Almond Fruit Cake
An elegant cake layered with canned fruit on a base of almond cream and small pastry shells.
Ingredients
Small pastry shell (softened to room temperature)
60g
Waterless small pastry shell (no water added)
60g
Almond cream (mixed into paste)
70g
Glossy fruit jam (used after boiling)
to taste
Almond paste or sliced almonds (for decoration)
to taste
Milk custard (boiled then cooled)
330ml
Fruit (strawberries, peaches, sour cherries)
to taste
Instructions
1
Make the small pastry shell
Soften the butter to room temperature and beat with an electric mixer until white and creamy. Add the sugar all at once and mix in, then add water drop by drop until it is fully incorporated into the butter. Add the vanilla extract and beat until no sugar granules remain. Add the flour all at once and gently fold it in with a stiff piece of paper or a dough scraper until a paste forms. Chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. Sprinkle flour on the work surface, knead the dough together by hand, press and roll it out to a thickness of about 2.5 cm, then let it rest for 30 minutes to expand to 3 cm thick.
2
Make the waterless small pastry shell
The method is the same as for the small pastry shell; the only difference is that no water is added during preparation. Using more sugar yields a moister pastry and a more attractive color after baking.
3
Make the almond cake base
Cut the small pastry with a 6 cm wavy round cutter and press the rounds into buttered small round molds. Place a small fingertip-sized dollop of almond paste into each. Cream the butter into a paste, add the sugar, and mix evenly. Beat the egg and stir it into the butter mixture, then add the almond flour and mix until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe into the small round molds, filling them about eight-tenths full. Place 5-6 sliced almonds on the surface and bake in a 180°C oven for about 15 minutes to make the cake base.
4
Make the glossy fruit glaze
Gently heat the glossy fruit jam ingredients together. Remove the baked cake base from the mold and, while still warm, brush the hot glaze over the surface with a brush.
5
Make the fruit cake
Line the small round mold with the waterless pastry shell. Pour in the almond cream to about half the depth of the mold and bake in a 180°C oven for about 15 minutes. Cool, then unmold. Transfer the cream filling to a piping bag and pipe it over the surface of the cake base, then arrange the canned fruit and strawberries on top to finish the fruit cake.
