Recipe - Aleksander Torte Raspberry-Filled Pastry St

One half pound Unsalted butter, chilled and
Cut into bits
3 One half cup Allpurpose flour
3 tablespoon Sugar
1 Egg
1 One half cup Raspberry preserves (12 oz)
2 tablespoon Soft butter
2 cup Confectioner's sugar
One fourth cup Cold water
2 teaspoon Lemon juice

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chilled butter, 3 cups of the flour and
the sugar and, with your fingertips, rub until the mixture resembles flakes
of coarse meal. Beat in the egg and continue to mix until the pastry is
smooth. Shape it into a ball, wrap it in wax paper, and refrigerate 1
hour, or until the dough is form.

With the back of a spoon, rub the preserves through a fine sieve set over a
1quart saucepan, then cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, for 3
to 5 minutes, or until they thicken into a thin puree. Set aside off the
heat.

Preheat the oven to 250F. Cut the chilled pastry in half and shape each
half into a rectangle. One half at a time, roll the pastry between two
sheets of lightly floured wax paper into a rectangle approximately 10
inches wide and 15 inches long. With a pastry brush, coat each of 2 cookie
sheets with 1 tablespoon of butter and sprinkle them with flour, tipping
the sheets from side to side to coat them evenly. Then invert the sheets
and tap them against a hard surface to dislodge any excess flour. Peel off
the top sheets of wax paper and use the bottom ones to lift the 2
rectangles of pastry onto the 2 cookie sheets. Peel off the remaining
sheets of wax paper. Bake 40 minutes, or until the pastry begins to turn a
pale gold. Watch carefully for any sign of burning and regulate the heat
accordingly.

With a metal spatula, spread the raspberry puree evenly over one sheet of
the pastry, covering it completely and smoothly. Slide the second sheet of
pastry gently onto the first.

With a spoon stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a large
mixing bowl to form a thin paste. Spread the icing over the top layer of
pastry with the spatula, and set the cake aside to cool to room
temperature. With a small, sharp knife or pastry wheel, slice the
Aleksander Torte into strips 1 inch wide and 2 inches long, cutting the
ends on the diagonal.

Recipe By : TimeLife Foods of the World (Russian Cooking)

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini