Ladurée Pâte Sablée Croustillante à Crumble - Ladurée Crisp Sweet Pastry for Crumbles

I have had my copy of Laduree Sucre the Recipes for a while now and although I have looked through the glorious little book more than once, eyes and mouth open wide in utter amazement at the glorious array of recipes, I have not yet actually made anything. Admittedly most of these recipes involve at least two days of serious baking for a home baker but there are a few simpler and equally scrumptious recipes too, this is one of them.

Pâte Sablée Croustillante à Crumble or Crisp Sweet Pastry for Crumbles, features in the Basic Recipes section of the book, this I'm sure will be a section I visit often.

This crumble is quite simply amazing! I decided to use mine to make a quick Apple and Blueberry Crumble but I could literally eat this by its self. Apart from the refrigeration time which can be a little irksome this recipe was a breeze and I'm going to make another batch to store for impromptu use. This crumble would be fantastic sprinkled over ice cream or peach halves and whipped cream.

Here is a snap of the Crumble before baking.

I baked my crumble for 10 minutes on a tray, as suggested in the recipe before removing and topping my prepared fruit, I then baked my apple and blueberry crumble as normal (about 40 minutes). I didn't bake on a try for the suggested 15-20 minutes as I know hubby doesn't like his crumble too crunchy or crisp, the results were perfect with just the right amount of crispness without being crunchy.

Makes 7 oz /200g of dough

3 1/2 tbsp / 50g butter, very cold

1/2 cup / ?50g all-purpose flour

+ 2 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour for work surface

1/4 cup / 50g granulated sugar

1/2 cup / 50g ground almonds (almond flour)

1 pinch of salt

1. Cut the chilled butter into small pieces. Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the butter, sugar, ground almonds and salt. Using the palms of your hands, work the ingredients until the dough comes together.

2. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of an hour before using.

3. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/5 inch / 5 mm.

Cut 1/3 inch / 1cm cubes. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to harden.

4. Preheat the oven to 300 F / 150 C / Gas Mark 2

Place the pastry cubes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread them out on the sheet, making sure to separate any pieces that stick together.

5. Place the sheet in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Chef's Tip: You can also prepare the dough one day ahead (steps 1 & 2) and bake the following day.

This crumble has the most beautiful flavour, I am not the biggest almond fan but although the almonds make this crumble incredibly flavourful, the flavour is not predominantly almond and this really does feel like a glorious Parisian crumble you would only find in the chicest patisserie in town.

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