Nadiya Hussain’s Raspberry Amaretti Biscuits
Nadiya Hussain's raspberry amaretti biscuit recipe, as seen on her BBC2 series Nadiya Bakes, make this classic Italian almond-based treat easier than ever to make.
From the book
Nadiya Bakes
A collection of all new baking recipes accompanied by gorgeous photography
Packed with cakes, pies, and puddings to warm the heart and lift the spirits
Including mouthwatering savoury bakes as well as irresistible sweets
Introduction
Amaretti are a biscuit that people seem slightly afraid to make. Just because they are often found for sale in beautiful tins with crunchy cellophane and fancy bows doesn’t mean they are difficult or tricky to create at home. In fact, home-made amaretti are the best, these ones in particular, which are soft and delicious and almondy, with a subtle hint of raspberry all the way through and a hidden raspberry in the centre. These too can be given as a gift. Just remind your recipients that they don’t hang about and want to be eaten straight away because of the fresh fruit. If you want these to last longer you can use freezedried raspberries instead of fresh.
Ingredients
| butter, for greasing the trays | |
| 4 | medium egg whites |
| 340g | caster sugar |
| 340g | ground almonds |
| 2 x 9g tubes of | freeze-dried raspberries, blitzed to a powder |
| 1 tsp | almond extract |
| 20 | small fresh raspberries (or see introduction) |
| 200g | icing sugar |
Method
Start by preheating the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/ gas 5 and lining two large baking trays with baking paper, greasing them just very slightly to allow the paper to stick to the tray and not go flying.
Now get on to making the biscuit paste mixture by whisking the egg whites in a large clean bowl until they are firm. Add the sugar and fold through gently using a spatula or metal spoon. Add the almonds along with the blitzed-up raspberry powder and almond extract and mix thoroughly until you have an even paste.
Have the icing sugar at the ready along with the raspberries. Take a heaped tablespoon of mixture, about 40g if you want to be precise, and shape it into a flat round disc. Wrap the disc around a raspberry to form a ball shape, pinching it together underneath so that the raspberry is completely enclosed. The paste may crack a bit along the top, but don’t worry.
Drop each ball into the icing sugar and roll around until fully and generously coated. Place seam-side down on the baking trays, making sure they are about 2cm apart, as they will spread just a little.
Now bake these for 12–15 minutes until they are just lightly golden. Take them out and leave to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
