LEMON FRANGIPANE PUFFS

Baked with ready-made puff pastry and a dollop of lemon-almond filling, these cute little morsels are perfect for afternoon tea. They taste like almond croissants and are a snap to make. You just must remember to thaw the pastry ahead of time—which I like to do in the fridge the night before.

To make the puffs, you’ll need two sheets of all-butter puff pastry. This usually comes frozen, ready-rolled in 14 x 9-inch rectangles. Thawed, you’ll cut each of the sheets into 9 rectangles. You’ll then place a spoonful of lemon frangipane filling in the center of each, roll them into cigars, twist, pinch the ends together and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until puffed and golden.

The filling is a mix of almond flour (finely ground almonds) with a bit of butter, superfine sugar, an egg yolk, lemon zest, and milk. The amount may seem scant, but you really need very little filling for each puff—too large a dollop will just squeeze right out of the pastry when you roll it up.

With your pot of tea ready, eat these right out of the oven while they are still warm, liberally dusted with confectioner’s sugar and a bright yellow zesting of lemon.

MAKES 18 PUFFS

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PASTRY:

• 2, 14 x 9-inch, all-butter puff pastry sheets, thawed

FOR THE FILLING:

• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 3 Tbsp softened butter
• 1/3 cup superfine sugar
• 1 Tbsp raw honey
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp milk, plus one more Tbsp to brush pastry
• Finely grated zest of 2 fresh lemons

TO FINISH:

• 2 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
• Finely grated zest of 1 fresh lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

THAW & PREHEAT: The day before you wish to serve these, thaw puff pastry in refrigerator. When ready to make the puffs, preheat oven to 400F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

MAKE LEMON FRANGIPANE: Place all frangipane ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

FILL AND BAKE PUFFS: On a clean work surface, unroll the puff pastry sheets. Using a sharp knife, cut each sheet into 9 rectangles. Spread a teaspoon of filling in the center of each. Roll up like a cigar. Holding the ends, twist each. Bring ends together and pinch to secure. Place each on parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with the extra Tbsp of milk. Bake 15 to 18 minutes until puffed, golden and baked through. Dust the baked puffs with confectioners’ sugar. Finely grate lemon zest over all. Serve immediately with a pot of tea.