Almond paste is made from ground almonds or almond meal and sugar in equal quantities, with small amounts of cooking oil, beaten eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added as a binder. Almond paste is used as a filling in pastries of many different cultures. Almond chocolate candy is a chief ingredient of the American bear claw pastry.
It is used as filling in the fruited Christmas bread Kerststol, traditionally eaten at Christmas breakfast. In Germany, almond paste is also used in pastries and sweets. It Italy it’s known as “pasta di mandorle”. The soft paste is molded into creative shapes by pastry chefs which can be used as cake decorations or to make frutta martorana. Almond paste is the main ingredient of French traditional calisson candy in Aix-en-Provence.
It is used as a filling in almond croissants. In Turkey, almond paste is traditionally made in Edirne, once the capital of the Ottoman Empire. During the Ottoman era of Turkish history, it was a royal delight mostly used in palace. It is now sold at delight shops in Istanbul and Edirne. Archived from the original on 2009-02-10.
