Quick Puff Pastry For Fig And Raspberry Croustades Recipes

FIG AND RASPBERRY CROUSTADES

Steps:

• Make the Croustades: Place dough on a lightly floured work surface; lightly flour dough. Using a rolling pin, press the dough firmly in parallel strokes close to one another. Continue pressing with rolling pin, adding a pinch of flour to dough between strokes, until dough becomes more malleable.
• Continue rolling dough back and forth without rolling over the ends (which may make ends thinner and stick to surface). Turn dough 90 degrees, and continue rolling in the other direction; roll dough, changing directions as necessary, into a 15 1/2-inch square. Carefully transfer dough to a large baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap; transfer to refrigerator and chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Using a sharp pizza wheel, trim edges of dough and cut into nine 5-inch squares. Fold each square of dough, corner to corner, to form a triangle. Using the pizza wheel, make a cut over the fold on both sides about 1/2 inch from the edge of the triangle.
• Unfold triangles back into squares. Pierce the inner squares at 1/2-inch intervals using the tines of a fork. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and salt; brush inner squares lightly with egg mixture.
• Fold the outer corners of each square over to the opposite inside corners, one at a time.
• Using a floured fingertip, press the borders down and indent the sides of each croustade at 1/4-inch intervals with the dull side of a paring knife. Place croustades on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet; chill until firm, or cover and chill overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack set in the center of the oven. Bake croustades until well risen and deep golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove croustades from baking sheet and remove some of the puff pastry layers from the center by loosening the sides of the inner squares with a fork and lifting out, also removing any unbaked dough in the process. If you would like to use the removed layers as covers for the filling, return them to baking sheets along with the croustades; return to oven until centers have cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Make the Creme Anglaise: In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, cream, sugar, vanilla bean, lemon zest, and cinnamon stick; bring to a boil over low heat. Meanwhile, set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl; set medium bowl in a larger bowl prepared with an ice-water bath. Whisk yolks in another medium bowl.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove vanilla bean, lemon zest, and cinnamon stick from boiling milk mixture; discard. Whisk 1/3 of the milk mixture into the bowl with egg yolks. Return remaining milk mixture to a boil and, while whisking, gradually add egg yolk mixture to saucepan. Continue whisking until mixture thickens slightly, about 15 seconds.
• Remove from heat and pour through strainer set over prepared bowl. Continue whisking mixture until it cools slightly, about 30 seconds. Let stand until completely cooled. Transfer creme anglaise to an airtight container and keep refrigerated until ready to use. This can be done up to 1 day in advance.
• Make the Fig and Raspberry Filling: Stem, peel, and chop figs, reserving 5 whole figs to finish croustades, and place them in a large bowl. Add raspberries, reserving 18 to finish croustades. Cover and set aside at room temperature. This can be done up to 1 day in advance.
• Heat jam in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil. Let jam reduce slightly, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool for at least 15 minutes.
• Fold the cooled jam into the fig and raspberry mixture. Place croustades on individual plates. Spoon the mixture into the center of each croustade. Halve remaining figs; top each croustade with a fig half, cut side up, and reserved raspberries. Spoon some of the creme anglaise onto the plate and serve immediately.

QUICK PUFF PASTRY FOR FIG AND RASPBERRY CROUSTADES

Steps:

• Cut 1 cup (2 sticks) butter into 1/4-inch cubes. Place in an even layer on a plate and transfer to refrigerator to chill.
• Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut remaining 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter into thin slices and add to bowl. Rub in the butter, squeezing it with your fingertips, rubbing the butter and flour mixture between the palms of your hands and reaching down to the bottom of the bowl. Repeat process until flour and butter are evenly mixed; this should only take a couple of minutes and the mixture should remain cool and powdery. Alternatively, pulse flour, salt, and 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter in the bowl of a food processor until no visible pieces of butter remain; transfer to a large bowl.
• Add chilled butter cubes to bowl and, using a rubber spatula, fold them into flour mixture.
• Reserving 2 tablespoons of the cold water, pour remaining water into bowl. Using a spatula, fold water into flour mixture, scraping from the bottom of the bowl upward. If the mixture still has a lot of dry, unmoistened flour, add reserved water, 1 tablespoon at a time, repeating folding process.
• Scrape dough from bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Lightly flour dough and, using your hands, squeeze and shape dough into a cylinder. Press down to flatten into a rectangle.
• Starting at the narrow end furthest away from you, use a rolling pin to press the dough firmly in parallel strokes close to one another. If there are sticky pieces of butter on the surface, cover with a large pinch of flour and press with the rolling pin to combine. Clean off the rolling pin as you go to make sure nothing sticks to the dough. Continue pressing with the rolling pin, working toward the narrow end closest to you.
• Press the dough once along the width; it should now be a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Flour under and on top of the dough and roll dough away and back toward you in the length and once in the width, without rolling over the ends, to make a rectangle about 18 inches long and 8 inches wide.
• Fold the two 8-inch ends in toward the middle of the rectangle, leaving a 1-inch space in the middle. Fold the bottom up to the top to form 4 layers of dough. Turn the dough so that the folded edge, which should resemble the spine on a book, is on your left.
• Repeat rolling and folding process (steps 6, 7, and 8) two more times. Wrap dough and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, and up to 3 days, before using.

QUICKEST PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Cut 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter into 1/2 to 1/4-inch dice, place on a plate and refrigerate while preparing remaining ingredients.Measure water and add salt; stir to dissolve and set aside.
• Coarsely dice remaining 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter. Place flour in work bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade; add 4 tablespoons butter and pulse until butter is absorbed -- about ten to twelve 1-second pulses.
• Add remaining butter and pulse once or twice to distribute. Add water and pulse 3 or 4 times, just until dough forms a rough ball. Do not over-process.
• Flour work surface and scrape dough from work bowl. Shape dough into a rough rectangle and place between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Press dough with rolling pin to flatten, then roll back and forth several times with rolling pin to make a 12 by 18 inch rectangle of dough.
• Peel away plastic wrap and invert dough to floured work surface. Peel away second piece of wrap. Fold dough in thirds in the width, folding the top third down and the bottom third up, to make a 6 by 18-inch rectangle, then roll up the dough from one of the 6-inch ends, making sure to roll end under dough. Press the dough into a square, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour, or until firm.

RASPBERRY DANISH

Steps:

• Whisk together white sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small saucepan. Stir in 1 cup of the raspberries and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally and mashing raspberries with a wooden spoon, until raspberries break down and sauce thickens, about 4 minutes. Remove from saucepan to a medium bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon heavy cream, orange zest, cardamom, and almond extract with an electric mixer on medium speed in a medium bowl until smooth, about 1 minute. Cover and chill until ready to use.
• Place 1 puff pastry sheet on a floured piece of parchment paper. Roll into a 12x9-inch rectangle. Cut 10 to 12 (3 inches long and 1 inch thick) diagonal strips on each side, about 1 inch apart, leaving center 3 inches of pastry uncut. Spread 1/2 cup of the cream cheese filling in center (uncut) section of pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the top and bottom. Top with 3 tablespoons of the raspberry mixture, and spread raspberry mixture gently over cream cheese layer. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup raspberries.
• Whisk together egg and water in a small bowl. Brush exposed pastry lightly with egg mixture. Fold strips over filling, alternating each side to resemble a twist or a braid. Fold the bottom ends up to seal the filling inside. Repeat with the remaining sheet of puff pastry and the rest of the filling. Brush outside of each pastry with egg wash.
• Transfer pastries, on parchment, to separate baking sheets. Freeze until pastry is firm, about 1 hour. (To make ahead, wrap Danish in parchment and then plastic wrap; freeze up to 1 month.)
• While pastries freeze, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) with racks in upper and lower third of oven.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and puffed, rotating position of baking sheets in oven halfway through, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together remaining 5 tablespoons cream and 3/4 cup powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Drizzle over Danish and sprinkle with sliced almonds.