We have been baking almond Christmas brittle with the Thermomix® for years, because the dough needs no yeast and the apricot and Amaretto glaze caramelises beautifully in the oven. The result is crisp almond biscuits with a buttery flavour that keep for four weeks in a tin.
Almond Christmas Brittle with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 13 ✓
- 70 g butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 pinch salt
- 60 g brown sugar
- 70 g double cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
- 160 g plain flour (Type 550)
- 10 g butter
- 80 g apricot jam
- 10 g Amaretto
- 70 g flaked almonds
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions 0 / 6
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1
Knead the dough.
Add butter in small pieces to the mixing bowl. Add the egg yolk, salt, sugar, double cream, vanilla sugar and flour and knead for 2 minutes / kneading mode. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 30 minutes. Rinse the mixing bowl.
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2
Roll out the dough.
Dust the dough with a little flour, roll it out thinly on a sheet of baking paper and slide it onto a baking tray.
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3
Preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 200 °C (fan 180 °C, gas mark 4).
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4
Heat the apricot mixture.
Add butter with the apricot jam and Amaretto to the mixing bowl and mix for 3 minutes / 50°C / speed 2. Spread the mixture over the dough.
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5
Distribute the flaked almonds.
Scatter the flaked almonds over the top, mix the sugar and cinnamon in a cup and sprinkle over the almonds.
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6
Bake and cut.
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for approx. 12 minutes. Cut into 4 x 4 cm squares while still warm and leave to cool.
Tip: Instead of apricot jam you can also use cherry jam or another jam of your choice. Or try it with Nutella®!
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why the dough needs 30 minutes in the fridge
The dough is processed on kneading mode and contains 70 g of double cream to 160 g of flour. The cream makes the dough pliable, while the butter provides the flavour. After kneading, the dough is slightly sticky and cannot be rolled out cleanly. Thirty minutes in the fridge firms up the butter so the dough becomes firm and can be rolled out thinly without tearing. Anyone who skips the chilling step ends up with thick slabs instead of thin, crisp brittle.
Apricot jam liquefied at 50 °C
The glaze of 80 g apricot jam, 10 g butter and 10 g Amaretto is mixed for 3 minutes at 50 °C on speed 2. At this temperature the butter melts completely and the jam becomes fluid enough to spread evenly over the dough with a spatula. Cold jam tears the raw dough, while a glaze that is too hot (above 60 °C) causes the edges to start baking before the rest.
The Amaretto gives the glaze a subtle almond note that complements the flaked almonds. If you do not have Amaretto to hand, replace it with 10 g of orange juice or simply leave it out and add a little extra jam.
Cut while still warm
The brittle is baked for 12 minutes at 200 °C (fan 180 °C) until the flaked almonds are golden and the edges are lightly browned. Straight from the oven, while the tray is still hot, cut the slab into 4 x 4 cm squares with a sharp knife. At this point the dough is still soft enough for the knife to glide through cleanly, yet firm enough that the pieces hold their shape.
If you wait until the brittle has cooled completely, it will crack when you cut it. The caramelised glaze sets very hard and splinters rather than cutting cleanly.
Brown sugar deepens the caramel flavour
The dough uses 60 g of brown sugar instead of white. Brown sugar brings molasses notes that caramelise more intensely during baking than regular sugar. This gives the brittle a slightly malty undertone that works well with the Amaretto and the toasted almonds. White sugar also works, but produces a more neutral flavour.
Before baking, scatter a mixture of 2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon over the flaked almonds. The cinnamon reinforces the Christmas profile without becoming too dominant.
Keeps for four weeks in a tin
Stored in a well-sealed tin at room temperature, the brittle stays crisp for four weeks. The caramelised glaze forms a protective layer that keeps moisture out. It is important that the pieces are completely cool before you put them in the tin. Warm brittle creates condensation, the glaze turns sticky and the crispness is lost.
Freezing does not work well. The glaze softens on thawing and the flaked almonds lose their bite.
Goes well with: Coffee and mulled wine.
More Thermomix® Christmas recipes are in our baking category and in the Advent calendar for the Thermomix®.
More Thermomix® biscuits: Baking favourites | All recipes
