Victorian Tea Pastry

When I was growing up, my mother made Swedish tea rings for Christmas breakfast. This was quite an undertaking since it needed to rise twice and then be rolled into the ring shape with all the requisite fillings. I liked it a lot but it was a ton of work. Then in my 20s, my mother found this recipe. It’s much easier, has all the same bang for your buck in terms of taste and presentation and best of all, you don’t need to start this recipe the day before.

When my kids were little, they tended to switch up the consonants on words, so this was called the Pee Tasty. To be honest, we still call it that today.

Topping:

½ C water
½ stick butter
½ C flour
2 eggs
½ t almond extract

Bottom:

½ C flour
½ stick butter, softened
1 T water

Icing:

1 T butter, softened
½ C powdered sugar
1 ½ t milk
¼ t almond extract
1/8 toasted, sliced almonds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Top: Bring the water and butter to a boil, Remove from heat and immediately stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Beat till smooth. Set aside while you make the bottom of the pastry.

Bottom: In a bowl, combine the flour and butter and blend well. Add the water and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough tends to form a ball. Place on a cookie sheet and flatten until it’s about ½ inch thick (dough shouldn’t reach the edges of the baking sheet).

Top: Now add the eggs one at a time to the still-warm mixture in the pan. Beat well after adding each egg until the mixture is smooth. Add the almond extract and mix well. Spread the mixture over the dough on the baking sheet coming to within ¼ inch of the edges. Bake for about an hour (don’t open the oven). Cool about 10 minutes before frosting.

Icing: Blend the butter, powdered sugar, milk and almond extract until smooth. Spread over the warm pastry and sprinkle with the toasted, sliced almonds.

This version is cut in half from my mother’s version. If you want to make the full recipe, increase the eggs to three, not four. Otherwise double everything else.