Pili nut marzipan

This is usually made with fried, unsweetened pili nuts, which can be hard to find in Australia. We’ve used caramelised pili nuts, which are more readily available in Australia.

• makes

  16

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 180 g (1½ cups) caramelised pili nuts (see Note)
• 80 g unsalted butter, chopped
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 1 L loaf pan and line the base and sides with baking paper.

Process pili nuts in a food processor until finely ground.

Place butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium–low heat and cook, stirring, until butter melts. Stir in nuts, then add egg yolks and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes or until thickened. Remove pan from heat and stir in condensed milk.

Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake for 15 minutes or until starting to firm around edges. Cool completely in pan.

Cut pili nut marzipan into 16 pieces and serve.

Note

• Caramelised pili nuts are sold in jars at Filipino food shops. Substitute candied almonds.

Photography Brett Stevens

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.