally, spread the mixture obtained in a thin layer, and wait for it to harden: the result will be a delicious and irresistible snack, to be cut into small pieces and chewable to tasteor wrap with a ribbon and give to guests.

Crispy has rather uncertain origins. Widespread throughout Italy, especially in the south-central regionsaccording to some sources accredited by an Iberian text of the fourteenth century, would have been designed by Spanish pastry chefs in the second half of the fifteenth century. According to others, however, the dessert, created in the thirteenth century, would have southern origins and would derive from an Arabic specialty obtained by mixing almonds, honey, spices and sugar.

We offer you the traditional version here, but from one city to another it is possible to find it in many variations: flavored with citrus fruits, cinnamonwith anise, or prepared with a mixture of dried fruits.

Find out how to prepare the almond crispy by following the step-by-step procedure and tips. If you liked this recipe, also try the almond nougat, the praline hazelnuts or the giurgiulena.

How to prepare the almond crunch

Spread the almonds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper 1.

Place the almonds in a preheated oven at 180°C and cook for a maximum of 5 minutes. 2: Be careful not to grill them too much, otherwise they will be excessively hard.

Squeeze the lemon 3 and get 20 ml of juice.

Pour the lemon juice into a non-stick pan 4.

Add sugar 5put on the fire and cook over medium heat.

When the sugar starts bubbling to the surface 6 and it has reached a temperature of 170°C, remove it from the heat. For this operation, we advise you to bring a kitchen thermometer: you will be able to monitor the caramel and prevent it from burning.

Pour the almonds into the now ready caramel and mix well with a spatula 7.

Quickly spread the mixture obtained on a dish lined with a micro-perforated silicone mat 8 or, alternatively, on waxed paper: be sure to spread the crisp in a thin layer so that the caramel crystallizes evenly, then let it sit until completely cooled.

Once crystallized 9divide the crisp into bars or cut into squares with a smooth, sharp knife.

Arrange the crisp on a serving platter tenand serve.

Alternatively, wrap the breakable with wax paper and colored tape 11and give it as a welcome gift.

Tips

The caramel, on cooling, tends to solidify, so it will be necessary to pay attention to the preparation times and mix it with the almonds when it is still very hot.

If you wish, you can add caramelized sugar while cooking the honeyed, which will improve the resistance of the crispy to humidity, prolonging its life and ensuring an impeccable crispy effect. In any case, whatever your choice, we suggest you get one. kitchen thermometer: in this way it will be possible to monitor the temperature of the caramel without the risk of burning it.

In addition to almonds you can opt for something else dried fruit according to your taste like hazelnuts or pistachios, or you can enrich the dessert with orange or lemon zest, and melted dark chocolate: to be used as a cover once the crisp has cooled.

storage room

The almond crunch is preserved For me, yestightly closed in a tin can, in a cool, dry place: the heat, in fact, would melt the sugar, while the humidity in the refrigerator could damage the caramel.