Gevulde speculaas (5 December 2021)

 Also in Spain it is 5 december. Homemade speculaas following a recipe of an Israeli-British chef (Ottolenghi) using all the original Eastern spices. You cannot get more fusion than that!

From: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/11/easter-recipes-yotam-ottolenghi

Gevulde speculaas

You'll have more spice mixture than you need for these biscuits, but it will keep well in a sealed jar. Not until 5 December, perhaps, but certainly long enough to use in other biscuits over the coming weeks; it's also lovely with stewed cherries or plums. I thank Hennie Franssen, who translates my books into Dutch, for this marvellous recipe. Serves eight.

For the spice mix

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground aniseed

¾ tsp ground white pepper

¾ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cardamom

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

For the dough

120g unsalted butter, softened 

100g soft golden sugar

1-2 tbsp full-fat milk

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 

180g plain flour, plus extra to dust

Salt

For the almond paste

200g blanched and peeled almonds

150g caster sugar

1 egg

2 tsp lemon juice

Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon

60g mixed candied peel

To decorate

50g blanched almonds

1 egg, lightly beaten

Mix together all the ingredients for the spice mix and set aside.

For the dough, put 100g of the butter in a large bowl with the sugar and a tablespoon of milk. Beat until smooth, then add the bicarbonate, four teaspoons of the spice mix, the flour and one-third of a teaspoon of salt. Mix to a firm, elastic dough, adding more milk only if needed. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate.

For the almond paste, put the nuts in a food processor and blitz for a minute: you don't want them completely smooth. Add the sugar, egg and lemon juice, and blitz again, until slightly smoother but still grainy. Add the lemon zest and candied peel and blitz once or twice, just to mix through. The paste should be sticky and softer than the dough, but still hold its shape. Transfer to a small bowl.

Heat the oven to 170C/335F/gas mark 3. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to a 20cm x 40cm rectangle that's 0.5cm thick. You will need to keep dusting with flour to prevent it from sticking. Transfer it to a 40cm x 30cm parchment-lined baking tray. Melt the remaining 20g of butter and brush two-thirds of it over the dough. Spoon a 6cm-wide sausage of almond paste lengthways down the centre of the dough from top to bottom, and brush this with the remaining butter. Lift the lefthand side of the dough over the paste, then bring in the righthand side on top so that the two sides slightly overlap. Press gently to secure, then carefully turn the whole thing over so the seal is at the bottom, a bit like a giant sausage roll. Brush evenly and lightly with beaten egg, arrange the whole almonds on top and brush again with egg.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the dough begins to colour and the almonds are golden. Don't be alarmed when the roll flattens out: that's meant to happen. Leave to cool for 15 minutes, then slice and serve warm or at room temperature.