Almond Lemon Curd Buttons Food

CREAMY LEMON ALMOND PASTRIES

Steps:

• Beat cream cheese, 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, lemon curd, lemon zest and almond extract on medium until combined. Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, unfold puff pastry. Roll into a 12x9-in. rectangle. Using a pastry cutter or sharp knife, cut into 9 rectangles. Spoon rounded tablespoons of cream cheese mixture in center of each rectangle. In a small bowl, whisk egg with water. Brush edges with egg mixture., Wrap puff pastry around filling to cover completely. Pinch edges together to form a ball. Place seam side down, 2 inches apart, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush pastries with remaining egg mixture. Pierce each once with a fork. Bake until golden brown, 15-18 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen pastries from the parchment., Meanwhile, combine lemon juice, milk and remaining confectioners' sugar. Brush each pastry with lemon glaze. Top with almonds. When glaze is set, in 1-2 minutes, peel off parchment. Serve warm.

LEMON CURD

Steps:

• Whisk the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk the whole eggs and yolks in a small bowl, then whisk into the lemon mixture.
• Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it¿s thick like pudding, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time until incorporated.
• Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pushing it through with a rubber spatula. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely set, at least 4 hours and up to 5 days.

LEMON-ALMOND BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• For the curd, combine zest, juice, sugar and eggs in a heatproof bowl, and beat well. Add butter, and place over a saucepan full of simmering water. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until mixture thickens into curd, about 5 minutes. Strain into a bowl, and press plastic wrap onto surface to keep skin from forming. Refrigerate until cool, at least 1 1/2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch spring-form pan with 1 tablespoon butter, and dust with 1 tablespoon flour, shaking out excess.
• With an electric mixer, cream the remaining butter and 1 cup sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt, and stir in. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until they start to foam. Do not overbeat or the cake will be tough. Add eggs and ground almonds to batter, and mix well.
• Scrape batter into the prepared pan. Drop 8 individual tablespoons lemon curd around perimeter of batter, leaving a 1-inch border, and taking care to space drops evenly. Drop 3 to 4 tablespoons curd into center of batter. Refrigerate remaining curd for another use. Sprinkle cake with toasted almonds and 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, depending on taste.
• Bake until cake is toasty brown on top and a toothpick inserted into cake (not curd) comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool on rack 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan, and cool completely.
• Whip cream with almond liqueur. Present cake at table, and offer whipped cream on the side.

BLUEBERRY-ALMOND CAKE WITH LEMON CURD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch-round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter the parchment and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Beat the butter in a separate large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated, then add the vanilla and almond extracts. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk; beat until just smooth, 2 minutes.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans and sprinkle each with 1 cup blueberries. Bake until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pans on a rack, then invert the cakes onto the rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, spread the almonds on a baking sheet and bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; set aside. Beat the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently fold in the lemon curd, leaving some yellow streaks. Spread the cream mixture over 1 layer of cake almost to the edge. Place the second cake layer on top and gently press; refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Before serving, whisk the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar with the lemon juice in a medium bowl until it forms a smooth glaze. (Add 1 or 2 drops of water if it's too thick.) Pour the glaze over the center of the cake and spread with a spatula or spoon to the edge, allowing some to drip down the sides. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds.

ALMOND & LEMON CURD BUTTONS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Beat the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, zest and a pinch of salt in a large bowl until smooth, then fold in the flour and ground almonds. Shape into 2 rounds, flatten them, then wrap in cling film and chill until firm, about 30 mins.
• Roll out 1 piece of dough on a floured surface to about £1 thickness, then stamp out rounds with a 7cm cutter. Brush all over with milk, then spoon 20p-size blobs of lemon curd into the middle of half of the rounds.
• Carefully lay the remaining rounds on top of the lemon curd, then gently press around the edges with your fingers to seal. Scatter with a little caster sugar and the flaked almonds. Bake for 15 mins until light golden. Repeat with remaining pastry, then squish any offcuts together and re-roll. You can freeze the biscuits before baking, but add up to 5 mins more to the cooking time.

LEMON CURD TART WITH ALMOND CRUST

Steps:

• Put the almonds in a food processor and pulse until pulverized.
• Add the butter, sugar, all-purpose flour, almond flour, egg yolk, and salt and pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture is the consistency of grated Parmigiano cheese.
• Add 1 tablespoon cold water to the mix and pulse two or three times-the dough should start to come together in a ball. If the mixture is still very dry and crumbly, add 1 more tablespoon cold water. Check the consistency of the dough by squeezing a handful-if the dough sticks together, it's done. If not, pulse the dough with 1 to 2 more tablespoons water.
• When the dough has come together, dump it out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface. Using the heel of your hand, schmear the dough straight forward and then roll it back with your fingertips. Repeat this process one or two more times, dusting with flour if it sticks. Form the dough into a flat disk, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. (All this could have totally been done ahead of time-like yesterday or even last week!)
• Take the dough out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before you're ready to use it and let it come to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Lay the dough in a 10-inch tart pan, pressing it gently into the pan. Tear off a little piece of dough from the edge and roll it into a "dough ball." Dip the dough ball in flour and use it to push the dough into the sides of the tart pan. Trim the edge of the dough by rolling the pin over the top of the pan to create a clean edge; remove the excess dough.
• Gently line the dough with a piece of aluminum foil, pressing it into the sides of the tart to keep them tall and straight. Fill the tart with 1 pound of dry beans or rice, put the pan on a baking sheet, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the beans and foil and bake for another 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and let cool.
• Preheat the oven to 300°F.
• In a small saucepan, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and salt and whisk until it reaches a homogeneous consistency.
• Place the saucepan on the stove and bring to medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter 2 pats at a time, continuing to mix until well combined.
• Pour the lemon curd into the prepared tart shell and bake until the lemon curd has set, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting.