Almond Pithivier

It’s been a while since I posted anything. I must admit that I’ve been stuck in a rut lately and felt greatly uninspired. I felt lazy and only wanted to stay in familiar and safe territory. But a week or two ago, I decided to give myself a big kick in the butt and start exploring new recipes. I still had a great deal of almond flour in my pantry, as well as puff pastry sheets in the fridge, so I decided to make my own pithivier.

Full disclosure, I am still being lazy here as I used store bought puff pastry sheets instead of making my own, but I know my limitations and puff pastry is one of them. Though I am all about exploring new territory, I am not into setting myself up for failure.

Anyhow. What’s a pithivier, you ask? It’s originally a French pastry made of puff pastry stuffed with a sweet filling, usually frangipane, but it later diversified, with different sweet and savory fillings. In my opinion, however, the almond pithivier is the only one that matters. It’s basically very simple to make but its appearance makes it look intimidating and we assume it’s a hassle to prepare. The key ingredient, really, is dexterity.

Almond pithivier

Makes 8 portions

Ingredients

• 2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 1 egg and 2 yolks, separated

• 1 1/3 cup almond flour

• 2 tbsp flour

• 2 tbsp rum

• powdered sugar, for dusting

directions

1. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.

2. Roll out the puff pastry sheets and cut out a disk in each one. One disk has to be larger than the other. Mine measured 20 and 15 cm. Place each disk on a tray and refrigerate for approximately 20 minutes.

3. While the disks chill in the fridge, prepare the almond cream.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

5. Beat in the egg and one yolk, until combined.

6. Add the rum, then than flour and almond flour. Mix until combined.

7. Remove the disks from the fridge.

8. Spoon a generous amount of almond filling at the center of the larger disk, leaving a 5 cm border around the edge. The filling must form a little mound at the center.

9. Beat the remaining egg yolk in a small bowl with a little bit of water, and brush it around the border.

10. Lay the smaller disk on top of the filling and press its borders down.

11. Lift the lower disk’s border up, and carefully fold it over the smaller disk. Make small folds, pinch them between your fingers and press them down, like you would a pie crust.

12. The filling has to be sealed inside the puff pastry sheets.

13. With a sharp knife, make a small hole in the center.

14. Put the pithivier in the fridge for approximately 20 minutes.

15. In the meantime, preheat the oven at 400°.

16. Remove the pithivier from the fridge and brush the egg yolk over its surface.

17. With the tip of a sharp knife, draw arcs in the top pastry sheet, starting at the center and going toward the outer edge. Make sure you’re not piercing through the sheets, though!

18. Make sure the filling is sealed under the puff pastry and then put it in the oven for 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden.

19. Turn the heat down to 350° and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes.

20. Remove the pithivier from the oven, turn the heat back up to 400° and dust the pastry with powdered sugar. Bake for another few minutes (4-5 minutes, tops), until the sugar has caramelized and the pastry is glossy.

21. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.

For extra indulgence, I like to eat my pithivier with a few spoonfuls of good vanilla ice cream!

Variations

The rum definitely gives the pastry some personality, but if you don’t like the smell or taste of it, just leave it out, but use some almond extract instead (1/2 tsp), for extra flavor.

From then on, use whatever filling you like. Almond is a super versatile flavor that can be combined with any fruit. Pear, apple, peach are all winners.

Also, you cannot lose with chocolate chips!

Have fun and enjoy!

Frangipane

I am obsessed with almond flavors and that is why Frangipane is one of my favorite fillings in the world. What is frangipane? Simply put, it’s a creamy almond filling made with butter, sugar, almond flour and eggs that’s often used in pastries like croissant and tarts. And unlike marzipan, frangipane cannot be eaten raw and must be baked to be enjoyed, because there’s egg in it.

I always assumed something so delicious must be very difficult to make but I quickly realized how wrong I was. Frangipane is super easy to prepare and in no time, no less!

This is the sort of recipe that is always useful to have handy if you want to make a quick but flavorful dessert or just want to elevate your croissant experience.

Frangipane

Makes 1 cup

ingredients

• 3/4 cup almond flour

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 egg

• 1/8 tsp almond extract (optional)

• 1 tbsp flour

directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix almond flour, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl if necessary.

2. Add the egg and mix until incorporated. Add the almond extract if using.

3. Add the flour and mix until just combined.

And that’s it! You now have frangipane! Scoop a spoonful on you puff pastry sheet or pour it in your pie crust, bake according to their respective recipes and there you go! A delicious almond flavored dessert! I know it doesn’t look appetizing in my picture but trust me, when baked, it’s amazing!

Variation

For something different, use ground pistachios instead of ground almonds. In this case, I highly recommend that you use the almond extract to enhance the flavors a bit.

Enjoy!

Easy amaretti cookies

A few weeks ago, I woke up with a hankering for something sweet and nutty. Of course, I had nothing that would remotely fit my cravings in my pantry and though I normally enjoy baking, I really wasn’t in the mood for it that time. Work has been stressful and lately, all I want to do during my time off is nap. In the end, my gluttonous belly got the better of me and I skimmed kitchen cabinets, looking for something very easy and quick to bake, just to satisfy my needs and go back to bed.

I had bags and bags of ground almonds and as I was holding them in my hands, wondering why I bought so many of it, a light bulb lit up in my head. Almond cookies! More specifically, amaretti cookies. I love these. It’s like eating sweet, soft, chewy and moist balls of almond paste. There is a little Italian bakery not so far from my home, with an amazing display of various amaretti cookies of so many different flavors. For special occasions, I would often request to be given one of each of their cookies (as well as a few cannolis).

As it turned out, these cookies are super easy to make, so I made a small batch. They were all gone within 2 days.

Easy amaretti cookies

Makes approx. 15-18 cookies

ingredients

• 2.5 cups ground almonds

• 3/4 cups granulated sugar

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 2 egg whites

• 1/4 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

• optional: no more than 1/2 tsp almond extract

• powdered sugar

directions

1. Preheat oven at 300. Stack 2 cookie sheets one on top of the other (this prevents the cookie bases from browning too much) and line with parchment paper.

2. Fill a small bowl with powdered sugar. Set aside.

3. In a bowl, mix together ground almonds, salt and sugar.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk eggs whites with lemon juice until soft peaks form.

5. Add egg whites to the almond mixture and knead with your hands, until you obtain a soft, sticky dough.

6. If you’re using almond extract, this is where you add it. Knead it in the almond mixture, with the beaten egg whites.

7. Roll cookie dough into 1 inch balls and roll them in the powdered sugar until covered.

8. Place balls on the baking sheets, one inch apart from each other.

9. Bake for 30 minutes, until the tops are cracked and the bases are slightly golden.

10. Let rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring on a wire racks, to cool completely.

Aren’t they beautiful? This is pretty much what a no-fail cookie recipe looks like. I normally use almond extract in almost all my cakes and cookies but somehow, in this case, I did not feel like it was that necessary, given the amount of almonds used. If you fear that the cookies will not taste enough, add a little bit of almond extract but be careful because too much of it will be overwhelming and unpleasant.

Variations

From now on, you could create whatever variation you like.

For pistachio, replace the ground almond with ground pistachio. This goes for any nut of your choice.

For chocolate, use 2 cups of ground almond and 1/2 of cocoa powder. In this case, I would use a little bit of almond extract, no more than 1/2 tsp so that it doesn’t overwhelm your taste buds.

For lemon, add 1 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice (instead of 1/4 tsp) as well as the zest of 2 lemons.

For espresso, mix 3 tsp of good espresso powder in 1 tbsp of boiling water.

You get the idea.

Now, have fun and enjoy!

Raspberry / Almond / Pistachio Friands

I haven’t baked much lately. There was a series of heat waves during summer, so I avoided turning my oven on at all cost, and then fall came and we took some time off to go on a much deserved vacation to Oahu. After we came back, it took us a while to get back into our regular routine…

However, the holidays are just around the corner and I am feeling energized again! I stumbled on Claire Ptak’s lovely friand recipe in her beautiful book The Violet Bakery Cookbook and had to try it right away. I love friands. They are packed with an intoxicating almond flavor and they are just so moist and delicious, not to forget, pretty easy to make!

If you are pressed for time during the holidays and need to impress with a dessert, these cakes are your solution: they are super tasty, easy and quick to make and the pistachio/raspberry green/red color combo couldn’t be any more christmas-y! Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top and you’ve hit gold!

I had to adapt the recipe a little bit because I did not have everything on hand, and I did not exactly follow her exact instructions. Bellow is the recipe I made, but for Claire Ptak’s original recipe, check out her book!

Raspberry / Almond / Pistachio Friands

Makes approx. 10 muffin size cakes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter, melted, plus more to grease the mold

• 5 egg whites

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp almond extract

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 tsp baking powder

• 1 cup ground almond

• 1/2 cup ground pistachios

• 1 cup powdered sugar, plus more to sprinkle the cakes

• About 30 fresh raspberries

• 3/4 cup slivered pistachios

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven at 320 degrees.

2. Grease the mold of your choice. In this case, I used a regular muffin tin.

3. Using In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until light and fluffy.

4. Switch to a paddle attachment and add the wet ingredients (melted butter, vanilla and almond extracts). Mix at medium speed until incorporated, about 1 minute.

5. Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, ground almond and ground pistachio) and mix until incorporated, about 1 or 2 minutes.

6. Fill the muffin molds about 2/3 full with the batter.

7. Insert 2 or 3 raspberries into each mold. Be careful not to break the raspberries!

8. Sprinkle with slivered pistachios. Push them down a bit into the batter so they don’t fall out when the cakes rise.

9. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes.

10. Let the cakes rest in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

11. Sprinkle the cake with some powdered sugar.

That’s it! How easy was that?

Don’t like pistachios or raspberries? That’s fine! You can simply replace them with whatever you like: chocolate chips, another fruit like cranberries, nectarines, apple or pear, or another nut like hazelnut. Once you get the base of the recipe, you can pretty much adapt to your taste.

In this case, I find the colors of the cake very festive without being tacky. It’s simple, elegant and delicious!

Enjoy!