ground almonds — Recipes — The Boy Who Bakes (2024)

Happy New Year! Is it too late to say that now? As it is my first post this year it felt appropriate, and I do really hope that 2021 has something better in store for all of us. I am in that wonderful period of January that means im in the middle of doing my taxes so you know what that means, baking as procrastination. In the cold and grey days of this month there are a couple things that thankfully brighten up the kitchen. I am talking about blood orange and rhubarb and it’s the latter I want to explore today. I grew up in Bradford alongside the area known as the Rhubarb Triangle, the home to Yorkshire forced rhubarb. Forced rhubarb is a protected variety that is grown, initially outside, but is then transferred to dark sheds where the rhubarb grows quicker than normal, as it searches for light, resulting in particularly tender rhubarb with a vibrant pink colour and a slightly sweeter flavour than its outdoor grown siblings. Its a very special ingredient and one I look forward to baking with every year.

As I am knee deep in wrapping up a big project im excited about simple and quick recipes right now and this particular recipe is a great weekend treat that is incredibly easy. Bostock, for those of you are unfamiliar, is a classic French recipe, a great way to use up leftover and stale brioche. You take your stale bread, brush it with sugar syrup, top it with frangipane and flaked almonds. For my version I also added some fresh rhubarb. The bostock makes for a great brunch dish and because the frangipane and sugar syrup can be made a couple days in advance its a great roll out of bed and bake type of dish.

Rhubarb Bostock
Serves 8

Brioche
8 stale slices of brioche
50g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Frangipane
125g unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
1 large egg
125g ground almonds
300g rhubarb
4 tbsp flaked almonds

For the sugar syrup add the sugar, vanilla bean paste and 50ml of water to a small saucepan and place over medium heat and cook until simmering and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside. This can be made and refrigerated up to a week in advance.

For the frangipane place the butter and sugar into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine then finish by mixing through the ground almonds to make a thick paste. Again this mixture can be made and then refrigerate in advance, it will keep for a couple days before it needs using but bear in mind as it chills it will become firmer so you’ll need to let it warm up a little before using.

When ready to make preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and line a baking tray with parchment. Brush the slices of brioche with sugar syrup, making sure to use all of it. Spread the frangipane over the brioche (you can either do this with a spoon, or pipe it on with a piping bag). Cut the rhubarb into small batons that fit on the brioche and place on top of the frangipane. Finish with a sprinkling of flaked almonds.

Bake the bostocks for about 25-30 minutes or until the frangipane is golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving, still a touch warm.

The bostocks are best on the day made but can be served a day later if you have some left over.

Happy Birthday to me! Yes this week recipe is my own birthday cake. Whenever I tell people that I like to make my own birthday cake they always seem sad, like no-one offered to make one for me. The truth is, I quite like making it myself maybe I’m control freak when it comes to cakes? I rarely get to bake just for fun these days, it’s always for a work project, for a magazine feature or to meet a book deadline. This week the baking was just for me, or at least it was until I decided to give you guys the recipe and make a video from it. Oh well, the intention to bake purely for its enjoyment was there.

My birthday isn’t the only thing I am celebrating this week though, it is now just one month until my new book, One Tin Bakes, is finally published, and to say I am excited is quite the understatement. For those of you who haven’t heard anything about the book it’s a book dedicated to recipes that all use the exact same one tin, specifically a 9x13 tin you would traditionally use for brownies. The recipes run the gamut of cakes, cookies, brownies and bars, desserts, pastry and even a bunch of yeasted recipes. The idea was to reduce the required bakeware to just one single thing so that everyone could make the recipes, with just one tin the barrier to entry is so much lower. Baking for everyone!

This weeks recipe isn’t from the book but you could think of it as a bonus recipe, it’s an example of what you might find in the pages of the book and in spirit, this is a One Tin Bakes recipe. The cake recipe is a simple pistachio sheet cake which, like its almond brothers and sisters, is a moist cake that’s a smidge dense but without ever being heavy, its the perfect sheet cake texture as far as i’m concerned. The topping is a classic cream cheese frosting enriched with plenty of vanilla and finished with a simple cherry compote, a wonderful flavour combination and something which felt like the perfect choice for spending my birthday relaxing in the park enjoying the unseasonably warm weather we had this week.

If you would like to read more about my new book, I have a page dedicated to it, which provides links to where the book can be pre-ordered wherever you are in the world, whether that is online or if your looking for an independent bookstore to support. The book is released June 25th in the UK and New Zealand, June 30th in Australia and Sept 1st in the US.

Pistachio Sheet Cake
335g unsalted butter, room temperature
300g caster sugar
Zest of 3 limes
6 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract (or bean paste)
100g plain flour
200g pistachios*
100g ground almonds
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp fine sea salt

*pistachios can be more expensive so if you want to make this an almond cake simply replace the pistachios with an equal weight of ground almonds and skip the grinding step.

Cherry Compote
350g cherries, stoned and halved
50g caster sugar
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting
75g unsalted butter, room temperature
125g full fat cream cheese, room temperature
400g icing sugar
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
2-3 tbsp finely chopped pistachios

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C Fan) and lightly grease a deep 9x13 brownie tin and line the base with parchment paper (this tin from Nordicware is the one I recommend in the book).

Place the pistachios into a food processor and pulse until finely ground, you’re looking for the same consistency as ground almonds. Add the flour and almonds and pulse to combine. Tip the nut mixture into a large bowl and whisk in the baking powder and salt. Place the butter, sugar and lime zest into the bowl of a stand mixer (you can also make this with an electric hand mixer) and, using the paddle attachment, cream together for about 5 minutes, on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until fully combined before adding the next. Once the eggs are combined add the vanilla and mix to combine. Add the nut mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and spread into an even layer.

Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 50-55 minutes or until the cake springs back to a light touch and is pulling away from the sides of the tin. Remove from the oven and set the tin on a wire rack to cool completely.

Whilst the cake is baking start making the compote. Mix together the cherries, sugar, lime zest and almond extract, if using, and set aside for the moment. The almond extract amplifies the cherry flavour but you can leave it out if you prefer.

When the cake is baked remove from the oven and set the tin on a wire rack to cool completely. To finish the compote tip the cherry mixture into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking for a couple minutes before using a slotted spoon to transfer the cherries to a bowl, leaving the cooking juices in the pan. I cook the cherries for a couple minutes to soften them but remove them before they break down into mush. Continue cooking the juices until reduced and slightly syrupy. Scrape the syrup over the fruit and then transfer to the fridge to cool completely.

For the frosting place the cream cheese and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium/high speed until creamy and lump free. Slowly add in the icing sugar beating until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and salt and beat to combine. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and top with the compote, sprinkling over a couple tablespoons of chopped pistachios.