Recipe reprinted with permission from Page Street Publishing, 2014. I love the light sweetness of traditional almond pastry cream, otherwise known as frangipane. Make sure you allow these to cool slightly before serving, because the filling will be very hot!
8tbsp(115 g) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3⁄4 cup(100 g) confectioners’ sugar
3⁄4 cup(75 g) almond meal or almond flour*
1large egg
1½tbsp(15 g) cornstarch
1tsp(5 ml) almond extract
¼tspvanilla extract
¼tspsalt
½cup(85 g) lightly toasted sliced almonds
40round or square dumpling wrappers
Oil for deep frying
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter on low speed until soft and whipped. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat on high for 30 seconds. Add the almond meal and beat for 30 seconds more. Add the egg, cornstarch, almond and vanilla extracts, and salt. Mix on low speed until well incorporated, about 1 minute. Fold in the toasted sliced almonds using a spatula. Cover and refrigerate the filling for at least an hour.
Place 1 tablespoon (12 g) of filling in the middle of a square wrapper and wet the edges of the wrapper using a pastry brush or your finger. Bring the two opposite corners together over the filling, using water to pinch the two corners together. Bring the remaining two corners to the center and seal all the edges together with a gentle pinch. You may use this technique with round wrappers also to achieve either a square (four seams) or a triangle (three seams).
Preheat a few inches of oil to 340°F/170°C in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the dumplings a few pieces at a time. Gently turn the dumplings in the oil, cooking until all sides are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain the dumplings on paper towels. Make sure the heat of the oil stays at 340°F/170°C while frying the dumplings, and return the oil to this temperature before adding new dumplings. Serve warm, dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
Notes
* You can usually find almond meal or almond flour in your grocer’s health food or all-natural aisle where they sell various wheat-free products and other baking flours. If you can’t find almond flour you can make it by simply pulsing blanched almonds (untoasted) in a food processor until the almonds break down into a small-grain flour, about 1 minute. (Do not overprocess or it will turn into almond butter.)I used Bob's Red Mill, but it is super expensive. You'd probably do better to make your own. --Jenni