Tag: French pastry

Custard Slice / Mille-Feuille

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Custard Slice / Mille-Feuille
Custard Slice / Mille-Feuille


Crème Pâtissière:
40g corn flour
500ml milk
4 egg yolks
100g sugar
5ml vanilla
1 x 400g Today Puff Pastry
250g icing sugar

For the crème pâtissière:
Add the corn flour to a mixing bowl. Pour a small amount of milk into the bowl and stir to dissolve.
Add the yolks and half the sugar. Whisk to gather by hand until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
Pour the rest of the milk and the rest of the sugar into a small saucepan.
Set over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Take the milk from the heat as soon as tiny bubbles start to appear around the edge of the saucepan.
Drizzle the warm mixture onto the egg mixture while whisking continuously.
Now pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place on a medium-low heat.
Stir continuously until the mixture is thick and smooth.
Allow to cook for 30 seconds before removing from the heat.
Add the vanilla and stir through.
Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl, place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface and allow to cool completely.

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Unroll the pastry sheet and cut it into 4 equal rectangles (cut through lengthwise and then halve each strip).
Place the rectangles on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart.
Place another sheet of baking paper on top of the pastry and then place another baking sheet on top of that.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Assembly:
Whisk your room temperature crème pâtissière by hand until it is smooth.
Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a large (1,5/2cm) nozzle.
Lay a pastry sheet on a serving plate and pipe dollops over the entire sheet.
Repeat until you have one pastry sheet left.
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add a tablespoon of milk.
Stir the mixture, adding a few drops more until you have a very thick paste.
Spread the icing paste on the pastry sheet and set aside to dry.
Place the iced pastry on top of the custard slice.
Slice into portions once you have displayed your beautiful creation.

Mushroom Galette

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Mushroom Galette
Mushroom Galette

A galette is simply a free-form French pastry with either a savoury or sweet filling. Easy and quick to make, this mushroom galette is creamy, has depth of flavour and makes a perfect light lunch.

400g puff pastry
125ml cream cheese at room temperature

45ml butter
30ml vegetable oil
500g mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml thyme, lightly chopped
45ml port or sherry
250ml mozzarella cheese, grated

Egg wash of 1 egg and 15ml milk, whisked together

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the pastry big enough to cut a 26cm-diameter circle.
Place the pastry circle onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Spread the cream cheese onto the pastry with the back of a spoon, leaving a 2cm border of pastry, all around.
Set aside.

Heat a heavy bottom pan on high heat and add the butter and oil. (If your pan is not large enough to accommodate all the mushroom at once, add half the butter and oil).
Add the mushroom to the pan and fry at high heat so that the mushroom caramelises, about 3 minutes.
Now add the garlic and thyme and cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
Spoon this mixture into a bowl to cool and put the frying pan back onto medium heat.
Add a splash of oil and cook the onion until soft. Add this to the mushroom mixture.
Put the pan back onto the heat once more and add the port, scraping down the pan with a spatula. Scrape the caramelised bits left in the pan as well as the reduced port onto the mushroom mixture.

Sprinkle two thirds of the grated mozzarella cheese onto the cream cheese and pastry.
Spoon the cooled mushroom mixture on top of the cheese and finish with the rest of the mozzarella.
Fold the 2 cm pastry that extends beyond the filling over and onto the mushroom mixture.
Brush the folded pastry with the egg wash and bake the galette for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden.
Serve as an aperitif or as a light lunch.