Raspberry Almond Puff Bites Food

RASPBERRY ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut a 3/4-inch wide strip off each side of the pastry and reserve. Roll out the pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface to a 10-inch square. Brush the edges of the square with the egg. Working with 1 strip at a time, stand the strips along the edges of the pastry square and crimp where they meet. You want to create a shallow box, where the pastry square is the base and the 4 strips are the walls. Overlap the strips at the corners, stretching them if necessary to complete the walls of the box. Brush the border with the egg. Pierce the center of the pastry all over with fork. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks. With the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks. Add the liqueur and beat until just well blended; be careful not to overmix or the whipped cream will turn into a buttery consistency and start to separate. Using a large spatula, fold in the nuts. Spoon the cream mixture into the prepared pastry crust. Arrange the berries over the cream. Sift the cocoa powder over and serve.
• NOTE: You can use any fruit that's in season (orange segments, berries, plums, bananas, grapes). Blueberries make a good substitute for the raspberries, and sliced peaches or nectarines are delicious as well.

RASPBERRY ALMOND PUFF PASTRY DANISH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Whisk the egg in a small mixing bowl until smooth. Add the flour, sugar, and salt, and whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice and almond extract, whisk to combine, and then add the cream cheese, whisking until smooth. If you have some very teeny tiny lumps even after whisking in the cream cheese, don't worry, these won't be apparent once the filling is baked. Set aside.
• Gently unfold and roll out your sheet of puff pastry just to flatten and smooth it. Cut it into two rectangles, about 10 inches by 5 inches.
• Gently score around the edge of each rectangle, about 3/4" in from the edges. This will create a frame of pastry that will rise around the filling as it bakes.
• Very lightly brush the edges of the pastry with milk and bake for 15 minutes. The whole thing should get very puffy.
• Remove from the oven, and gently press down the center portion of the rectangles to form an indentation for the filling to go. You don't need to press down very hard, and no need to press it all the way to the bottom, because the filling will weigh it down during baking.
• Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly between the two pastry rectangles, and use the back of a spoon to gently spread it evenly.
• With about 4-5 spoonfuls on each pastry, dollop the raspberry jam across the top of the cream cheese filling. Use the back of a spoon to spread it out very gently.
• Bake the pastries for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the cheese mixture is set in the middle. I tented mine with foil after the first 5 minutes to prevent excess browning.
• Remove from the oven and allow the pastries to cool before glazing.
• To make the glaze, whisk together the confectioner's sugar, water, almond extract, and salt until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled pastries, and immediately top with the sliced almonds. Wait until the glaze has set to slice and serve.

FRUITY ALMOND PUFF PASTRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the sheet of puff pastry in the center of a baking sheet fitted with parchment. Top the puff with another sheet of parchment. Place a baking sheet directly on top of the parchment on top of the puff pastry. This weighs down the puff as it bakes and makes it uniform.
• Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake until the puff pastry is partially cooked and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and take the baking sheet and top sheet of parchment off the pastry.
• While the pastry is baking, make the frangipane. In the bowl of the food processor, pulse the almonds until they become like a coarse, wet powder. Add the sugar, butter, flour, almond extract, cinnamon and egg and pulse until it forms a paste.
• Gently spread the frangipane in an even layer over the puff pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch border, and place the baking sheet back in the center of the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Bake until the frangipane and pastry are browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
• In a small pot, warm the jam over low heat until it melts slightly, about 30 seconds.
• Transfer the puff to a flat surface and use a serrated knife to gently cut into 9 even pieces. Arrange the pieces close together on a serving platter as if they make a whole tart. Drizzle some of the warmed jam over the top edges of the pastry and frangipane to create a "glue" for the raspberries to stick to the pastry. Arrange the raspberries over the top of each piece. Drizzle the remaining jam gently over the raspberries and finish with a sprinkle of sugar for added texture. Serve at room temperature. Refrigerate the leftovers (if there are any!!).

RASPBERRY ALMOND PUFF BITES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. On lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry with rolling pin into 12-inch square. Cut square into 6 rows by 6 rows to make 36 squares. On ungreased cookie sheet, place squares 1/2 inch apart.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• Reserve 36 of the smallest raspberries. In small bowl, mash remaining raspberries (about 1/2 cup) with fork. Reserve 2 teaspoons of the powdered sugar. In medium bowl, beat whipping cream, remaining powdered sugar and the almond extract with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold mashed raspberries into whipped cream.
• Split each puff pastry square into 2 layers. Spread about 1/2 tablespoon of the whipped cream mixture on bottom layers; replace tops. Top each square with tiny dollop (about 1/4 teaspoon) whipped cream mixture; add reserved raspberry. (If desired, squares can be refrigerated up to 2 hours at this point.) Just before serving, place reserved powdered sugar in small fine-mesh strainer, and sift over tops of squares.