Recipes · Maltese · Bakery
Figolla (Maltese Easter Almond Pastry)
One serving has 411 kcal and 8 g protein, and at least a fifth of a woman's daily need of vitamin E (31%), manganese (28%), riboflavin (28%), copper (26%), selenium (23%) and thiamin (21%). Ready in 185 minutes.
- Preparation: 155 min
- Cooking: 30 min
- Makes: 1 serving (99.8 g)
- Difficulty: Medium
- Diets: Vegetarian
- Contains: alcohol, dairy, egg, gluten, nut
Ingredients
- 24 g Flour, all-purpose
- 11 g Butter, cold
- 21 g Sugar
- 4 g Egg yolks
- 1 g Lemon zest
- 2 g Water, cold
- 18 g Ground almonds
- 8 g Egg whites
- 0.3 g Almond extract
- 10 g Icing sugar
- 0.5 g Lemon juice
Method
- For the pastry, rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs, then mix in about two fifths of the sugar and half the lemon zest. Add the egg yolks and the water and press it together into a smooth dough without kneading. Wrap it and chill for 30 minutes.
- For the filling, mix the ground almonds with the rest of the sugar and lemon zest, the almond extract and most of the egg white into a thick, spreadable paste. Keep a little of the egg white for the icing.
- Roll the pastry out 5 mm thick on a floured board and cut out two identical shapes with a paper template: a heart, a lamb, a fish, a rabbit or a basket, the traditional figolli shapes.
- Lay one shape on a lined baking tray and spread the almond paste over it, leaving a 1 cm border. Brush the border with water, lay the second shape on top and press the edges together to seal them.
- Bake at 180 °C for 25-30 minutes, until pale golden. Leave it to cool completely on the tray: it breaks easily while warm.
- Beat the egg white kept back with the icing sugar and lemon juice into a thick, smooth royal icing. Spread it over the top, pipe an outline or a lattice with the rest, and leave it to set for 1 hour. Some families cover it with melted chocolate instead.
- Figolli are baked in the days before Easter and given to children on Easter Sunday, often with a small chocolate egg pressed into the icing, then cut into slices to share.
Nutrition per serving
| Nutrient | Per serving | Share of a day's need |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 411 kcal | 19% |
| Carbohydrates | 53.1 g | |
| Water | 18 mL | |
| Fiber | 2.5 g | 9% |
| Protein | 8 g | 17% |
| Tryptophan | 0.08 g | |
| Threonine | 0.26 g | |
| Isoleucine | 0.3 g | |
| Leucine | 0.58 g | |
| Lysine | 0.28 g | |
| Methionine | 0.13 g | |
| Cystine | 0.14 g | |
| Phenylalanine | 0.42 g | |
| Tyrosine | 0.24 g | |
| Valine | 0.35 g | |
| Histidine | 0.2 g | |
| Fat | 19.7 g | |
| Monounsaturated | 9.1 g | |
| Polyunsaturated | 2.8 g | |
| Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) | 0 g | |
| Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) | 0 g | |
| Omega-6 | 2.7 g | |
| Saturated | 6.7 g | |
| Trans-Fats | 0 g | |
| Cholesterol | 67 mg | |
| Calcium | 56.2 mg | 6% |
| Copper | 0.23 mg | 26% |
| Iron | 1.9 mg | 10% |
| Magnesium | 55.1 mg | 18% |
| Manganese | 0.5 mg | 28% |
| Phosphorus | 132 mg | 19% |
| Potassium | 168 mg | 4% |
| Selenium | 12.9 µg | 23% |
| Sodium | 20.9 mg | |
| Zinc | 0.81 mg | 10% |
| Thiamin (vitamin B1) | 0.23 mg | 21% |
| Riboflavin (vitamin B2) | 0.31 mg | 28% |
| Niacin (vitamin B3) | 2.1 mg | 15% |
| Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) | 0.31 mg | 6% |
| Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) | 0.05 mg | 4% |
| Folate (vitamin B9) | 59.5 µg | 15% |
| Cobalamin (vitamin B12) | 0.1 µg | 4% |
| Choline | 44.5 mg | 10% |
| Vitamin A | 90.5 µg | 13% |
| Vitamin C | 1.5 mg | 2% |
| Vitamin D (D2 + D3) | 8.7 IU | 1% |
| Vitamin E | 4.7 mg | 31% |
| Vitamin K | 0.87 µg | 1% |
Shares of a day's need are for a woman of 30, 165 cm, 60 kg, lightly active, by the US and Canadian Dietary Reference Intakes. SustainBite works out each person's own needs, by the standard where they live: the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations in Norway, the UK's, EFSA's in the EU.
Climate footprint
0.2 kg CO2e a serving: about average for breakfasts, sides, desserts and drinks on SustainBite. Source: ADEME, Agribalyse 3.2.
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