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Almond Slice

February 25, 2022 By Amy 25 Comments

Recipe originally published May 2017. Updated and republished in February 2022.

Almond Slice recipe from Baking with Granny.

A sure sign of a recipe being a winner is when half of it is gone before I even manage to get photos! I knew the kids would like Almond Slice, given their love for Mr Kipling Bakewell Slices but I hadn’t anticipated making two batches within a few days.

If I’m being completely honest, I’m not too big a fan of almonds in baking. I can happily munch through an entire bag of whole almonds but when it comes to baking with them, I just get reminded of marzipan which is something I am most definitely not a fan of! I’m not entirely sure what it is about marzipan but I just can’t seem to grow any degree of fondness for it.

That being said, even I could appreciate the simplicity of these lovely little slices. Of course my favourite part is the pastry base; a sweet shortcrust, smothered in raspberry jam. But then you have the cake-like top; an almond sponge, slightly denser than what you would want on it’s own but paired with the jam and pastry, it has the perfect amount of bounce and bite. Finished with some crispy flaked almonds, which catch just a little bit of colour and extra flavour as the Almond Slice bakes.

“Perfect, absolutely perfect. Lovely recipe will be using it again.”

This perfect tea-time treat is much easier to make than what you’d possibly expect when looking at the end result. But trust me when I say they are a deceivingly easy bake, especially when you break each layer down into stages and tackle them each one at a time.

Almond Slice recipe from Baking with Granny.

Ingredients:

The Pastry
The bottom of Almond Slice is a sweet shortcrust pastry. Super simple to make with just some flour, butter/margarine, sugar and a little cold water.
You want your butter to be cold. And if you prefer to use margarine just be sure to use a block margarine, as opposed to a spread.
Alternatively, you can use a ready-roll shortcrust pastry, if you are tight on time or simply want to make things easier.

Raspberry Jam
Keeping things traditional with the choice of raspberry jam, although you can of course use whatever kind of jam you’d like, or have to hand. Seedless is generally preferable though, for the best final texture.

Margarine
Like most sponge cakes, margarine is the best fat to use. Some believe butter gives a better flavour to a cake, but margarine does make a better textured and more predictable sponge.
When it comes to what kind of margarine; a soft-spread or baking margarine is best. And as with all ingredients when baking any kind of sponge cake, ensure it is at room temperature before starting.

Caster Sugar
Of course these little slices need some sweetness. Caster sugar is the sugar of choice here and is preferable over granulated sugar, as it is finer and mixes better into the sponge batter.

Ground Almonds
Of course, an almond slice needs some almonds! Not only do ground almonds lend their flavour to the sponge of the slice, they also give it a slightly denser texture, whilst helping to maintain moisture.

Self-raising Flour
Again, flour is a must in any cake batter and self-raising is used here to allow the cake topping to rise a little.

Free-range Eggs
Eggs are the binder that brings all the sponge ingredients together. The size of the eggs doesn’t matter too much (I always use medium) but just be sure you’re using free-range eggs.
As with all ingredients when baking any kind of sponge cake, ensure they are at room temperature before starting.

Flaked Almonds
The instantly iconic topping of any good Almond Slice. Use as much or as little as you’d like, to suit your own taste.


Almond Slice recipe from Baking with Granny.
Almond Slice recipe from Baking with Granny.
Granny’s Top Tips

• Blind baking your pastry is a must and I highly recommend it to avoid a soggy bottom, which is otherwise guaranteed due to the jam layer on top of the pastry.

• Be generous with your jam layer. It’s the jam that really adds character to these little almond slices, so don’t be stingy! And if you want to make your almond slice extra special, why not throw on a handful of fresh raspberries also?

Almond Slice recipe from Baking with Granny.

Almond Slice

Also known as Bakewell Slice.
4.91 from 10 votes
Print Rate
Author: Baking with Granny

Ingredients 

For the Pastry Base

  • 225 g Plain Flour
  • 100 g Butter/Margarine (cold)
  • 30 g Caster Sugar
  • 2-3 tbsp Cold Water

For the Sponge

  • 200 g Seedless Raspberry Jam
  • 100 g Margarine (at room temperature)
  • 100 g Caster Sugar
  • 100 g Ground Almonds
  • 100 g Self-raising Flour
  • 2 Free-range Eggs
  • Handful of Flaked Almonds

Instructions

For the Pastry

  • In a large bowl, rub the butter and flour with your fingers. Once it resembles bread crumbs, add the sugar and mix until combined.
  • Gradually add the cold water a spoonful at a time, continuing to mix with your hands, bringing together to form a dough. You may not need all the water, or you may need a little extra – this can even vary from batch-to-batch.
  • Continue to mix the dough in your hands until well formed. Turn out onto work surface, lightly dusted with flour. Gently knead until your dough is smooth.
  • Wrap the dough in cling film and pop in the fridge for at least and hour to firm-up before use.

For the Almond Slice

  • Pre-heat your oven to 190°c (or 170°c for a fan assisted oven or Gas Mark 5) and grease a 11×7 inch baking tin generously with some margarine/butter. Set aside.
  • Remove your pre-made pastry from the fridge and roll on a floured surface to around 5mm thick. Transfer to your pre-greased tin, pushing the pastry into the edges. Trim the excess and line the pastry with some greaseproof paper before filling with baking beans. Blind bake the pastry for 10 minutes to give the bottom a head start and avoid a soggy pastry.
  • Following the blind bake – and once cool enough to do so – remove the baking beans and top the pastry with the Raspberry Jam, evenly spreading over the pastry.
  • In a large bowl, cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add the ground almonds and self-raising flour, mixing together before adding the eggs one at a time, continuing to mix to make a smooth batter.
  • Spoon the batter on top of your jam-topped pastry and spread. evenly, ensuring to get right to the edges and corners. Top with a generous handful of flaked almonds.
  • Bake in your pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and spongy in appearance.
  • Once completely cool, using a sharp knife, cut into individual slices.
Tried this recipe?Tag @bakingwithgranny or use the hashtag #bakingwithgranny!
Almond Slice recipe from Baking with Granny. Traditional recipe for the Bakewell inspired traybake.

Filed Under: cake, jam, pastry, raspberry, recipe, tray bake

Comments

  1. jenny paulin says

    May 22, 2017 at 6:15 am

    mmmmmmm they look so good and remind off an exceedingly good cake maker! Although I am sure that yours taste much better and you get more in a slice! thanks for linking to #Bakeofthweek with these x

    Reply
  2. Eva Slembrouck says

    June 10, 2018 at 3:25 pm

    Hello there, I tried to bake these almond slices but got it all wrong apparently :o/
    Don’t know what went wrong exactly because I followed the recipe… Had to blind bake the pastry 15 minutes cause after 5′ it was still raw dough…. After baking the complete tray for 20 minutes the dough was still raw!!! Another ten minutes…. and another ten…. and another ten… Finally it looked baked but it tastes awful :'( All I taste (and smell) is dough, no almond, no jam, nothing but raw dough… What did I do wrong???

    Reply
    • Liz Manigo says

      January 12, 2019 at 1:38 pm

      Sounds like your oven wasn’t at the correct temperature, also very important that the temperature is correct for the recipe BEFORE you start baking the pastry.. hope this is of some help.

      Reply
  3. Claire Perry says

    April 28, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    5 stars
    5 minutes blind baking isn’t enough. Even with 8 and a few minutes without the beans and 35 minutes baking the pastry was still raw in the middle. Also is an egg missing from the batter mixture? With the exact measurements shown the batter was way too thick to spread let alone pour? Other recipes have way more liquid in them, I had to add more milk. A bit disappointing over all. I should have read the review that appears to have the same problem first.

    Reply
    • Polly Robinson says

      May 3, 2019 at 7:40 pm

      Hi – Going to try these soon – Seems will need to blind bake much longer than stated, as seems to be a common problem! There IS an egg in the given sponge mixture though !

      Reply
    • bernadette holman says

      August 5, 2021 at 8:05 pm

      reread the recipe there is an egg in there

      Reply
    • Karen Lizzie says

      February 25, 2022 at 6:11 pm

      5 stars
      I haven’t made this recipe yet but give it five stars for not using almond essence, which ruins perfectly good bakes by being strong and bitter

      Reply
  4. Andrew waldron says

    April 11, 2020 at 6:40 am

    Hello
    Well i followed the recipe and it was PERFECT !! I needed to bake the pastry base an extra 5 minutes and the whole tart an extra ten minutes but the result was perfect.
    Many thanks, a taste of nostalgia !

    Andrew, France

    Reply
  5. Lorraine Ballinger says

    July 5, 2020 at 1:05 pm

    5 stars
    Perfect, absolutely perfect. Lovely recipe will be using it again.
    As said previously, you do need to have the correct temperature. I’ve previously had problems with my oven and invested in a oven thermometer, only £4 ! Give it a go.

    Reply
  6. Christy says

    December 13, 2020 at 12:26 pm

    Can I use store bought almond paste?

    Reply
  7. Peter David Hancock says

    April 7, 2021 at 4:36 pm

    Better than shop brought ones

    Reply
  8. Judith B says

    August 16, 2021 at 3:12 pm

    Wow! Made these this morning and they are absolutely perfect, thank you. I took the advice suggested in earlier comments and baked blind for 20 mins. Will DEFINITELY make these again.

    Reply
  9. Lynda Smith says

    August 17, 2021 at 3:03 pm

    4 stars
    1st time that I have got the consistency right, but couldn’t taste the almond , so will add some drops of almond essence next time, otherwise great

    Reply
  10. ashok says

    August 29, 2021 at 4:12 am

    5 stars
    Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.

    Reply
  11. Rachel says

    October 31, 2021 at 2:14 pm

    5 stars
    Made using sweetener instead of sugar for my husband who is diabetic. He loves them, a different treat for him instead of sugar free cakes I make him

    Reply
  12. madelaine bull says

    December 7, 2021 at 3:03 pm

    I got my Almond slice & Scottish Tablet recipe . good.. now I just got 31pages of waist paper
    no thank-you

    Reply
    • Ina Patience says

      February 25, 2022 at 5:30 pm

      Don’t quite get what you mean by 31 pages of waste paper. ??

      Reply
    • Sharon says

      February 26, 2022 at 9:31 am

      If you click on the print button just above where it starts listing the recipe if will print it on a single page (double if it’s a longer recipe). If you use File/Print in your internet browser, it will print all the other stuff that’s on the webpage.

      Reply
  13. Bobbie says

    February 25, 2022 at 5:08 pm

    What size of tin did you use, please?

    Reply
    • Ina Patience says

      February 25, 2022 at 5:27 pm

      Says on the recipe.. 11 x 7 “

      Reply
  14. Helen says

    February 25, 2022 at 10:07 pm

    Can these be frozen

    Reply
  15. Sharon says

    February 26, 2022 at 9:34 am

    5 stars
    A lovely recipe – I’ve been using a different one for a few years which is ‘ok’ but I think the absence of almond extract actually makes them tastier! These don’t last long in our house – barely get a chance to cool!

    Reply
  16. Grace Roberts says

    February 27, 2022 at 5:56 pm

    definitely needs longer blind bake. I did 15mins at 200 and slightly longer on the sponge but guess that depends on your oven. Absolutely delicious result with tweeks. thank you.

    Reply
  17. You have unread messages (4) from Paris! Read now: https://clck.ru/e6Pcc?h=8b89acec6535d64ab3bb9752b8643df0- says

    March 20, 2022 at 4:58 am

    5 stars
    bm7eoj

    Reply
  18. Janice Stringer says

    May 13, 2022 at 7:24 pm

    Can you freeze these almond slices

    Reply

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Hello, I’m Amy, the voice-behind and creator-of Baking with Granny.

So many of us have fond memories of baking with our parents and grandparents. Good old fashioned home baking, made to traditional family recipes, which are passed down through generations. It was from my own experiences and memories of this that Baking with Granny was born…

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