Tags
almonds, baking, breakfast, dessert, easy, jam, King Arthur Flour, King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge, pie crust
from Tracey G.
Almond Puff Loaf
It’s Bakealong week again! This month’s King Arthur Flour Bakealong Challenge is Almond Puff Loaf.
This recipe uses one of the same techniques we learned in making the Butter Pecan Kringle, which is the way the “bases” are made. The end result looks much more complicated than the actual recipe making! It’s actually quite lovely and looks like you could’ve spent hours on it!
There’s a base that’s two-fold: basically a pie pastry base and then a layer of patè choux on top. Which BOTH are very simple to make!
After making the pastry dough you divide in half, and pat each half into approximately a 10×3” rectangle on your prepared baking sheet. Both fit side by side fairly nicely. Next is the patè choux layer…
The patè choux is a mixture of water, butter, salt, flour and eggs, and for this recipe, with almond extract added. Making it is in two simple steps:
- In a saucepan you add the butter, water and salt and bring to a boil. Add the flour all at once and stir until it becomes a ball that leaves the sides of the pan.
- Add it right to your mixer bowl and mix for about a minute or so to cool it slightly. Add your eggs one at a time beating well after each, add your extract. Mix it until it looks smooth and not clumpy/slippery.
That’s it. That’s all there is to making the patè choux layer!
That gets split evenly between the two pastry rectangles, completely covering the rectangles all the way to their edges. Now, you bake them.
While it’s baking, you can toast the almonds that are part of the topping and measure out your jam-of-choice. I used apricot because it’s one of my all time faves.
When the loaves come out of the oven, you divide the jam evenly between the two warm-from-the-oven loaves, sure to get all of the surface covered, then sprinkle on the toasted almonds. (I decided it would be good without toasting them as well!) Allow them they cool completely.
Once cooled, the final step is a simple icing is drizzled on consisting of:
- Powdered sugar
- Milk (or water)
- Pinch of salt
- Almond or vanilla extract
I really liked this recipe! It’s not sweet – only sweetness comes from the jam and the icing drizzle, so it goes well with anything, especially with coffee!! And between Jeremy and I (since these days Harry is anti-almond), these didn’t last long, and Jeremy has already requested a version with raspberry jam. What I love is that it looks like you really went to a lot of trouble to create something pastry shop-worthy, both in appearance and taste!
Here’s a link right to the recipe, not the KAF Bakealong blog post:
from Kris B>
A Bakealong week with no difficulties or funny stories to tell. That makes for a nice baking experience, but not much of an interesting blog post. Lol!
Tracey gave you the down and dirty on the making of the Almond Puff Loaf. As she said, though it looks difficult because of the multiple steps, it goes together quickly and easily. I made it one evening after my longest day at school with no frustration. That says a lot!
Since the recipe says that you can use any kind of jam, I asked my family what they would like. Their choice was cherry preserves. With the almonds, this seemed like a good choice. And after eating a piece, I know it was a good choice!
I think my favorite thing about this recipe is that it is not overly sweet. As Tracey said, the only sweetness comes from the jam and then the icing. Since you can control the amount of icing used, even a bit more of the sweet could be cut if necessary.
My daughter did suggest a variation on the patè choux layer. She thought frangipane would be good as well, although it would add a touch more sweetness since it does use sugar. Frangipane is made from ground almonds or almond flour, butter, egg, a tiny amount of all-purpose flour, salt, and almond extract. I may give this try next time.
This recipe definitely will be made again! It is perfect for work or book club gatherings. Or, for your own hungry family!
I need to thank Tracey for giving you all of the recipe details this week. I am the one-handed bandit baker and typist this week because of an injury to my thumb, which requires a lovely splint. I should say however, that I was able to make this recipe despite that so that should tell you how easy it is to make!
Happy baking!