Almonds, butter and flakey puff pastry... maybe food is love, after all?
Pithiviers is a specialty in Pithviers in the Orleans region of France. Pronounced [pee-tee-VYAY], this treat is typically made from two layers of round, scalloped puff pastry filled with almond cream.
Pithiviers:
500g classic puff pastry (see dough section)
1 egg, beaten to glaze
Almond creme:
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 egg
2 tsp flour
2 tsp rum (optional - I skipped this)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the dough into two pieces and roll each out into an 8" square. Place on waxed paper and chill.
To make the almond creme, beat the butter and sugar together then add the almonds and egg. Mix well. Stir in the flour and the rum. Chill.
On one sheet of pastry, draw a 5" circle without cutting through the pastry. Brush around the imprint with the beaten egg. Fill the inner circle with an almond creme dome.
Place the second piece over the first and press the edges to seal. Use a teaspoon to cut a scalloped edge and chill for 10 minutes.
Brush the top with eggwash, but don't get any on the edges because it will prevent the dough from rising properly. Score the top in gentle curves forming a spiral from the center to the edge of the inner circle. Score the outer edges with diagonal lines.
Bake for 10 minutes at 400, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for another 25 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and dust with confectioner's sugar. Return to a 400 degree oven for 3 minutes to glaze (or just use a torch).
This recipe says it serves eight, but that seems unlikely. I'm not sure who they are feeding. Estimate four... four very happy people. Enjoy!
