Soft Blueberry Amaretti

Soft Amaretti Blueberry. Soft almond biscuits from Liguria with blueberry.

Soft Amaretti Blueberry are soft amaretti by Amaretti Virginia from Sassello, with a center infused with a blueberry preparation. Not a fruit biscuit, not a biscuit made with flour, not crunchy amarettini.

Soft Amaretti Blueberry are soft almond biscuits by Amaretti Virginia, made from apricot kernels, sugar, egg whites and 17 percent blueberry preparation. Anyone who invites guests for tea knows the problem. Cake is too much, one biscuit too little, and someone at the table cannot tolerate gluten. These amaretti solve the problem without compromise. They are naturally flourless, weigh as much as a piece of cake, and yet fit in the hand. The berry colours the center dark and gives it an acidity rarely found in almond biscuits.

Marzipan with a berry that is not just sweet

Soft Amaretti Blueberry taste of bitter almond and reduced blueberry, whose slight acidity keeps the sugar in check. The blueberry preparation consists of 42 percent fruit pulp. The aroma is therefore dark and rounded, like a jam, not light and zesty like fresh berries.

The center is moist and slightly sticky. When bitten into, violet streaks spread through the light almond dough. The bitter almond note comes from the apricot kernels, which make up 46 percent of the dough. It lies above the berry without overpowering it. The icing sugar on the outside melts immediately, the crust underneath is barely noticeable.

Compared to the lemon and orange varieties, the blueberry is the darkest of the three. The citrus peel works on the nose, the berry on the palate. It comes later and lasts longer. Anyone who eats two pieces in succession will notice how the acidity stands out more with the second. The biscuit is not light. One piece weighs as much as a small piece of cake, and the sugar content is high. Two to three pieces make a serving, not half the tin.

Anyone expecting fresh blueberries will find the fruit too soft and too cooked. This is due to the process. The berry must withstand baking, and only a pectin-bound preparation can do that. Fresh fruit would make the dough watery. Instead, every piece carries the berry right through to the last bite, not just in one place.

With tea, with yoghurt and in the glass of cream

These amaretti pair well with black tea and dairy products, because both absorb the acidity of the berry and round off the bitter almond. Two pieces next to a cup of Assam replace cake in the afternoon. For breakfast, crush one piece over plain yoghurt with a spoonful of honey. The crumbs absorb moisture and become soft as muesli after five minutes. Add a spoonful of oats, and breakfast is complete.

For a dessert, layer two crumbled amaretti, whipped cream and a handful of fresh berries in four glasses. Repeat twice, chill for an hour. Two pieces form a dark contrast on the plate with lemon sorbet. Over warm rice pudding with cinnamon, the crumbs dissolve and colour the rice violet.

With wine, the berry needs sweetness in the glass. A Moscato d'Asti with its light sparkle is a good match, as is a Brachetto d'Acqui, which smells of red berries itself. A dry red wine is not suitable, its tannins intensify the bitter almond. For coffee, a mild cappuccino is recommended instead of a strong espresso, because the milk catches the fruit acidity.

From experience: These amaretti are not suitable as decoration that is meant to stay crunchy. On a cake or in warm dishes, they become soft within minutes and lose their shape. Anyone who needs a bite should reach for dry amarettini instead. Anyone who prefers the fruit warm and tart will find the counterpart in the orange variety.

A mountain village that lives off its biscuits

Sassello in the hinterland of Savona received the Bandiera Arancione from the Touring Club in 1998 as the first municipality in Italy. The award is given to small towns that preserve their craft and their cuisine. In Sassello, it has been soft amaretti since 1860, and Amaretti Virginia is the oldest name for them. The Rossi family began in their inn. In 1911, a gold medal in Paris followed, and the family still bakes them today.

The process distinguishes the amaretti from Sassello from all their crunchy relatives. The dough consists of 46 percent apricot kernels and one percent almonds, bound only with egg whites. There is no flour that could harden during baking. The mixture is prepared in portions and baked at a low heat. The surface cracks finely, the center just barely sets. A piece that stays in the oven too long becomes dry and loses exactly what makes Sassello special.

For the blueberry variety, the fruit pulp is bound with pectin beforehand. Without binding, the berry would leak out during baking and tear the dough. This way, it stays in the center and colours it right to the edge. They are packed in a round metal tin with 140 grams of contents, each piece placed individually. Before closing, the biscuits rest, so that the moisture from the fruit preparation migrates into the almond dough. This balance ensures that the center is evenly soft when opened.

The variety for everyone who has found amaretti too sweet so far

The blueberry variety is the one with the clearest acidity in Amaretti Virginia's range. Anyone who finds classic amaretti too sweet has the balance of the fruit here. As a gift, the tin is aimed at people who take tea more seriously than coffee. And who prefer their biscuits soft rather than crunchy.

Together with the lemon variety from the same bakery, they form a pair that covers an entire coffee table. The tin sits on the table without anything needing to be explained. Afterwards, it serves for tea, biscuits or small snacks. Sealed and away from heat sources, the biscuits keep their moist center for months.

For a tea afternoon with four guests, allow two pieces per person. Take the tin out of the pantry half an hour beforehand so that the center becomes soft. Anyone who wants to highlight the berry should serve an Earl Grey with it. The bergamot in the cup and the blueberry in the biscuit create a combination that is not usually found on the table.

Bring a tin from Sassello to the tea table, and the question of cake will not arise this afternoon.