Apple-Blueberry crumble with Almond Paste for our Virtual Tea Party

I first had apple crumble in London when we visited Artist in the Kitchen Aunt. She effortlessly throws together fruity, cinnamon-y, nutty, more-ish crumbles to be eaten warm with thick, creamy custard (or cold for breakfast was great as well).

In the past months, we found ourselves gifted with fruit & vegetable from a friend who had access to unsold produce. Green apples often featured and a strong need for crumble arose.

We have made quite a number: mostly with apple and a handful of blueberry. And my Artist in the Kitchen Aunt’s secret ingredient: delightful slivers of marzipan, hidden just under the crumble layer.

Marzipan is difficult to come by in Singapore, and expensive. And so, we made our existing block last as long as we could, but with the many crumbles constructed, it ran out. Need motivated some research and found me puzzling over the difference between marzipan & almond paste (which I thought were interchangeable terms).

As it turns out, marzipan is a sweeter, smoother, more pliable paste typically used for molding into animal or fruit shapes, or covering cakes. Almond paste is coarser & less sweet. It is an ingredient in marzipan, and used to fill cakes & bread.

I found a recipe for Almond Pate at TheSpruceEats, tried it with some modifications and wondered why I didn’t do this sooner.

Easy Almond Paste

• 200g fine ground almonds (recipe calls for blitzing whole almonds)
• 150g icing sugar
• 1 large egg white, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional; I used amaretto extract as I prefer the flavour)

1. Blitz the almond flour & sugar together in a food processor.
2. Add the egg white & extract. Blitz until the mixture comes together in a clump.
3. If the mixture is too sticky, add in more sugar, a little at a time.
4. Shape into a log.
5. Store by wrapping in cling wrap. It can be stored in the fridge or freezer.

This crumble is my contribution to a Virtual Tea Party hosted by Su at zimmerbitch