Walnut Paste

Ingredients

• 1 lb walnuts, peeled and finely ground
• 1 criollo bread (pan criollo), grated
• 12 egg yolks
• 1/2 lb powdered sugar
• bizcochuelo (sponge cake) slices, soaked in nogada (walnut-milk sauce)
• nogada (a sauce of sweetened milk, cinnamon and ground walnut)
• 3 egg whites (for the icing)
• 1/2 lb powdered sugar (for the icing)
• gold threads or huevos hilados (spun egg-yolk threads) and bonbons (to garnish)

Instructions

1. Grind walnuts fine and mix with grated criollo bread, yolks and powdered sugar into a paste.
2. Set the paste over sponge-cake slices soaked in nogada (walnut-milk sauce).
3. Bake in a hot oven a quarter hour.
4. Glaze with a meringue of whites and powdered sugar and dry in a warm oven.
5. Garnish with huevos hilados and bonbons.