Ingredients
| FOR THE DOUGH | |
| 15g active dry yeast | |
| 65g sugar | |
| 150ml warm milk | |
| 90g cold butter, plus 250g butter, soft but not warm | |
| 465g flour, plus an extra 25g | |
| 8g salt | |
| 2 medium-sized eggs | |
| FOR THE CUSTARD | |
| 250ml milk | |
| 100ml cream | |
| 50g sugar | |
| ½ teaspoon vanilla paste | |
| 20g cornflour | |
| 3 egg yolks | |
| FOR THE RHUBARB | |
| 500g rhubarb | |
| 150g sugar | |
| 50g raspberry jam | |
| 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla paste | |
| 30ml lemon juice |
The recipe here is for a yeast-based dough which requires resting time and lamination, a process in which dough is wrapped around fat, rolled out and folded over many times to create flaky layers. If time is short, these pastries are also delicious made using a good-quality store-bought flaky puff pastry, cutting down on preparation time significantly.
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Instructions
| 1. | DOUGH |
| 2. | Mix the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar into the warm milk and let sit for 10 minutes to activate. |
| 3. | Cut the cold butter into 465g flour to form a crumbly mixture, either by grating the butter or using a food processor. |
| 4. | In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour and butter with the rest of the sugar, salt, the yeast/milk mixture and the eggs. |
| 5. | Mix with the hook attachment for about 7 minutes until a dough ball forms – it will still be quite sticky. |
| 6. | Cover and let it rest for about 30 minutes – it should grow to about twice its size in that time. |
| 7. | Tip the dough onto a work surface and stretch it out, creating tension by pushing it away from you then rolling it back towards you, forming a ball. |
| 8. | Wrap in plastic wrap and leave to rest for about 1 hour in the fridge. |
| 9. | To make a butter sheet, mix the remaining 25g flour into the soft butter, either by hand or in a mixer until combined. Scrape onto a piece of baking paper. |
| 10. | Put another piece of baking paper on top and use a rolling pin to form the butter into a square about 1cm thick. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour. |
| 11. | Take the dough out of the fridge and pat gently into a square. |
| 12. | Roll it out to about 1cm thick – it will be twice the size of the butter sheet. |
| 13. | Lay the butter sheet on top of the dough and fold the dough over the top to enclose the butter completely. |
| 14. | Press the edges of the dough together so it doesn’t open up. |
| 15. | Sprinkle enough flour on the surface of the bench so the dough won’t stick, but not so much that the dough is completely covered in flour. |
| 16. | Roll out the dough until it is about 6mm thick, making a rectangle. |
| 17. | Try to roll it out with long strokes and even pressure so as to not smash the butter. |
| 18. | Fold the dough in thirds by taking the right side of the dough and folding it in over the middle third, then folding the left side third over the top of that, making three layers of dough. |
| 19. | Lightly score the sides you’ve just folded over with a sharp knife to release the tension. |
| 20. | Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 20 minutes. |
| 21. | Take the dough out of the fridge back onto the floured surface with the cut-open sides of the dough facing the sides. |
| 22. | Roll the dough away from you, again forming a rectangle about 6mm thick. Only roll it top to bottom, not sideways. |
| 23. | Fold the top quarter of the dough to the centre, and the bottom quarter of the dough to the centre and then fold one on top of the other, ultimately creating four layers of dough (a book fold). |
| 24. | Score open the folded sides, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. |
| 25. | When chilled, take the dough out of the fridge and place back onto the floured surface with the cut-open sides of the dough facing the sides. |
| 26. | Roll out, from top to bottom, to about 5mm thickness. Cut the pastry into 12 pieces about 10cm x 10cm. |
| 27. | These can now be refrigerated or frozen or you can proceed directly from here. |
| 28. | As this is a yeasted dough, you need to proof it at room temperature before baking. |
| 29. | Line a baking tray with baking paper and put the dough onto the tray, leaving space between each pastry. |
| 30. | If you have a water spray bottle, spray the pastry lightly to prevent it from drying out. |
| 31. | Leave to proof for 1-1½ hours – the dough should look puffy and feel soft. |
| 32. | It is very fragile at this stage, so make sure not to touch or press it. |
| 33. | STORE-BOUGHT PASTRY OPTION |
| 34. | If using store-bought flaky puff pastry, for 12 pastries you will need 500g pastry rolled out to about 4mm thickness (or ready rolled), and cut into 12 pieces about 8cm x 10cm. |
| 35. | CUSTARD |
| 36. | Put 200ml of the milk in a 20cm saucepan with the cream, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt and bring to a low boil over a medium heat. |
| 37. | In a bowl, whisk the rest of the milk with the cornflour then whisk in the egg yolks. |
| 38. | Pour about a third of the hot milk into the eggs, whisking vigorously and continuously, then add another third and whisk again. |
| 39. | Pour this mixture into the remaining boiled milk, whisking continuously, then return to a very low heat. |
| 40. | Keep whisking the mix (to avoid ending up with scrambled eggs). |
| 41. | Cook until the custard thickens, then cook for a further 2 minutes. |
| 42. | If you are worried about the mixture overheating, you can use a double boiler but it takes longer to thicken. |
| 43. | Pour the custard through a strainer if you need to remove any lumps, and put a layer of plastic wrap on the top of the hot custard to avoid a skin forming. |
| 44. | Set it aside to cool then put into the fridge to set. |
| 45. | RHUBARB |
| 46. | Trim the rhubarb and cut into 6cm-long batons. If some stalks are thicker than others, cut in half lengthwise to even them out. |
| 47. | Put the sugar in a wide saucepan with the jam, vanilla, lemon juice and 150ml water and bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar. |
| 48. | Add prepared rhubarb and poach for about 1 minute until just tender. |
| 49. | Remove from the liquid to cool as you want the fruit to retain its structure so it doesn’t fall apart. |
| 50. | Cool, then store in the fridge in the cold poaching liquid. |
| 51. | TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE |
| 52. | Heat the oven to 180°C if you have made the yeasted dough or 200°C for store-bought flaky puff pastry. |
| 53. | Spoon a tablespoon of custard into the middle of each pastry, spreading it out but leaving a 1cm border. |
| 54. | Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with a little more custard and the poached rhubarb. |
| 55. | Sprinkle with a little icing sugar and drizzle with rhubarb syrup before serving. |
Recipes Annie Niemann & Lisa Sutherland / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Smith & Aaron McLean