Full question
I have been looking at Nigella's Venetian Carrot Cake recipe in Kitchen and I'm wondering if I can use flour instead of ground almonds? If yes, then what amount of flour should I use? Also can I use something else instead of the rum? Thank you. Nisha
Our answer
Whilst it is probably possible to use plain flour instead of the ground almonds (almond meal) in the Venetian Carrot Cake we do not particularly recommend switching ingredients as the cake could become too dry. The quantity of flour would need to be lower than the amount of ground almonds used and the baking time could be slightly shorter. The cake would also no longer be gluten free.
If you have trouble finding ground almonds then you can grind the equivalent weight of blanched (skinned) almonds in a food processor with half of the sugar from the recipe. If you try to grind the nuts without adding the sugar then you may find that they will turn oily. Don't over process the nuts and sugar either, as this will also bring out the oils in the almonds.
If you can't use rum in the recipe then we would suggest substituting orange juice as an alternative. The method remains the same.
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