Aunt Kate’s Kitchen: From meringues to cinnamon cake, you’ll go nuts for these 1930s almond baking recipes

Whether it’s at Christmas or Easter, almonds make an appearance in bakes throughout the year – try out these three recipes using them.

Almonds are so versatile they can be used in bakes all year round, and have been for many decades.

Aunt Kate, the “original domestic goddess” who wrote recipes for the People’s Journal and the People’s Friend from the 1880s-1960s, was no stranger to this.

Using the sweet nut, Aunt Kate was able to make a vast array of recipes, including the three below – horsehoes, meringue pastries and an almond and cinnamon cake.

For more inspiration, take a look at our Aunt Kate bakes from previous weeks here.

Almond Horseshoes

Ingredients

• ¼ lb (approx 115g) flour
• 2 oz (approx 55g) sugar
• 2 oz butter
• 1 egg yolk
• Milk
• Shredded almonds
• Almond flavouring

Method

1. Sieve the flour and sugar into a basin. Rub in the butter with your finger tips until it is free from lumps.
2. Beat the egg yolk with two or three drops of almond flavouring then add it to the dry ingredients, along with enough milk to bind it all together.
3. Knead until smooth and roll out on the floured board until ¼ inch in thickness. Then, with two round cutters, one smaller than the other, cut the paste into horseshoe shapes.
4. Place them on a greased and floured tin and bake in a moderate oven (180-190C) until crisp and brown.
5. Then brush over them with beaten egg white.
6. Sprinkle thickly with shredded almonds and return to the oven until the almonds are a golden colour.

Almond meringues

Ingredients

• Flaky pastry
• 2 oz (approx 55g) castor sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 2 oz almonds
• Raspberry jam

Method

1. Roll out the pastry very thinly. Cut into small rounds and bake on a greased tin.
2. When cool, spread them with raspberry jam. Mix the stiffly whipped egg whites with an ounce of sugar. Spread quickly over the jam.
3. Sift the rest of the sugar on top then sprinkle with the almonds, blanched and chopped finely.
4. Brown delicately in a slow oven (approx 150-160C).

Almond cinnamon cake

Ingredients

• 1¾ cups flour
• ½ cup butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 3 oz (approx 85g) blanched, shredded almonds
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup milk

Method

1. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream.
2. Slowly stir in the egg yolks, then the flour, cinnamon and baking powder sifted together.
3. Fold in the stiffly-frothed egg whites and the shredded almonds, and bake in a greased tin.

More in this series…