Almond and Pear Lattice Pie
perfect to start the Spring days
Ingredientes
Pie Crust
- 180 g all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 1 tsp table salt
- 125 g unsalted butter (cold)
- 50 ml ice water
Almond Cream
- 90 g unsalted butter (softened)
- 80 g powdered sugar
- 2 eggs
- 100 g almond flour
Pear Filling
- 700 g pears (peeled and deseeded)
- 2 tbsp yellow sugar
- 1 tsp cinnammon powder
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Decoration
- 25 g chopped almonds
- white sugar
Preparação
Lattice Crust
- In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt.
- Chop the cold butter in small cubes and add it to the mixture. Place it in the food processor and pulse for a few seconds until the butter is chopped to smaller bits.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and place it in a bowl. Knead the dough until it is smooth and a little moist. As needed, add spoonfuls of ice water one at a time, to help it reach this texture.
- Wrap this ball of dough in cling wrap and refrigerate it for at least two hours. In the meantime, prepare the other elements of the pie.
Almond Cream
- In the mixer, beat the soft butter with the sugar for about 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs and the almound flour. Beat for a couple more minutes.
- Move this cream to a bowl and cover it with cling wrap. Place it in the fridge until it is time to fill the pie.
Pear Filling
- Remove the skin and seeds from the pears and chop them in cubes of about 2 cm in height.
- Place the pear and the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Assembling and Decorating
- Preheat the oven to 180 º C.
- Remove the pie dough from the fridge. Sift some flour over a table and a rolling pin. Split the dough in half. Pick one half, roll it and stretch it until you have a circle of about 24 cm in diameter.
- Place this circle in a pie dish of about 22 cm in diameter, ensuring it covers its entire surface and sides. Trim the edges.
- Spread the almond cream over the surface of the pie bottom, and smoothen it over with a spatula.
- Next spread the pear filling on top of the almond cream. Make sure to distribute it evenly so that is about the height across the pie's surface.
- Spread the remaining dough with the rolling pin, just like you did previously.
- With a sharp knife, cut rectangular trips about 2 cm wide. Carefully lay them over the pear filling and attach them to the edges of the the dough, alternating to make the lattice pattern. (To learn how to do a lattice pattern, please check this recipe's notes)
- Beat one egg in a bowl, just to break up the yolk. Then, lightly brush the pie's top with the eggwash. Sprinkle the surface with the chopped almonds and white sugar.
- Bake for about 40 minutes or until the pie crust is a nice golden color and its filling is cooked. Let it cool down a little bit.
- This pie is best served still warm and goes well with a side of whippped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Notas
To make the lattice crust as seen in the pictures, it is best to check a youtube tutorial such as this one, as it is difficult to put this process into words. This way you can follow along as you try it out.