This year I got together with my dear friend Gillian and her four girls to make Figolli. Popular in Malta, these almond filled pastry shapes often represent symbolic figures and are enjoyed at Easter time. Traditional Easter figures would include the lamb, fish, butterfly, heart and fertility symbols.



Gillian and I let all six children have free reign when it came to designing their own Figolla. The collective talent ranging from 4-14yrs managed to come up with a star, lightning bolt, fish, chalice and host, a rather large duck and Paul Frank's famous monkey Julius.

It was an all day baking extravaganza that started shortly after 11am and finally ended around 6pm. At one point all four adults and six kids were in the kitchen all at once. There was flour, butter and sugar everywhere and for a fleeting moment I thought the Figolli would never materialise. But in the midst of all the noise and chaos we all seemed to find our groove and the dough began to come together and there was no turning back.



We did break at 3pm for a 'Pink Gin' induced siesta. The adults briefly slumbered as the kids took turns on the Wii. After a well deserved break we were brought back to life with a revitalising espresso with a dash of ilma zaghar. And so it was straight back into the kitchen to decorate our Figolli - but you will have to come back tomorrow to see that.

Figolli

Adapted from The Food & Cookery of Malta (1999)

This quantity will give you enough dough to make approximately six average sized Figolli. I prefer to buy almonds and then grind them in the food processor as I like the almond filling to be chunkier in texture. If you prefer to use ground almond meal instead for the filling that is perfectly fine.

Ingredients

For the pastry

800g organic plain flour, sifted

350g caster sugar

400g butter

4 organic egg yolks, lightly beaten

Grated rind of a lemon, lime and orange
 

For the filling

600g icing sugar, sifted

600g ground almonds

4 organic egg whites

Grated rind of 2 lemons

A couple of capfuls of Orange Blossom water
 

To finish

Royal icing

Melted chocolate

Easter eggs

Sprinkles

Edible glitter

Cachous
 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4

2. Rub the butter into the flour and sugar until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks, lemon zest and a little cold water. Knead it gently to form a smooth ball. Wrap in cling wrap and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile add the lemon zest, orange blossom water and sugar to the ground almonds. Add the egg whites and mix until well combined.

4. On a floured surface roll out your pastry to a 2-3mm thickness. Cut out your desired shapes ensuring that you have two of each figure as they will be sandwiched together with the almond filling.

5. Lay the figolla on a lined baking tray and spread with some of the almond filling. Lay the second shape over the top and press the edges together sealing it with a little water. Bake for 20 minutes until a pale golden colour. Allow to cool before decorating with icing sugar and various other bits of glam.