Almond Crust

When you want a thin, light crust just to add a little flavor to the dessert without it being dough or graham cracker, you want almond. It is like graham cracker in that you cannot use this crust to pick up a dessert by hand, but it adds a little something to the dessert on a fork Use this crust for those light fillings like cheesecakes, mousse cakes, and cream pies.

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Almond Crust

Planning

  • Prep Time:

    5 minutes

  • Cook Time & Temp

    8 minutes

  • Chill/Set Time:

    Cool: approx 20 minutes

  • Yield & Servings:

    Bottom and sides of an 8" or 9" cake pan or a 10" pie pan.

Preparation

  • Materials

    Stand mixer with paddle

  • Prep

    Sift the flour
    Whisk the flour and almond flour together
    Set the egg out to bring it to room temperature
    Separate the egg and whisk it by hand with the vanilla

  • Ingredients

    Almond Flour 100g (1 cup)
    Cake Flour 100 g (approx 1 cup)
    Butter, softened 113g (1/2 cup/1 stick)
    Granulated Sugar 30g (2 tbsp)
    Egg Yolk 20g (1 large)
    Vanilla Extract 5g (1 tsp)
    Lemon Zest 1 teaspoon (½ - 1 Lemon

  • Shopping List

    Almond Flour (fine almond meal)
    Cake Flour (T45)
    Butter
    Granulated Sugar
    Egg Yolk
    Vanilla Extract
    Lemon Zest

Ingredients & Steps

  • Steps

    STEP 1: Cream the butter and sugar in the stand mixer with a paddle on medium until light and fluffy.

    STEP 2: Whip the egg yolk and vanilla by hand then mix in a little at a time.

    STEP 3: Sift in the flour (cake & almond mixture) little by little while mixing in by hand until it comes together in a smooth, shaggy dough.

    STEP 4: Remove the dough to the lightly floured pastry mat. Roll it into a ball, then pull of a piece at a time to press into the pan. Cover the parchment paper on the sides and the bottom pressing the mixture into a thin layer. Leave about 1/2 of rim showing on the inside top rim.

    STEP 5: Blind bake the crust in the springform pan at 400F for 8 minutes. The crust should be brown just on the very edges. Set it aside to cool and reduce oven temperature to 350F.

    Set the springform pan aside and continue making the cheesecake.

  • Notes

    Add more sugar if you want a sweet crust
    Apply the almond mixture to just the bottom of the pan, or just 1/4 inch up the sides, or higher. This will not form a rim like a dough crust so don't take it all the way up the sides. If you want a clean straight top edge use a butterknife to cut that edge along the pan.

Applications & Plating Pairings

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