Have you ever found that the simplest desserts are often the best ones? I certainly have, and these Blueberry & Almond Pastries are the epitomy of simple, yet delicious!
I’m a real sucker for fruit pastries – the contrast between that rich, buttery pastry and juicy fruit – it’s a classic combination that never fails to work as far as I’m concerned. And, when you also combine a hidden layer of buttery almond paste in the mix, you’re definitely onto a winner.
Thanks to Taste.com.au for this delightful recipe. It was easy to follow and worked well, though some reviewers felt that there was too much butter in the almond paste and suggested that it be reduced by half. I took their advice and have adjusted the recipe to suit. Also, I found the baking time wasn’t enough to crisp up the pastry – this may have been because I used home-made rough puff pastry which was probably rolled a little thicker than store-bought. So, I ended up baking the dessert for an additional 10 minutes to ensure the pastry was crisp and golden.
The great thing about this dessert is that you can make it any time of the year given that it uses frozen blueberries. There’s no reason why you can’t use fresh blueberries when they’re in season – I’ve made it using both, and both worked well. The fresh berries, of course, cook faster and you have to watch that they don’t lose all their moisture. The frozen berries keep the shape better but, given their level of moisture, they do shed a fair bit of juice as they cook. On balance, I think the recipe is right to use frozen berries rather than fresh, and that’s what I’d recommend.
Oh, and by the way, while the recipe is for four servings, it’s easy enough to make more. As you can see, I made six servings, which was a simple matter of increasing the pastry and blueberry components. If you don’t spread the almond paste too thickly, you’ll probably find (as I did) that you don’t need to increase that mixture at all.
Given how utterly simple and quick this is to make (particularly if using store-bought puff pastry), you can whip these impressive little desserts up in next to no time at all. Enjoy!
BLUEBERRY & ALMOND PASTRIES
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry or use home-made rough puff pastry
- 1.7 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 1.7 oz ground almonds (almond meal)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1/4 cup icing sugar (confectioner's) sugar
- Softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Line a tray with baking paper. Cut pastry into quarters and place on tray, leaving a little room between each.
- Combine butter, almond meal and sugar in a medium bowl and stir until smooth. Spread the paste* evenly onto pastry using an off-set spatula. Top with the frozen blueberries.
- Dust with half the icing sugar and cook for 15-20 mins (mine took about 30 mins in order to get the pastry nicely golden). Serve warm, or at room temperature, dusted with remaining icing sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, or ice cream.
These look so yummy and rustic! I bet the texture is great with the almonds!
Hi Amby Cakes! Yes, the almonds are a great addition – just adds another layer of interest. 🙂