Ricciarelli

It's that time of the month again "Potluck" at I Heart Cooking Clubs where whe feature the recipes of Tessa Kiros for six months. And in here book Twelve i found this recipe for Ricciarelli or Almond cakes. And since i had a big batch of almond flour in my pantry, waiting for me to make macarons for months. I used it for this almond cakes instead.
And i totally hadn't any regrets about that after tasting the almond cakes.

Tessa Kiros says, "These small, soft cakes are found in every shop is Siena along with the traditional panforte. They are baked on sheets or individual discs of rice paper, wich are trimmed around the cake when it is cooked and eaten with the small cake. If you do not have rice paper, line your baking tray with a piece of baking paper. When cooled, simply transfer from the baking paper to a tin".

Ricciarelli (Almond cakes)

Tessa Kiros, Twelve(page.365)
makes about 20 biscuits

300g (10 1/2oz) almond flour
280g (10 oz) caster sugar
150g (5 1/2oz) icing(confectioners) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
grated zest of 1 orange
2 egg whites
1 sheet of rice paper(or about 20 small rounds) to line the baking tray

Line a flat baking tray with baking paper.
Mix the almond flour with the caster sugar, 100g(3 1/2 oz) of the icing sugar, the baking powder and the orange zest in a bowl.
Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and combine with the almond mix, using a wooden spoon. Mash the mixture together to make a sticky, wet mass.
mouls oval shapes to 6cm(2 1/2in) long x 4cm(1 1/2in) wide x 2cm(3/4in) thick onto a spoon. Slide the ovals off the spoon carefully with you thumb, and reshape any identations. Put them onto the baking tray, allowing room for them to spread.
Sprinkle the tops with 25g(1 oz), or half of the remaining icing sugar. Leave the biscuits on the tray for 2-3 hours at room temperature to dry them a little before baking.
Preheat the oven to 140C (275F/Gas1). Bake for about 30 minutes or until they are lightly golden and a little firm on the outside. The inside will still be soft.Remove from the oven. Cool slightly before sprinkling with the remaining 25g(1 oz) of icing sugar. Cut the rice paper around the bottom of the cakes. They will keep for about a week stored in an airthight container.

notes: i didn't use the rice paper, because i could'nt find any. Baked them on baking paper.