Orange Blossom Almond Pastries Recipes

Steps:

• For Pastry:.
• Combine flour and salt in large bowl. Add butter and rub with figertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add enough ice water by tablespoonfuls just to bind dough, tossing mixture with fork. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Lightly dust dough with flour and flatten each piece into rectangle. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Filling:.
• Finely grind almonds in processor. Add almond paste, butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, egg and 1 tablespoon orange blossom water. Process until smooth. Transfer to small bowl and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F Roll out pastry rectangle on lightly floured surface to 13x15 inch rectangle. Trim to 12 inch square. Cut into sixteen 3 inch squares. Place 1 teaspoon filling 1/2 inch from 1 corner to 1 pastry square. Beginning at same corner, roll corner of dough tightly over filling and continue rolling as for jellyroll. Pinch ends firmly to seal in filling. Gently shape into crecent. Place crescent on large baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough squares and filling. Roll, cut, fill and shape remaining pastry rectangle. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly.
• While pastries are still warm, brush lightly with remaining 2 tablespoons orange blossom water. Turn pastries 1 at a time in powdered sugar to coat. Transfer to rack and cool completely.
• Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Steps:

• Wash the oranges and simmer them, unpeeled, in water to cover for 2 hours. Cool, cut them open and remove the seeds. Puree the oranges, including the peel, in a food processor.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Beat the eggs in a food processor or large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, including the orange puree, and mix thoroughly. Pour into a buttered and floured cake tin, with a removable base if possible.
• Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before turning out.

Steps:

• Set aside a quarter of the almonds. Put the rest in a food processor with the icing sugar, half the butter, orange blossom water, cinnamon and egg yolk. Whizz to a paste. Scrape into a bowl and stir in most of the remaining chopped nuts.
• Unroll one sheet of brik pastry at a time, brush all over with melted butter and halve into 2 semi-circles. Shape 1 heaped tbsp of the nut mixture to look like a thin wedge shape along half the pastry edge you've just cut (leaving 2.5cm border on the rounded side), so it looks as if you're cutting the semi-circle of pastry into pieces like a cake. Roll up like a pastry cone, sealing the nut mixture inside, then brush all over with more butter and fold over the open, wide end to seal. Sit on a baking tray, end flap side down to help it stay closed, and repeat until nut mixture is used up. Cover with cling film and chill. Put zest, yogurt, cream and icing sugar in a mixing bowl. Cover and chill.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, put the pastries in and bake for 15 mins until golden and crisp. Just before they're ready, beat together the yogurt mixture until thick. Pile pastries onto a serving dish, drizzle with honey and scatter with remaining nuts. Serve with the orange cream and Honeyed orange & grapefruit (see 'Goes well with').