Raspberry Pithiviers

By Hklbrries

From Europa pastry chef Christie Sutton. Pithiviers (pronounced pee-tee-vyay) is a classic French dessert with a rich almond filling encased in flaky puff pastry. It has a heavenly scent when it comes out of the oven. Sutton recommends serving it slightly warm or at room temperature with fresh fruit. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

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Whether you’re serving an elegant evening meal for the Easter holiday or a more casual brunch, the arrival of spring begs for desserts with a seasonal flair.

“I love that Easter and spring arrive together because it means that I can start baking with fresh fruit,” says Gina Garcia, of Cake.

Garcia’s new bakery, an expansion to Chaps in the Latah Creek Shopping Center on South Cheney Spokane Road, is scheduled to open soon.

She shared a trifle recipe that comes together quickly with layers of lemon pound cake and lemon custard with fresh berries.

“My family is Italian and we typically celebrate Easter with a fruit trifle made with zabaglione, a frothy custard flavored with marsala,” Garcia says. “I have adapted this dessert for folks who may not like the sharp flavor of Marsala.

“In the recipe, I have made a lemon custard which is just tart enough to contrast nicely with the sweet berries.”

For those who are up for more of a challenge, Europa pastry chef Christie Sutton shared a recipe for a classic French dessert called pithiviers (pronounced pee-tee-vyay).

“I was just trying to come up with something a little different,” she says. “The light and flaky pastry just makes me think of Easter.”

The layers of puff pastry surround a rich almond filling and raspberry preserves. Sutton tops the dessert with fresh fruit and powdered sugar and serves it slightly warm or at room temperature.

Davenport Hotel executive chef Bryan Franz shared a recipe for individual mascarpone cheesecakes topped with huckleberry compote. (Substitute blueberries if your freezer stash of the wild berries is gone.)

He tops the cheesecakes with the compote and mint leaves for garnish, along with a pistachio tuile – a crunchy French cookie.

Decorated sugar cookies are a popular item for Easter at Carolyn’s Cake, Candy and Cookie Supplies, says new owner Michele Clemons.

Clemons purchased the store, 1705 N. Hamilton St., from original owner Carolyn Largent last April. She shared the recipe instructors give to students in classes.

She recommends decorating the cookies with candy melts rather than royal icing. The candy comes in an array of colors that can be melted and poured into squeeze bottles for easy decorating.

The store offers decorating classes for cookie bouquets, as well as cake decorating instruction. A new series of classes will be announced soon.

I couldn’t resist throwing in a few more recipes for good measure. White chocolate dipped strawberries with citrus sugar are finished quickly and have a nice seasonal flavor.

Coconut cupcakes drew raves all around when a friend made them recently. (They’re the grown-up version of the coconut-topped bunny cake my grandmother sometimes made for the holiday.)

And I’m using up the end of last year’s rhubarb in the Rhubarb Custard Bars from Cooking Light’s newest cookbook, to make room in the freezer for this year’s crop

Ingredients

• 7 ounces almond paste
• 1/2 stick butter (softened)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 sheets prepared puff pastry, thawed
• 1/3 cup raspberry preserves

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Cream the almond paste, butter, sugar, salt, vanilla and almond extract for 3 minutes. Slowly beat in eggs. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom and edges of the bowl to ensure an even mixture. Add flour and blend for 30 seconds. Chill while the pastry is prepared.

Cut a 9-inch circle out of one of the pastry sheets, and a 10-inch circle out of the other. Spread the raspberry preserves and the chilled almond batter on the 9-inch circle, leaving a 1-inch margin around the edge.

Moisten the margin with water or egg wash. Place the second circle of dough on top and gently press the edges together to seal. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Brush the top with egg wash (egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water, milk or cream). With the tip of a knife, score the top of the pastry in a pinwheel pattern of arcs radiating from the center. (See Note.)

Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F and continue baking until browned and crisp, about 30 to 40 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Note: Use 9- and 10-inch cardboard rounds and a pastry wheel to cut the circles from the pastry dough. To ensure the pinwheel and arcs are evenly spaced, score the edge of the top pastry at even intervals then use the edge of the cardboard to trace an arc from the center of the pastry to the marks along the edge.