Costrada de Alcalá is a Traditional Puff Pastry dessert made from a Spanish recipe originating from the city of Alcalá de Henares. This classic dessert consists of sheets of puff pastry that are filled with pastry cream and meringue. The whole thing is topped with chopped almonds and then baked to roast the almonds and dry the outer meringue.
Costrada was first made by two famous royal pastry chefs called Salinas and Postre. This dessert can be found in most restaurants throughout Spain.
Before serving, it should be well-chilled, and when served, it’s best to accompany the puff pastry with a cup of coffee on the side.
Costrada de Alcalá ~ Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 3 puff pastry sheets
- Flour for dusting
- 2 cups ground almonds for garnish
Pastry Cream:
- 4 egg yolks
- 2½ cups milk
- ½ cup sugar
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 oz butter
Meringue:
- 4 egg whites
- 6 drops of lemon juice
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tsp of cream of tartar or over white raising agent
- 2 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Roll out the puff pastry sheets, sprinkling a little flour and gently rolling a rolling pin.
- Put in molds lined with baking paper. Prick well with a pin point roller or a fork, and place another paper on top of the puff pastry; and on top of it a baking tray so that the puff pastry does not rise.
- Bake (400ºF) for about 16 minutes each plate.
- Prepare the meringue and the pastry cream.
- Assemble the meringue on one of the baked puff pastry sheets. Garnish it by sprinkling the crunchy or ground almond, and gratin until it begins to take color, without browning. Let cool.
- On the other two sheets of puff pastry spread the pastry cream forming a layer. Place the meringue on top, and put in the fridge. It is also prepared with just one layer of cream and two layers of meringue.
- It comes in portions of about 10 inch squares, cut with a fine serrated knife.
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