Paris Pastry Club: A collection of cakes, tarts, pastries and other indulgent recipes (18 page)
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Authors: Fanny Zanotti
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Trips to the boulangerie would inevitably result in a slice of flan pâtissier. The kind with a golden – almost burnt – crust and soft – too yellow to be true – custard.
Here I’ve just infused my playground love with favourite flavours: salted caramel and milk chocolate.
If you already have puff pastry stashed away in your freezer, then it’ll be super-easy to make. Essentially a simple crème pâtissière, where the sugar gets caramelised and then poured onto chocolate.
You could always use store-bought puff pastry, or even shortcrust pastry, as it’s often seen at pretty much every street corner boulangerie.
The one thing you need to know, though, is that this crème pâtissière must be beaten for a good solid 10 minutes after it’s been made. Both to cool it down and also to make it smoother and incorporate some air into it. I usually go the easy way and pump up my stand-mixer to full speed. However an electric hand-held beater works just fine too. Or if you’re really desperate for the workout of your life, a wooden spoon. I’ve been there before!
Serves 10 – 12
300 g (10 oz)
Puff Pastry
FOR THE CHOCOLATE FILLING
200 g (7 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
850 g (1 lb 12 oz) whole milk
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 eggs
60 g (2 oz) cornflour (cornstarch)
150 g (5 oz) 70% dark chocolate
50 g (1¾ oz) 40% milk chocolate
Generously butter a 24-cm (9½ -in) tart ring.
Roll the puff pastry on a well-floured work surface into a 28-cm (11-in) disk, approximately 5-mm (¼ -in) thick. Gently lift the dough and line the prepared ring. Keep in the freezer for an hour or up to a month.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Cut a large piece of baking paper and place on top of the puff pastry. Cover with rice or dried beans, packing with your hands, and bake for 20–30 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.
In the meantime, make the crème pâtissière. Place the caster sugar in a large pan and cook over low heat until it turn a deep-brown caramel.
While the sugar is cooking, bring the milk and salt to the boil. Once the caramel is dark enough, take the pan off the heat and add with hot milk, a little at a time.
Return to medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring with a whisk to dissolve any bits of caramel that might have seized.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs and cornflour until combined. Pour the boiling caramel milk over the egg mixture and whisk well. Return to the pan and bring to the boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.
Pour over the chocolates and mix well, using either a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or hand-held electric beater, for around
10 minutes, or until almost cool to the touch.
Remove the paper and rice from the blind-baked pastry case. Scrape on the crème pâtissière and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 45 minutes, or until bubbling and dark patches have formed on the top.
Allow to cool down completely before unmoulding and slicing.
PUFF
PASTRY
There is nothing quite as scary as making puff pastry for the very first time.
I’ve been there and really, after rolling and rolling some more, I thought it wasn’t that hard … if you’re patient.
Puff pastry is the sort of thing that involves more resting time than effort. It’s a labour of love and time, and a generous sprinkle of flour.
You start by making the détrempe, a simple dough made with flour, butter, and water, with the obvious pinch of salt, then leave it in the fridge to firm up for at least a couple of hours or a couple of days.
Then butter gets kneaded into flour, to make for an easier-to-work-with butter layer that won’t set as hard.
And finally the magic happens, when you place the butter on top of your détrempe and start the very soothing rolling and folding. Trust me.
Makes around
1 kg (2 lb) of puff pastry
FOR THE DÉTREMPE
350 g (12 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
150 g (5 oz) water
110 g (3½ oz) butter, melted
1 teaspoon sea salt
FOR THE BUERRE MANIÉ
310 g (11 oz) butter
150 g (5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
Start by making the détrempe. Place the flour in a large bowl. In a jug, combine the water, melted butter and salt. Using a wooden spoon, pour the water over the flour, mixing as you go until just combined. The dough should feel soft, but not sticky.
Place the dough onto clingfilm and, working quickly with the palm of your hands, form a rectangle approximately 30 x 20 cm (12 x 8 in) and 6 mm (⅓ in) thick. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Once the détrempe is made, it’s time to start making the beurre manié. Simply cream the butter for a couple of minutes. Then scrape the sides of the bowl, and tip in the flour and mix very briefly, until just combined. Transfer onto clingfilm and working very quickly – the last thing to want is the butter to melt – form a rectangle half the size of the one you just made with the détrempe. Wrap and chill for at least an hour.
After both doughs have rested enough, lightly flour your work surface. Place the rectangle of détrempe with its large end facing you and top the right side with the rectangle of butter. Fold the left panel of détrempe over the butter. You should now have something that sort of looks like a book.
Using a rolling pin, mark some indents into it. This will make the rolling easier and more even. Then starting from the centre-upwards and the centre-downwards, roll until the dough is less than 1 cm (½ in) thick. It should be a rectangle approximately 40 x 20 cm (15½ x 8 in).
The next step is called a tour double (literally, a double turn – read fold).
Brush the excess flour away and trim the ends so you have a neat rectangle.
Visualise the middle axis of the rectangle, grab the lower end of the dough and fold it over so it meets the middle axis. Do the same with the upper end. I’ll call this an open book.
Finally, close the ‘book’ and wrap it in cling film. Chill for at least a couple of hours.
Now, you’re going to make the second tour double.
Place the book look-alike dough in front of you, spine on the left and repeat the rolling and folding as above.
Once again, chill for a couple of hours.
To give the dough its final tour, place the ‘book’ in front of you, spine on the left and roll it into a rectangle slightly larger than a sheet of A4 paper. Brush the excess flour away and fold in three, just like you would do with a business letter.
Use a sharp knife to cut into 3 equal portions and wrap each well in clingfilm. You can either freeze for up to a month for later use, or keep refrigerated until needed for a couple of days.
To my
grand-mère
Odette, my
grand-père
René, my great-grandmother
Mémé
and my parents: with thanks for everything they’ve taught me, whether they know it or not.
Je vous aime!
And to Aïda, my little sister, otherwise known as the toughest food critic you’ll ever meet.
Thank you Helen and April for turning the photoshoot into a dream. And to my amazing colleagues and friends at Brasserie Chavot for supporting me. Through days and nights, literally. And to Charlotte, for the stunning design. And, perhaps most importantly, a never-ending
merci
to the fabulous team at Hardie Grant, and especially to Kate.
