Ingredient
Almond extract
Benzaldehyde in alcohol, from bitter almonds or synthesised. Extraordinarily strong — a quarter teaspoon carries a whole cake, and a full teaspoon tastes of marzipan and nothing else. It is one of the few flavourings where doubling is a mistake rather than an improvement.
- Sourcing
- Baking aisle. 'Extract' is alcohol-based and keeps indefinitely; 'essence' is often synthetic and harsher, though in this case the synthetic compound is chemically the same.
- Varieties
- Pure, Imitation, Oil of bitter almond
- Quality cues
- Clear to pale amber, smelling sharply of marzipan. Cloudiness means an oil-based product, which behaves differently in batter.
- Substitutions
- Amaretto, at several times the volume, Vanilla extract, for a different cake entirely
- Storage
- Cupboard, tightly capped. The alcohol evaporates through a loose lid and the strength drifts with it.
- Shelf life
- 3-4 years