Almond Faggots

A faggot simply meant a bundle of wood. These delicate little meringues are called faggots because the almonds sticking out of them look like bundles of wood. Until the mid 19th century it was still fairly common for houses and bakeries to use faggot ovens, brick beehive ovens heated by packing them with bundles of wood, which were then lit. When the fire died down, the oven was swept clean and the heat retained in the bricks would – in theory – be enough to bake with. Cooks had various way