puff pastry Archives - The Midnight Baker

Easy Almond Puff Pastry

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 23:04:40 +0000

All you need for this elegant almond puff pastry is for instance a couple of common ingredients and a food processor.

Pastry The Easy Way

Anyone who sees this almond puff pastry would swear it came from a high-priced pastry shop. And it does look as if it does. It’ll be your secret that it goes together in no time because it uses frozen puff pastry.

This delicious concoction comes together very easily. It just requires a few easily obtainable ingredients and a food processor. The reason for the food processor becomes clear if you’ve ever worked with almond paste. It’s terribly dense and hard to work by hand and as a result you need the food processor since it makes easy work of the whole process. Personally, I wouldn’t try this with a hand mixer and would even be cautious about a heavy-duty stand mixer. Not because it would break the mixer, but you may not be able to get the right texture.

Rich Filling

The almond filling is rich and creamy. Just what you’d expect if you went to a high-class pastry and coffee house. It’s very easy to make too.

The filling consists of some usual ingredients for this such as cream, egg, sugar and butter. But since the almond paste is so dense, I suggest you break it up into bits and process in the food processor until it’s almost smooth then finish it off by pulsing in the remaining ingredients.

Of course if you made my recipe for almond rugelach, you just might have some of the almond schmear used for those left over. If you have that then use it up. It’s pretty much the same thing and will work entirely well.

Shaping The Pastry

The shape here is pretty common–a lace or “braid.” I wouldn’t call it a braid because you don’t have the necessary three pieces to plait. It really is more like lacing a shoe.

With this type of shape, sometimes it comes apart if you don’t seal it well enough. It happened when I made these for this post. Don’t sweat it–just cut it up before serving and trust me no one will notice. They’ll be too busy eating it!

The Recipe

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Almond Puff

An easy and elegant dessert

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: almond puff pastry, easy recipes for pastry, uses for almond paste

Servings: 8

Calories: 697kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

7 oz almond paste 1 package
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg room temperature
2 tbs all-purpose flour
17.3 oz frozen puff pastry thawed, 1 package

GLAZE:

2 tbs milk
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds toasted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°. Place the almond paste, butter and sugar in a food processor; cover and pulse until chopped. Add egg and flour; process until smooth.
Place puff pastry sheets onto a greased baking sheet. Spread half of the filling mixture down the center third of 1 pastry sheet.
On each side, cut 8 strips about 3-1/2 in. into the center. Starting at 1 end, fold alternating strips at an angle across filling. Pinch ends to seal. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.
Bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Combine the confectioners' sugar, milk and almond extract. Drizzle over braids; sprinkle with almonds. Cut into slices to serve.

Nutrition

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Mushroom Galettes

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 00:00:52 +0000

Mushroom galettes are easy to prepare and make a great brunch or meatless dinner.

Fancy But Easy

Creamy roasted mushrooms in a crsp puff pastry “biscuit” is something that is elegant enough to serve to guests.

But this also makes a great special brunch or light supper for the family because it’s one of the easiest things you’ll ever make!

This is basically a popular European dish that I “Americanized” because I liked the look of it so much. It uses one convenience ingredient and other fresh ingredients that are readily available in the grocery store.

There’s ways you can get fancier with this, however, you don’t have to do that. You can keep the fancy in mind for more special occasions.

Mushrooms

Of course if you are not a fan of the popular fungus, this recipe is a definite no for you! However, you could substitute a veggie you’re fond of if you feel it would blend well with the creamy sauce.

For we mushroom lovers, you can really go to town here. I used mushrooms that are readily available everywhere and less costly. If you have access to wild and/or more exotic varieties, they would be ever so good in this. So if cost is no object and you want to impress, by all means go wild and gourmet with your mushrooms.

Creme Fraiche

This being a European “clone” recipe, it does use an ingredient that is very popular in Europe–creme fraiche.

I can buy this in my local food store, however, it’s pretty pricy. You can make your own and there are recipes all over the internet for it. But I have discovered that plain old sour cream works just as well. Sour cream is slightly more tart than creme fraiche and it has a less-creamy texture, but it works pretty well. I also developed my own substitute for creme fraiche, which I think approximates the texture as well as the taste most excellently. The recipe is in the NOTES section and please be aware that if you do make this, use ONLY the amount specified in the recipe and not the entire amount of the copycat recipe.

The Recipe

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Mushroom Galettes

Mushroom galettes are easy to prepare and make a great brunch or meatless dinner.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Brunch

Cuisine: French

Keyword: galettes, mushrooms

Servings: 4

Calories: 927kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

12 oz cremini button mushrooms
8 oz white mushrooms
2 large portobello mushroom caps
3 tbs oil
2 tbs butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
14 oz creme fraiche see NOTES
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 package puff pastry sheets the box with 2 sheets, i.e., Pepperidge Farm puff pastry
1 egg, beaten for pastry wash

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Thaw puff pastry per package instructions and unroll. Mist the top of 1 sheet with water then place the other sheet on top. Score the pastry in a crosshatch pattern being careful not to cut all the way through. Cut out 3-inch rounds and place on a large baking sheet (there will be leftover pasty; discard it) and place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush chilled pastry with the beaten egg. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Cut in half through the center; remove any uncooked dough. Flip each pastry round over and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, or until lightly brown. Remove and cool on a rack. Keep the oven on.
Place an oblong baking dish (I used metal to avoid thermal shock) or large oven-proof skillet in the hot oven for about 10 minutes. Add the butter and the oil to the hot pan, then add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and stir so the mushrooms are coated.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed. Stir in the creme fraiche and bake for 10 more minutes.
Remove from the oven. Add the parmesan, lemon juice and parsley. Spoon mushrooms over 1 plain round and top with a crosshatched one.

Notes

NOTES: Creme fraiche is usually found in the gourmet cheese section of the store. Since it’s frightfully expensive, you can substitute full-fat sour cream or beat 4 oz of softened full-fat cream cheese into 1 pint of full-fat sour cream. If you’d like to make your own creme fraiche, there are many recipes for it if you Google it.

Nutrition

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Cheese Palms

Judith Hannemann — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Cheese Palms

Have leftover puff pastry? Make these delicious cheese snacks! Easy to make and addictive too!

Have any scraps of puff pastry in your freezer? I often do. A recent purchase to make my Rustic Beef Pot Pies left me with one sheet I knew would end up getting lost in my freezer. At any rate, freezer space with me is always at a premium so I had to use it up.

Tasty and easy snack

I also had some shredded cheddar in the fridge that I wanted to use because it was open and I forgot exactly when I bought it. And anyone who reads my blog knows my fridge is never without Asiago cheese!

Like a little kick in something? Most times so do I so I used some hot sauce in this too. It’s an optional ingredient because these taste fine without it, but IMO they taste even better with it. Add more if you like it 5-alarm. I like mine somewhere in the middle so I only added a teaspoon. Less will make it hum some and add flavor, but not too much heat, so the amounts are up to you.

Add some zing with a bit of hot sauce

These are a perfect snack for football–and tailgating too.

Cheese Palms

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 tbs butter, melted
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp hot sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or non-stick foil.

Roll pastry on a lightly floured surface into a roughly 12-inch square.

Mix hot sauce (if using) into melted butter.

Brush with melted butter and distribute cheeses over the top of the pastry.

Roll up tightly from one end to the center of the dough. Roll up the opposite side in the same manner.

Cut into 1/2-inch slices and place face up on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes; turn. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Remove to cool on a rack. Makes 24 palms.

Cheese Palms

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