Almond Pastries In Honey Syrup Recipes

ALMOND PASTRIES IN HONEY SYRUP

Steps:

• Make the syrup by bringing the honey and water to the boil in a pan and simmering it for half a minute. Then let it cool.
• Mix the ground almonds with the sugar, cinnamon, and orange blossom water.
• Open the package of fillo only when you are ready to make the pastries (see page 9). Keep them in a pile so that they do not dry out. Lightly brush the top one with melted butter.
• Put a line of about 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons of the almond mixture at one of the short ends of the rectangle, into a line about 3/4 inch from the short and long edges. Roll up loosely into a fat cigar shape. Turn the ends in about one-third of the way along to trap the filling, then continue to roll with the ends opened out. Continue with the remaining sheets of fillo.
• Place the pastries on a baking sheet, brush them with melted butter, and bake them in an oven preheated to 300°F for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden and crisp.
• Turn each pastry, while still warm, very quickly in the syrup and arrange on a dish. Serve cold with the remaining syrup poured all over.
• Instead of the honey syrup, make a sugar syrup by simmering 1 cup water with 2 cups sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice for about 5 to 8 minutes, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, adding 1 tablespoon orange blossom water toward the end.
• Instead of rolling the pastries in syrup, sprinkle them with confectioners' sugar. These keep very well for days in an airtight cookie tin.
• For the dainty little "bride's fingers," cut sheets of fillo into narrow strips-they can measure from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inches wide and be about 12 inches long. You can use larger sheets cut into 3 or 4 strips. Use 1 heaped tablespoon of the filling for each roll. It makes about 28.

SWEET ALMOND TWISTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Unfold puff pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface; roll each sheet into a 15x10-in. rectangle., In a small bowl, whisk egg and water; brush over rectangles. Spread pastry filling over one rectangle to within 1/4 in. of edges; sprinkle with almonds. Top with remaining pastry, egg wash side down, pressing lightly., Brush top with egg wash. Cut in half lengthwise; cut each rectangle crosswise into 16 strips. Twist each strip 2-3 times. Place 1 in. apart on baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, 12-14 minutes. Serve warm.

ALMOND & HONEY PASTRIES WITH ORANGE CREAM

Steps:

• Set aside a quarter of the almonds. Put the rest in a food processor with the icing sugar, half the butter, orange blossom water, cinnamon and egg yolk. Whizz to a paste. Scrape into a bowl and stir in most of the remaining chopped nuts.
• Unroll one sheet of brik pastry at a time, brush all over with melted butter and halve into 2 semi-circles. Shape 1 heaped tbsp of the nut mixture to look like a thin wedge shape along half the pastry edge you've just cut (leaving 2.5cm border on the rounded side), so it looks as if you're cutting the semi-circle of pastry into pieces like a cake. Roll up like a pastry cone, sealing the nut mixture inside, then brush all over with more butter and fold over the open, wide end to seal. Sit on a baking tray, end flap side down to help it stay closed, and repeat until nut mixture is used up. Cover with cling film and chill. Put zest, yogurt, cream and icing sugar in a mixing bowl. Cover and chill.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, put the pastries in and bake for 15 mins until golden and crisp. Just before they're ready, beat together the yogurt mixture until thick. Pile pastries onto a serving dish, drizzle with honey and scatter with remaining nuts. Serve with the orange cream and Honeyed orange & grapefruit (see 'Goes well with').