Le Bernardin Cherry Almond Bites

What to do when your tube of almond paste is about to expire? Try the Cherry Almond Bites from Chef Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin Cookbook, right?

Well, maybe not. My taste tester said they were pretty French - "understated" to be kind - and she could think of several other desserts that might have been better to try.

Still, they are cute, easy to make, and have that rich almond paste flavoring.

And it gives me a chance to recommend Chef Eric Ripert's new memoir, 32 Yolks: From My Mother's Table to Working the Line. After an abusive childhood, Ripert is known for the sense of calm he instills in the kitchen of his four-star New York restaurant.

My Paleo Marin Rating: 2.5 Persimmons

Ingredients:

1 tube (7 oz) Odense almond paste
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons Cup4Cup gluten-free flour
1/4 cup almonds, ground in a food processor

For free-standing mini-cupcake wrappers (about 24): 1 jar of maraschino cherries, well-drained, and cut in half 
For 2 mini-cupcake pans (about 48 cupcakes): 2 jars of cherries, prepared as above

For healthier cherries, here is a recipe to make them from The Cupcake Project.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place about 24 cupcake wrappers on two baking sheets lined with silpat or parchment paper. If you have mini cupcake pans, you can just grease them with non-stick spray (I didn't have any). 

1. Break the almond paste into pieces and place them in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add 1 egg, and beat on medium speed for about half a minute. Repeat with the other 3 eggs, one at a time. Gradually mix in the butter, and then the flour until everything is well combined. Remove the bowl from the stand, and fold in the almond meal with a spatula. Refrigerate batter in a sealed container until cold (or overnight).

2. When ready to bake, fill each wrapper with about 1 tablespoon of batter. Place 1/2 cherry in the center of each one. Bake until the cakes are lightly browned and a skewer comes out clean, about 12 - 14 minutes depending on your oven (check at about 10 minutes). If using baking pans, check at 7 minutes. Remove trays from oven and let cool on a metal rack for about 10 minutes. Then put either wrappers or almond bites on a rack until fully cooled.

3. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Makes about 24 almond bites in wrappers, and about 48 in mini-muffin tins.

Recipe adapted from Le Bernardin Cookbook.

#cupcakes #glutenfree #desserts #snacks #almond #almond #almondpaste #cherries #lebernadarin

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.