Almond Slice
A sure sign that a recipe is a winner is when half of it is gone before I even manage to take 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 its 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.
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.
Ingredients for homemade Almond Slice:
The Pastry
The bottom of the 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 makes 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 flour 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.
Tips for perfect Almond Slices:
• 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?
INGREDIENTS
For the Pastry Base
- 225 g Plain Flour
- 100 g Butter or 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.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won’t always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
Recipe originally published May 2017. Updated and republished in February 2022.
Make these all the time, they go down a treat at home/in the office, thanks for sharin
Can you freeze these almond slices
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.
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!
Can these be frozen