Cintamani Devi Dasi
Jan 18 2012 | Santa Cruz — Frangipane is a heady combination of ground nuts (usually almonds), butter, and sugar that’s often used to fill pastries and tarts. The crust was inspired by crostata, an Italian baked dessert tart, and a form of pie. The jams that are traditionally used as a filling are cherries, peaches, apricots, berries. The crostata can also be blind-baked and then filled with pastry cream (crema pasticcera) topped with pieces of fresh fruit; this is called crostata di frutta.
The figs? Basically they have to be good quality&ripe.
Makes 2 galettes (each serves 4-6)
For the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup ice water
For the frangipane:
1 cup dry-roasted, unsalted pistachios
1/2 cup sugar
13 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
punch salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
For the figs:
6 fresh Black Mission figs, stemmed, cut lengthwise into thirds
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange juice
1/4 teaspoon orange zest, packed
Make the crust: Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the diced butter and pulse until it is reduced to the size of peas, about 12 pulses. Turn on the machine and add the water through the feed tube. Then pulse some more until the dough just comes together. Transfer dough to a board, divide it in half, flatten into disks, and wrap them in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. (Wipe out the processor but don’t wash.)
Meanwhile, make the frangipane: Finely grind the pistachios, sugar, and salt in the food processor. Beat the butter in a stand mixer until soft and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the ground pistachio/sugar mixture and continue beating until well incorporated, about 30 seconds longer. Add heavy cream and beat for another minute. Mixture should be very light and creamy. (Refrigerate if not using within the hour.)
In a separate bowl, combine the figs, 2 teaspoons sugar, orange juice and zest. Toss well.
To assemble: Roll each disk of cold pastry into a 10-inch circle on a floured board. Transfer to 2 baking sheets lined with parchment or silpat liners. Spread ¾ cup frangipane on each of the pastries, leaving a 1 inch border. (You’ll have a little frangipane left over for another use.) Layer with figs. Fold in sides of pastry decoratively, leaving the center open. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or longer.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Bake galettes for about 25 minutes, or until crust and filling are nicely browned. Cool before attempting to transfer as pastry will be somewhat fragile. Offer to Krishna!
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