National Pastry Day: 5 healthy and delicious almond pastry recipes you must try

National Pastry Day is celebrated annually on 9th December and honours one of the most adored baked desserts in the world. Everyone loves and enjoys the miniature sweet pastry as a delicious meal. There are pastries for everyone whether you like, shortcrust, choux, flaky, puff, hot water crust pastry, or phyllo. They are truly a delectable sweet treat, especially for gourmets. It is customary to celebrate National Pastry Day by baking and eating tasty pastries. So this day serves as a perfect excuse for anyone who has ever needed one to grab a croissant before work or stave off hunger in the afternoon with a sneaky slice of apple pie. (Also read: National Brownie Day recipes: Delicious melt-in-mouth brownies you must try )

Celebrity Chef Manish Mehrotra shared some healthy and delicious almond pastry recipes that you must try on this National Pastry Day.

1. Spiced almond banana jaggery pastry

Serves: 3 – 4 person

Ingredients:

Butter, unsalted-1/2 cup

Jaggery powder- 1/2 cup cinnamon

Ground- 1 ½ tsp

Nutmeg, ground- 1/4 tsp

Almonds, sliced- 1/2 cup

Sugar- 3/4 cup

Eggs, large- 3 no

Orange zest- 2 tsp

Banana, ripped and mashed- 1 1/4 cups

All-purpose flour- 3 cups

Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp

Baking soda- 1 tsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Buttermilk – 2/3 cup

Method:

1. Melt 1/4 cup of the butter. Pour 2 tablespoons of the melted butter into an 8-cup pan; brush the butter over the pan sides and bottom. Mix together the jaggery, cinnamon, nutmeg, and almonds.

2. Sprinkle bottom of pan with half the jaggery mixture; combine the remaining mixture with the remaining melted butter; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat remaining 1/4 cup butter with granulated sugar until blended. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. Beat in mashed banana.

4. Mix all-purpose, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add to banana mixture along with the buttermilk; stir until well blended.

5. Pour half the batter into prepared pan. Spoon remaining jaggery sugar mixture evenly over top; cover with remaining batter.

6. Bake in a 180° oven until a long wood skewer inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

7. Cool the cake on a rack about 5 minutes, then invert cake onto a serving plate. Serve the pastry warm or cool.

2. Gluten free almond pastry

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Almond Powder – 350 g

Egg (Separated) – 200 g

Honey – 100 g

Baking Soda – 10g

Vanilla Essence – 10 g

Salt – 5 g

Honey – 20 g

Sliced almonds – 50 g

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Coat a 9-inch pan with Butter and flour. Line the bottom with parchment paper.

2. Beat 4 egg yolks, 100g honey, vanilla, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined.

3. Add the almond powder and beat on low until combined. Then, beat 4 egg whites in another large bowl with the electric mixer on medium speed until very foamy, but not stiff enough to hold peaks.

4. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the nut mixture until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

5. Bake the cake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

6. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and gently remove the side ring. Let cool completely.

7. Carefully transfer the cake to a serving platter. To serve, drizzle the top of the cake with honey and sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Tip: Make sure that the almonds are toasted a little before you make a powder and there is absolutely no moisture in the grinder jar to avoid any lumps in the cake.

3. Grilled almond sugar free pastry

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Khoya (pindi) – 500 g

Sugar free – 40 g

Almonds roasted and crushed – 1 cup

Method:

1. Grate the khoya and keep aside. Heat a pan and add khoya, now add 40 g of sugar free and cook on low heat for 3-4 mins.

2. Remove from fire and mix in roasted and crushed almonds.

3. Immediately transfer to individual serving dish. Sprinkle the remaining sugar free on top.

4. Place the dish in a hot oven 200c with heat only from top and allow the sugar to caramelize. Remove and serve immediately.

4. Almond and saffron kashmiri pastry

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

For dough

Refined flour 250 gms

Almond powder 50 gms

Desi ghee (clarified butter) 40 gms

Yeast 8 gms

Salt 5 gms

Fine sugar 50 gms

Full fat milk 150 ml

Saffron ½ gm

For topping of pastry

Almond flakes 15 gms

Cranberries 5 gms

Tutti frutti 5 gms

Dry rose petals 5 gms

Method:

Make the dough

1. Warm milk and soak saffron in it. Make dough by mixing all ingredients with this milk.

2. Divide the dough in 2 equal parts and leave for 20 minutes to leaven

For pastry

3. Take baking sheet and give each dough a round shape by hands. It should be ½ inch in Thickness.

4. Top it with almond flakes, cranberries, tutti fruti and dry rose petals.

5. Allow it to proof for 5 minutes and then bake it at 180 c for 2-3 minutes or till golden in colour.

5. Almond cinnamon pastry

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

Almond flake 1 cup

Monaco biscuit 150 gm

Cinnamon powder 2 gm

Fine sugar 200 gm

Fresh cream 200 ml

Unsalted butter 60 gm

Method:

1. Roast the almond flake in preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 4 minutes or till golden in colour.

2. For toffee sauce, caramelize sugar, add 40 gms of butter followed by cream and thoroughly mix it

3. For Monaco crumble, crush biscuits and mix 20 gm of butter with it. Spread this mixture in a 6-inch mould and bake at 160 degrees Celsius for 10 min.

4. In a bowl mix, roasted almond slivers and toffee sauce and pour this mix over biscuit crumble in the mould.

5. Bake the mix set in mould in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 min.

6. Serve once done and demould the pastry and serve with vanilla bean ice cream.

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