Note that Finnish eggs are among the safest in the world to be eaten uncooked. To find out why, read here.

100 g blanched almonds
100 g icing sugar
egg white
2 ml almond extract

Using an almond mill, grate the almonds finely and mix with the sieved icing sugar in a bowl. Mix in some egg white, little at a time, until you get a soft and kneadable mixture. Add the almond extract and continue kneading with your hands. The resulting paste should be soft, but not sticky.

If not used immediately, wrap the almond paste tightly in plastic and store in refrigerator. Use it within a week or so to make candies, to cover cakes or to fill traditional Finnish shrove buns.

Almond paste may be coloured and flavoured with food colourings, cocoa powder and various liqueurs, spirits, essences and extracts, like punsch, cognac, rum, peppermint oil, rose water, orange flower water, etc.

Note that using larger quantities of liquid flavouring will make the paste softer and stickier, so add some more icing sugar in the mixture.

Do not overwork the paste when shaping or rolling it out, as this will cause the oil in the mixture to separate, making the paste oily and unworkable.

Recipe source: "Mantelimassa", Sarje, I., ed. (1964) Hyvää ruokaa. Helsinki: Tammi.