Here’s another Lebanese-inspired dessert combining nuttiness and flower power đ The base is a sweet pastry and the filling is frangipane. What gives it the Lebanese touch is the addition of orange blossom water. You can easily vary with the topping: instead of the pecan nuts, you can use walnuts or almonds, and you can use fruits instead, like plums and apricots. Oh and the smell that’ll fill the house once you bake this pie: pure heaven! Desserts in general, much more than savoury dishes, require a reasonable amount of precision and in this particular case, patience. In order to get the best result, don’t rush things. Take your time, enjoy the process and you will be rewarded!
Sweet pastry
- 165 gr flour
- 25 gr ground almonds
- 120 gr chilled unsalted butter, cubed
- 55 gr sugar
- 1 egg
Filling
- 150 gr unsalted butter, softened
- 150 gr fine sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons orange blossom water
- 150 gr ground almonds
- 150 gr pecan nuts for garnish
Directions
- For the pastry stir the flour and ground almonds together in a bowl, then add the butter and rub in with fingertips until the mixture looks like crumbs. Stir in the sugar.
- Break in the egg and incorporate it into the mixture until you form a soft dough.
- Shape the dough into a ball and the flatten it into a disc.
- Wrap it in cling film and chill for at least 1Â hours.
- Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface about 3 mm thickness.
- Use the pastry to line a 25 cm loose-based tart tin leaving the excess pastry hanging over the edge. Chill for about 20 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 180ÂșC. Prick the pastry base all over with a fork. Line the pastry with baking parchment and baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes.
- Remove the baking beans and parchment and bake for a further 10 minutes. Once done, leave aside to cool.
- Reduce the heat to 150ÂșC. For the filling whisk the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs. Add the orange blossom water and fold in the ground almonds.
- Spread the mixture over the pastry and garnish with the pecan nuts.
- Bake for about 50 minutes, until the surface becomes golden bruin.
- You can serve the pie warm or cold. Enjoy!