April 29, 2009

My friend SAA left for an awesome trip to France this week for a wedding.  The bride is Cambodian and the groom is German, so of course they're getting married in Paris! Can you imagine a more unique wedding ceremony?  I can't wait to see the pictures.

I don't need much reason to bake, so to wish SAA bon voyage, I made a pastry called Danish Puff.  It's essentially pate a choux, a dough that is used to make beignets, cream puffs and eclairs.  Not that I could compete with French pastry; I just thought this was an appropriate adios treat, or should I say au revoir treat!  I got this recipe from a coworker almost 20 years ago and I still love it.  You'll notice there isn't any sugar in the whole recipe except for the glaze, which I really like.  It's easier than the results might indicate, so just pretend you slaved all day on this dessert!  Let's make this baby!

Besides being easy, this recipe is cheap.  These are all the ingredients you'll need.

You probably have these items on hand already.

Danish Puff

Pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons water

Topping:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs

Glaze:
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 3 tablespoons warm water
3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

For the pastry, cut the butter into flour using 2 knives or a pastry blender. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over, and stir with a fork until dough comes together. Divide into two balls. Pat dough into two long strips on an ungreased baking sheet, about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide.  Strips should be around 3 inches apart.  Set aside.

The crust strips patted out...don't stress about making them perfect!

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter and water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and add almond extract and flour.  Stir vigorously over low heat for about 1 minute, until the mixture forms a ball. Beat in the eggs (all at once) until smooth and glossy. Divide in half and spread over the strips on the baking sheet.

After the topping is added to the unbaked crust layer.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until topping is brown and crisp.

Halfway through the baking time...getting puffy and pretty!

Cool. Topping will shrink and fall, forming the custardy top of the puff.

Out of the oven and cooling. How easy was that?

Mix all glaze ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth, adding water by tablespoons until a good spreading consistency is achieved.  Frost the puffs and sprinkle with the almonds.

Voila!

Next time I'm trying this with a dark chocolate glaze, and toasted pecans on top!

~BigSis