Almond Puff Loaf

My dear Miss L. was recently tasked with bringing a pastry to a brunch, which got me started looking for an appropriate recipe for such an occasion...  and, boy, did I find one!   This Almond Puff Loaf recipe from King Arthur Flour is just the thing.

I was able to get it into the oven in less than 30 minutes and it was ready-to-eat in under 2 hours total.  Not too shabby for something that really does look and taste like it took much more work.  The recipe is a very traditional European pastry that consists of a layer of pie dough  (or tart dough) covered with choux paste and then baked. It is dressed up after baking and, in this case, it's spread with jam, sprinkled with toasted almonds and drizzled with a simple glaze. 

For mine, I spread one with raspberry jam and the other with blueberry jam.  The raspberry is definitely better to my tastes and I would imagine apricot would also go well with the almond flavor.  In the comments section on the King Arthur Flour site, I read that some people spread cream cheese between the two dough layers.  I also wonder how it would be with pastry cream (maybe spread on top after baking?).  

The recipe was made as written although I used about 1/4 of a teaspoon of almond extract instead of the vanilla in the glaze.  Also, the 4 tsp. of milk they call for in the glaze is way too much so just dribble in the milk gradually.  And, as with all choux paste-based pastries, be sure to bake these thoroughly or else they'll have a strong eggy flavor. 

So, Miss L., are you going to make them?!?