Making the paste
- Take seven ounces of blanched and well-dried Jordan almonds and one ounce of bitter almonds.
- Pound the almonds to a perfect paste with a few drops of white of egg or orange-flower water.
- Mix the almond paste thoroughly with one pound of flour and eight ounces of cool, firm butter.
- Break down the butter into the flour and almond mixture until small.
- Add eight ounces of pounded sugar, some of which has had the rind of a fine lemon rasped onto it before being crushed to powder.
- Make these ingredients into a paste with the yolks of four eggs (or fewer if they are large, to prevent the paste from being too moist and sticking to the board and roller).
Making large Venetian cakes
- Roll the paste less than a quarter of an inch thick.
- Cut six or seven portions of equal size using a large fluted cutter.
- Lay the cut portions on lightly floured or buttered tins.
- Bake in a slow oven until the cakes are firm, crisp, and equally pale brown.
- While still warm, if they seem to require it, lay them one on the other.
- Place a baking-tin with a slight weight on top to render them quite level.
- When cold, spread a different kind of choice preserve on each cake.
- Pile the whole evenly into the form of an entire cake.
- Optionally, ice the top and decorate with pistachio-nuts, coloured sugar grains, or almond-paste leaves.
Making small Venetian cakes
- Roll the paste (prepared as for the large cakes) into balls.
- Flatten the balls with the hand to about the third of an inch thick.
- Brush the flattened cakes with beaten egg.
- Cover them plentifully with white sugar-candy crushed to about half the size of a pea.
- Bake in a slow oven.
Alternative construction for Venetian cakes
- The cake can be made entirely of almond-paste and highly decorated.
- It can also be formed of many layers of puff or fine short crust, cut to uniform size or gradually smaller.
- This creates a clear border of an inch wide around each layer, which can be covered with coloured icing or ornamented with preserved fruit, tinted almonds, or sugar candy.
FINE VENETIAN CAKE OR CAKES.
Take of sound Jordan almonds, blanched and well dried at the mouth of a cool oven or in a sunny window, seven ounces, full weight, and one of bitter almonds with them; pound the whole to a perfect paste with a few drops of white of egg or orange-flower water; then mix them thoroughly with one pound of flour and eight ounces of butter (which should be cool and firm, or it will render the paste too soft), and break this down quite small; then 548add eight ounces of pounded sugar, on part of which the rind of a fine lemon has been rasped previously to its being crushed to powder. Make these into a paste with the yolks of four eggs, or with rather less should they be large, for if too moist, it will adhere to the board and roller. To make a Venetian cake of moderate size, roll the paste less than a quarter of an inch thick, and cut with the larger fluted cutter, shown at page 376, six or seven portions of equal size; lay them on lightly floured or buttered tins, and bake them in a slow oven until they are firm and crisp, and equally coloured of a pale brown. Should they seem to require it, lay them one on the other, while they are still warm, and place a baking-tin, with a slight weight upon them to render them quite level. When they are cold, spread upon each a different kind of choice preserve, and pile the whole evenly into the form of an entire cake. The top may be iced, and decorated with pistachio-nuts, or grains of coloured sugar, or with a wreath of almond-paste leaves. There are many varieties of this dish, which is known by different names in different countries. It is sometimes called a Neapolitan Cake, sometimes a Thousand Leaf Cake à la Française. It is occasionally made entirely of almond-paste, and highly decorated; it may be formed also of many layers of puff or fine short crust cut of uniform size, or gradually less, so as to leave round each a clear border of an inch wide, which may be covered with coloured icing, or ornamented with preserved fruit, tinted almonds, grains of white or pink sugar candy, or aught else that the fancy may direct.
To make the small Venetian cakes, roll the paste directed for the large one at the commencement of this receipt, into balls, flatten them with the hand to about the third of an inch thick, brush them with beaten egg, and cover them plentifully with white sugar-candy crushed about half the size of a pea: bake them in a slow oven.
Almonds, 8 oz.; flour, 1 lb.; butter, 8 oz.; sugar, 1/2 lb.; rind of 1 lemon; yolks of eggs, 3 to 4; preserve as needed.