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At 65 avenue des Gobelins in Paris, in the 13th district, you will find the “Asselin” bakery, not quite like the others. For over 15 years, I have been going there to lovingly enjoy their giant shortbread. There are with praline, caramel, nuts etc… A real treat! Their praline shortbread is to die for and I invite you to go and taste it. In the meantime, you can try to make them at home because I cloned their filling one day by accident. That’s all it took for me to want to develop a recipe that would work perfectly. Today I have done so with these light little things measuring 9X9cm, crispy on top and bottom, with an interior especially rich and melting! I give you the recipe for 12 shortbread, you can of course reduce the quantities. In any case, the taste is identical to the original shortbread!
What makes shortbread taste so good? The dough of course. But especially this praline filling. One day, to make the Paris-Brest, I bought a jar of Barry 50/50 praline (half hazelnuts, half almonds), so: 25% hazelnuts, 25% almonds and 50% sugar. Because I use homemade praline AND Barrry praline. When I opened the jar, I realized that this was the ingredient that was in Asselin’s shortbread. Just a smell and I all immediately identified what I had been trying to understand for years. So here it is: to make these shortbreads a success, the Barry praline will be essential. If you are not in Paris (because of course you can find it at G.Detou), or if you don’t have the Metro card, there is still the internet. You can find it HERE!
Recipe for 12 giant shortbreads (one 27X36cm plate):
Sweet dough:
-500g of flour
-350g of soft butter in pieces
-40g of almond powder
-100g beaten egg
-100g of powdered sugar
-90g of soft butter
-90g of milk chocolate
-720g of Barry 50/50 praline (on sale on this site)
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Prepare the sweet pastry:
Put the ground almonds, icing sugar, flour, salt and butter in pieces in the bowl of the kneader.
Sand the mixture to incorporate the butter with the “k” of the food processor. Or by hand!
Add the beaten egg.
Mix just enough to incorporate this one, but no more! Roll the dough into a ball and let it rest in a cool place for one hour.
Cut the dough into two equal parts.
Roll out the dough 3-4mm to the size of a 30 x 40 centimeters plate. Cut off the excess to obtain just the size of the plate.
Put the dough on a flared baking sheet of the same size and let it rest in a cool place for at least an hour.
Do the same with the second half of the dough. We thus obtain two plates.
Brush on milk.
Then scratch the surface with a fork on both plates (just take the better one for the top)
Bake at 180°C for 20 to 25 minutes. The dough should be evenly browned. Bake the second plate in the same way.
Melt butter and milk chocolate together. Add the praline paste.
Mix well (and taste).
Place (if you have one!, it’s not necessary) a pastry base in a 36 x 27 cm frame with the frame 2cm high. This is the same framework I use for the Opera. Just cut the dough to size.
Pour all the praline (butter and chocolate) on the pastry (on the picture I didn’t put everything yet!).
Spread with a scraper or spatula.
Then gently place the second pastry base cut to size.
Chill for 20 minutes until the praline hardens a bit and is easier to cut.
Cut the shortbread into 12 equal pieces measuring 9 by 9 centimeters.
You can see the delicious praline spilling over the sides!
The shortbread will keep in an airtight box for a good week.
Of course, if there are too many, it will be a good excuse to offer them!
