Amaretti Rosso - A Valentine's Treat
Makes approx 14
Oven temp 160c (for fan assisted)
Baking time 16 min
Ingredients
2 egg whites (approx 70g)
190g caster sugar
6 drops red food colouring gel (more if liquid)
300g ground almonds
400g icing sugar
Method
Preheat oven to 160c
Beat the egg whites until they become opaque. Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture reaches ‘ribbon’ stage.
Add the food colouring and beat for a couple of minutes until the the mixture turns a uniform colour. Gel colouring works best because it brings the most amount of colouring without adding too much extra liquid. We’re going for a deep pink/salmon colour (it’ll turn darker when it bakes).
Add the ground almond and mix by hand with a strong spatula. Then turn onto a surface and carry on kneading it by hand. You might want to wear gloves for this. There’s no gluten here, so there’s no need for a lot of kneading. You just want to arrive at a cohesive lump of almond dough.
Divide into 30g chunks and roll them between the palm of your hands until they’re nice and round. They should be about the size of a golf ball.
To sugar coat them, place a couple of tablespoons of icing sugar in the scooped palm of one hand, drop a ball of dough on it and cover with more icing sugar. Cup your other hand over it, pressing delicately to make the icing sugar cake into a thick layer around it.
Delicately place them on a baking tray lined with non-stick or baking parchment paper. Place the tray in the middle shelf of the pre-heated oven and bake for 16 minutes. Once cooled, they should be dry and crunchy outside, with a soft chewy... and bright red... inside. If you'd prefer yours to be crunchier, place them back i the oven for a second bake (same temperature and time). Let them cool on the tray before you eat them.
Recipe based on Manuel Monade's recipe, from Bread Ahead Bakery