Strawberry Pistachio Towers Recipes

Steps:

• Place milk in a saucepan. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape beans into milk along with the pods. Heat to a boil stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Meanwhile whip yolks and sugar until thick. Remove vanilla pods from milk as it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and ladle enough of the hot milk into the yolk mixture, stirring well to warm it and make it more liquid. Add this mixture back to the saucepan and stir constantly until it reaches a simmer and is thick. Allow to bubble, stirring for 1 full minute. Pour into a glass or stainless bowl, cover and refrigerate until cold. (May be done a day in advance.)
• Draw a 10-inch diameter circle on paper as a guide. Place parchment baking paper over the guide. Soften almond paste with mixer on low speed. Add egg white and mix thoroughly. Using a pastry bag fitted with a star tube, pipe the macaroon mixture around the circle in rosettes. Prepare almond cake.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix both flours and the 1/2 cup sugar together and set aside. Whip egg whites until they form medium peaks. Add the 3 tablespoons sugar and continue to whip until well incorporated. Adding by thirds, shake in the flour sugar mixture. Fold in until incorporated. Starting at the center, pipe the almond cake batter inside the macaroon rosettes to create a solid base. Bake on lower shelf of oven until base is cooked and rosettes are starting to brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Diplomat Cream and assembly: 2/3 recipe pastry cream 1 cup whipping cream 1-ounce pistachio paste 1 to 1 1/2 pints fresh strawberries Apricot glaze Handful unsalted pistachios
• Whip cream to soft peaks. Stir pastry cream until smooth. Stir pistachio paste into pastry cream then fold in whipped cream. Spread onto cooled tart base inside the macaroon rosette border. Arrange whole or halved strawberries on top. Glaze with apricot glaze using a pastry brush and sprinkle pistachios on top.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out puff pastry to a 12-by-16-inch rectangle. Transfer to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and trim to make a neat rectangle. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes. With a fork, prick pastry all over. To prevent pastry from rising, top with a sheet of parchment paper and stack another rimmed baking sheet on top. Bake until light golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine 1/4 cup pistachios and sugar and process until pistachios are finely ground. Sprinkle mixture on pastry, leaving a 3/4-inch border. Bake until pastry is deep golden and pistachio mixture begins to turn golden, 15 to 17 minutes. Roughly chop remaining 1/4 cup pistachios. Remove sheet from oven; arrange strawberries on pistachio mixture, overlapping slices. Brush berries and border with jam and sprinkle chopped pistachios on border. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse to combine flour, salt and sugar. Add butter and cream cheese and pulse until lima-bean-size pieces form. Drizzle in lemon juice and 3 tablespoons/45 milliliters ice water, then pulse just until dough comes together, adding another tablespoon/15 milliliters of water if dough looks dry. Pat into a disc, wrap in plastic, and chill at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
• Make the strawberry compote: Combine approximately 2/3 of the strawberries in a small pot with the lemon juice and 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to taste, depending on sweetness of the berries. Cook over medium heat until strawberries start to break down and juices are thick and syrupy, about 12 minutes. Let cool. Compote can be made up to 5 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
• Make the frangipane: In a food processor, process 3/4 cup/100 grams shelled raw pistachios and remaining 1/2 cup/100 grams sugar until finely ground. Add butter; pulse until combined, then add 2 eggs, the brandy, the lemon zest and the almond extract (if using), and pulse until smooth.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Dust a work surface with flour. Roll out dough to a 16-inch circle (it will be just slightly thicker than 1/8-inch), then transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Leaving a 3-inch border around the edges, spread the frangipane filling evenly over dough. Using a slotted spoon, dollop strawberry compote over frangipane, spreading any syrup gently so the compote and frangipane remain in separate layers, then fold dough edges up over the filling. About 6 to 8 inches of the filling should be exposed.
• In a small bowl, whisk remaining egg with 1 tablespoon cold water, then brush over the dough. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and chopped pistachios. Bake until edges are deeply golden, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. To serve, top with remaining halved strawberries and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Using a round cookie cutter or small can, trim the sliced pound cake into disks. Layer, starting with a slice of pound cake, then a small scoop of chocolate ice cream, a slice of pound cake, then pistachio ice cream, a slice of pound cake, and strawberry ice cream, finishing with a slice of pound cake to form spumoni towers. Individually wrap and freeze to set. To serve, place on a rack set over a baking sheet, and pour sauce over top to cover. Transfer to dessert plates and serve.