Pasta Reale

Royal Almond Pastry

1/2 cup almonds, peeled
3/4 cup glucose
2 cups, 2 oz. sugar
1 tbs. orange-flower water

Pound the almonds in a mortar with a pestle, gradually adding 1/2 cup sugar. Bring the remaining sugar and glucose to a boil until it reaches a soft ball stage of caramel. Pour the sugar syrup over the almonds in a thin stream while stirring. When the syrup is well mixed in, add the orange-flower water.

Turn the dough out onto a marble board. Let cool, then roll out. Fold and roll the pastry as you would with pie dough, until smooth and homogeneous. Refrigerate and use as needed.

Note: Almond pastry is used to line molds and decorate desserts. It is also the basis for fancy-shaped almond pastry fruit. This is first dried for several days and then painted with food coloring and Arabic gum dissolved in water and brushed over the fruit.