Danish Almond Pastry

This delicious dessert pastry can be found in almost every retro church, PTA, family or fundraising cookbook. My first taste of this almond-scented puff pastry/pie crust combo was at my soon-to-be Mother-in-law’s house, and I fell in love at first bite. There’s a reason it’s still one of my favourite baking treats, as its unassuming appearance disguises a beautifully scented almond pastry reminiscent of an almond croissant. Upon first taste, most people’s response is to quietly moan in delight, and then ask what’s in the filling. The answer is none, nor does it contain any sugar, but the way the two elements perfectly combine makes the lucky taster believe it’s much more complicated to create than it actually is. It freezes beautifully, so you can always have a slice or two on hand for when unexpected guests drop by, or you need a sweet treat with your cup of tea.

Danish Almond Pastry

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Ingredients

Scale

Base:

1 cup all-purpose flour (120–125 grams, see Very Important Note!)
½ cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp. water

Pastry Topping: (basically a choux dough)

½ cup butter
1 cup water
1 tsp. almond extract
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour

Glaze:

1 ½ cups icing sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
2 Tbsp. soft butter
1–2 Tbsp. water, enough to make an easily spreadable glaze
Sliced almonds, lightly toasted for extra flavour

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the base, cut ½ cup of butter into 1 cup of flour using a pastry blender or your fingers. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp. water and mix until the mixture holds together. Then, divide it in half, and each half should weigh approximately 125 grams.

Spread each half into a strip about 12 x 3 inches. To make this easier, I usually form each piece of dough into a rectangle and place them side by side on a piece of parchment paper. I cover it with another sheet of parchment and use a rolling pin to roll it out to roughly the required size, and use my hands for the final shaping. Then I slide the parchment paper onto the baking sheet.

Filling: In a saucepan over medium heat, cook ½ cup of butter and 1 cup of water until the butter is fully melted and the mixture reaches a boiling point. Turn the heat to low, and stir in the almond extract and flour. Stir for one minute, until flour is fully incorporated. Remove from the heat, and beat eggs in one at a time. Ensure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next one, and the dough is shiny and smooth. Drop the pastry in large spoonfuls over the base strips, evenly dividing it between the two strips, and spread with a pastry knife to cover them completely. Each half of the pastry will weigh about 290 grams.

Bake in a preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until golden brown. It will deflate as it cools.

To make the glaze, mix the icing sugar, 1 teaspoon of almond extract, and a splash of milk in a small bowl until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to make a pourable glaze. Drizzle the cooled pastry with the glaze, and sprinkle with almond slices.

Notes

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Even after 50 years of baking, I’m still learning! While recording the video, I didn’t like the look of my 43-year-old-faithful, 1980s bridal shower gift, brown plastic measuring cup, so I pulled out my more attractive stainless steel one. As soon as I started mixing the flour and water, I knew something was wrong, as the pastry felt too dry and was difficult to mix. Baking experts will tell you that one cup of flour is approximately 120-125 grams. Using my “fluff, scoop, and level” method, I weighed the flour using both measuring cups. I was shocked to learn that my stainless steel measuring cup held 145 grams, a whopping 25 grams, or 15% more, than my old faithful measuring cup (yeah for brown plastic!) and what an actual one cup of flour should weigh. (insert wide-eyed look here) Then I checked my third cup, my white Tupperware cup, and it weighed 135 grams, also more than the determined weight. You can bet that going forward, you’ll be seeing my brown plastic measuring cup in any featured recipes. Please, do yourself a favour, and take the time to ensure your measuring cup is accurate!