For ➏-➑ 125 g butter
125 g sugar
3 eggs
1 tbs orange (or lemon) peel,grated
125 g ground almonds
35 g flour
puff pastry*
powder sugar**
pears***
Drape a floured form with the pastry. Cut away the edges, keep apart to decorate.
Melt butter, put the pot in cold water until butter reaches room temperature.
Beat sugar into the eggs, and add the peel. Mix soft butter through the eggs. Mix flour and ground almonds in another bowl. Then add to the butter mixture.
Put mixture into form. Decorate with bands of pastry.
Put in the preheated oven at 200°C for 30/45 m. (Mix some lemon juice with the powder sugar, cover the top.*)
Let cool before serving.
**Add a Belgian touch by covering the top in icing, and decorate it with one or more bottled cherries.
**Ad a French touch by adding half pears, cooked in syrup to the top.
The origin of frangipane filling was in 16th century Italy by the Italian nobleman, Marquis Muzio Frangipani. He created a perfume that was used for scenting gloves that was popular in Paris. Perhaps fueled by the popularity of the scent, Parisian pastry cooks flavoured a pastry cream with almonds and called it frangipane.
In France and Belgium, almost the same recipe is used for an epiphany treat, the galette des rois.
