The key to baking with puff pastry is to not be scared to let it get dark golden brown so that it is really crispy and the butter inside it takes on a lovely nutty flavor. Pale, soggy puff pastry is always a disappointment.
When you use puff pastry for tarts or something delicate, such as millefeuilles, you need to prick the pastry with a fork in order to deflate some of the air pockets and stop it from rising up too much. It might seem odd to do this after spending so much time creating layers of pastry and air, but even when puff pastry is baked wafer thin and flat, it retains a light flakiness that is completely different from the sweet pastry in the previous chapter.
I hope that you will enjoy making your own puff pastry, but if you don’t have the time or the inclination, choose a good ready-made all-butter one.
A selection of these savory slices, warm from the oven, is great for putting out with coffee in the morning. If you want to make only one flavor, just increase the quantities accordingly. The slices can be made up in their entirety to the point of baking and then frozen. Just defrost them and bake as usual.
Makes 12
1 recipe Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 1 pound ready-made all-butter puff pastry
For the béchamel sauce
3½ tablespoons butter
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
1⅔ cups whole milk
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
For the toppings
knob of butter
about 6 large cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
6 slices good-quality pancetta or prosciutto
3.5 ounces Gruyère or Emmentaler cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt, for glazing the pastry
Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease two baking sheets.
TO MAKE THE BÉCHAMEL SAUCE: Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. When it is bubbling gently, remove from the heat, add the flour, and whisk briskly, until all the butter is absorbed and you have a paste that comes away cleanly from the pan.
Add the milk a little at a time, whisking continuously to avoid lumps. When the milk is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth, put the pan back over medium-low heat, stirring until the sauce starts to bubble. Cook for 1 minute more, then remove from the heat. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, then leave to cool.
TO MAKE THE MUSHROOM TOPPING: Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the mushrooms, and fry gently for a couple minutes, until they color a little. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley.
Dust your work surface with flour, roll out the pastry 
inch thick, then cut into twelve 3-inch squares.
Fold two opposite corners of each square into the middle, then transfer the pastry slices to your prepared baking sheets.
TO MAKE PANCETTA SLICES: Spoon a little sauce onto the pastry where the two corners meet, then add a slice of pancetta and top with a little of the grated cheese.
TO MAKE MUSHROOM SLICES: Mix the mushrooms with one-third of the sauce in a bowl. Spoon some of this mixture onto the pastry where the two corners meet, then top with a little of the grated cheese.
Brush the exposed areas of pastry with the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes, until golden brown and crispy underneath.
These circles of pastry with a slice of chorizo inside look like ravioli and are just the right one-mouthful size to serve (warm) with drinks. The easiest way to make them is to seal the slices of chorizo between two strips of pastry and then stamp out the little circles ready for baking. If you want to get ahead, you can make these up to the point of baking and then freeze them. Because they are so small, there is no need to defrost them—just bake as usual, though they may need an extra 5 minutes or so in the oven to ensure they are heated all the way through.
Makes 18
about 9 ounces Spanish chorizo
1 recipe Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 1 pound ready-made all-butter puff pastry
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt, for sealing the pastry
Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease two baking sheets.
Cut the chorizo into 18 slices about ⅜ inch thick.
Dust your work surface with flour, then roll out the pastry into a rectangle measuring about 8 by 6¼ inches. Cut this lengthwise into four equal strips each about 1⅝ inches wide.
Lay two of the strips horizontally in front of you. Place a line of nine chorizo slices along the middle of each strip, leaving ¾ inch between each slice, and a ¾-inch space at either end.
Brush the exposed pastry around the chorizo slices with the beaten egg, then cover with the remaining strips of pastry.
Now you need to seal the pastry around the chorizo. You can do this by pressing delicately with your fingertips. Or, take a small round pastry cutter, just a tiny bit larger than the chorizo, turn it upside down so you are not using the sharp side, then press it very gently around the chorizo to seal the pastry.
Now take a cutter a little larger than the chorizo, and this time use it the right-way up to stamp out nine circles, each with a slice of chorizo in the center. Brush with the beaten egg and, if you like, decorate the top by making little cuts with the tip of a knife (don’t cut all the way through the pastry). Repeat for the remaining two strips of pastry and 18 slices of chorizo.
Lay the circles on your prepared baking sheets and bake for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is crispy and golden. Cool for a few minutes before eating.
Along with quiche, sausage rolls frequently get bad press. Too often they are greasy or stodgy, or filled with bland-tasting sausage meat. But with properly made pastry and a homemade, well-seasoned filling, they are some of the best snack or party foods you can have. You can make them up to the point of baking, then freeze them, ready to defrost and bake as usual. Eat them warm or cold.
I make my sausage meat with half pork belly and half shoulder, which I grind myself, but if you like, you can just buy good-quality ground pork.
Makes twelve 3⅛-inch rolls or 24 cocktail-size rolls
For the filling
10 ounces each pork belly, skin removed, and pork shoulder or 1.2 pounds ground pork
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 small bunch curly parsley, finely chopped
scant ½ cup bread crumbs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ whole nutmeg, grated (or more, to taste)
½ teaspoon ground allspice (or more, to taste)
1 recipe Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 1 pound ready-made all-butter puff pastry
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt, for sealing and glazing the pastry
Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a baking sheet.
TO MAKE THE FILLING: If grinding the meat yourself, put through a meat grinder (use the medium-size holes) or use a stand mixer with a medium grinding attachment. Mix the pork with the onion and parsley, then add the bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper and the spices. To test that it is seasoned to your liking, take a little bit of the mixture and fry it in a pan until the meat is cooked through. Taste it and adjust the salt, pepper, and spices as necessary.
Dust your work surface with flour, then roll out the pastry into a rectangle measuring 9½ by 12½ inches and inch thick. Cut this lengthwise into three long strips, each about 3⅛ inches wide. Spoon the sausage meat into a piping bag—a disposable bag is best for this, as you are using raw meat—then pipe a line of it along the length of each strip, just to the right of center. Brush the long, right-hand edge of the pastry with the beaten egg, then fold the opposite edge over to enclose the meat. Press together to seal. Cut widthwise into four pieces if you are making large rolls, or into eight for cocktail rolls. Brush the tops with beaten egg.
Using a knife, score the top of each roll diagonally 6–8 times, but don’t cut all the way through the pastry. Place on your prepared baking sheets and bake cocktail-size rolls for 12–15 minutes or larger ones for 18 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crispy. Cool before serving.
This is one of the first classic tarts you are taught how to make as an apprentice baker in France, and you learn the importance of allowing the pastry to become really dark golden brown so that it is properly crisp underneath. The apricot quarters become a little burnt at the tips, giving the tart real character. I still think it is one of the most beautiful of all tarts—crisp pastry, smooth vanilla crème patissière, and the sweet tang of the apricots. It is perfect with no accompaniment whatsoever, except maybe a glass of sweet wine.
If you like, you can make this tart in exactly the same way using plums.
Makes one 11-inch tart
1 quantity Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 1 pound ready-made all-butter puff pastry
1 recipe Crème Pâtissière (see page 105)
½ recipe Almond Cream (see page 119)
12 apricots
about 1 teaspoon superfine or granulated sugar
about ⅔ cup apricot jam, for glazing (optional)
1–2 tablespoons water (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease an 11-inch removable-bottomed tart pan or a ring and baking sheet.
Dust your work surface with flour, then roll out the pastry about inch thick and line your pan or ring set on the prepared baking sheet (see page 34). Prick the base of the pastry with a fork.
Mix together the crème pâtissière and almond cream, then spoon into the pastry crust, spreading it out evenly.
Cut the apricots in half, remove the pits, then cut each half into four wedges, reserving one whole half for the center. Arrange skin side down, in a loose circular fashion on top of the creamy base, pushing one end of each piece gently into the cream, so that the other end points slightly upward. Place the apricot half on top in the center of the tart. Sprinkle with the sugar. As the tart bakes, it will caramelize on the pointed ends of the apricots, which makes the tart look more attractive.
Place on a baking sheet (if using a tart pan) and bake for 12–15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350°F and bake for a further 20 minutes, until the apricots have caramelized and the pastry is dark golden. If you insert a table knife carefully under the edge of the pastry it should come away from the pan. Leave in the pan for about 15 minutes, then lift out and cool on a rack.
You can leave the tart as it is, but if you want to give the apricots a little sheen, put the apricot jam into a saucepan with the water, and bring to just under a simmer. Don’t let the mixture boil or the jam will become too gooey to spread properly. Press the jam through a fine sieve to remove any pulp. Using a pastry brush, lightly glaze the apricots.
If you are short of time or don’t have apples to make the apple purée base for this recipe, you can use a small jar of good-quality applesauce or puréed apple for babies. For the sliced apples, go for a good eating apple, such as Braeburn, or a local or heritage variety that has a good balance of sweetness and sharpness. The tarts are good served either warm or at room temperature.
Makes two 6¼-inch tarts
For the apple compote
2 large Braeburn apples
1 tablespoon superfine sugar or granulated sugar
splash of brandy
about 1 tablespoon water
1 recipe Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 1 pound ready-made all-butter puff pastry
1 recipe Crème Pâtissière (see page 105)
½ recipe Almond Cream (see page 119)
6 or 7 Braeburn apples
about ⅔ cup apricot jam for glazing
1–2 tablespoons water
Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease two 6¼-inch removable-bottomed tart pans or rings and a baking sheet.
TO MAKE THE APPLE COMPOTE: Peel, core, and chop the 2 apples, then put into a saucepan with the sugar, brandy, and water. Simmer until the apples are just soft—about 15 minutes—then blitz to a purée using a blender. Leave to cool.
Dust your work surface with flour, roll out the pastry about inch thick, and line your pans or rings set on the prepared baking sheet (see page 34). Prick the base of the pastry with a fork.
Mix together the crème pâtissière, almond cream, and apple compote, then spread the mixture inside each pastry crust.
Peel, core, and thinly slice the 6 or 7 apples no more than 
inch thick (see page 203). There are two different ways to arrange the apples: either place them in overlapping concentric circles, starting from the outer edge, with the rounded edges facing outward, or simply overlap them in one circle like a pinwheel, then arrange a few slices in a rosette in the center.
Place on a baking sheet (if using tart pans) and bake for 30–40 minutes, or until both the apples and pastry are golden brown and the tips of the apples are dark brown. The base of the tarts should be crispy. If baked in a ring, you should be able to lift them without sticking from the baking sheet with a large spatula.
Put the apricot jam into a saucepan with the water and bring to just under a simmer. Don’t let the mixture boil or the jam will become too gooey to spread properly. Press the jam through a fine sieve to remove any pulp. Using a pastry brush, lightly glaze the top of each tart. Eat warm or at room temperature.
I’m sure everyone knows the story of how this tart is supposed to have been created accidentally by les demoiselles Tatin—the Tatin sisters—but in case you haven’t . . . One of the sisters is said to have been softening apples in butter and sugar for an apple tart, then realized that she had left them in too long so they had caramelized and were sticking to the pan. She tried to rescue the situation by putting the pastry over the top, popping the pan into the oven, then turning the whole thing over to serve it. The guests at the hotel where the sisters worked apparently loved it. Whether the story is true or not, the tart has become one of the most famous French desserts.
There is an assumption that tarte Tatin is difficult to make, but when I teach people how to do it, they usually find that the only tricky part is turning the tart over when it has been baked. I think it helps to make it in a frying pan rather than in a pan because you can hold on to the handle to turn it over.
There are various schools of thought about how to make the tart. Some people slice the apples; others halve them, which is the way I prefer. Some people fill the pan with sugar then put in the apples, cover them with pastry, and put the pan into the oven straightaway, but this way you run the risk of the sugar becoming only a light, rather anemic-looking caramel. I prefer something a bit darker and more toffee-like, so I start the tart off on the stove to get the caramel going. The key is to do this slowly and carefully so that the sugar doesn’t get too dark, or even burn, and become brittle—more like a candy apple than tarte Tatin, and not good for the teeth.
Choose an apple that has a good balance of sweetness and sharpness, such as Braeburn, or one of the characterful local or heritage varieties you can often find in farmers’ markets.
Makes one 9-inch tart
1 recipe Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 1 pound ready-made all-butter puff pastry
6–8 Braeburn or other good baking apples
7 tablespoons butter
1 cup superfine sugar
pinch of ground cinnamon
Dust your work surface with flour and roll out the pastry until it is about inch thick and large enough to fit loosely in a 9-inch ovenproof frying pan. Prick the pastry well all over and either lay it on a large plate or place a sheet of waxed paper over the top and roll it up, then put it into the refrigerator to rest while you prepare the apples and sugar.
Peel the apples, then cut in half from top to bottom and remove the cores.
Melt the butter in the frying pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over it and cook gently for about 1 minute. Quickly arrange the apples, cut side up, in the pan and keep over medium heat, shaking the pan from time to time to ensure that the apples don’t stick to the bottom. Don’t worry if you can’t fit in all the apples initially; they will shrink a little as they cook and you will be able to squeeze in more as necessary. You need to pack the apples together tightly so that the tart holds its shape when you turn it over.
Continue cooking gently and shaking the pan until the sugar turns to a rich caramel—this will take about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and rest it for 5 minutes.
Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and lay it loosely over the top of the apples. It needs to be tucked in around the edge of the pan until it almost touches the caramel. The best way to do this without your fingers touching the caramel, which burns very badly, is to use the back of a teaspoon to nudge the pastry into place.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is really dark golden brown. Don’t forget that when you flip the tart over after it is baked, the pastry is going to be the base holding the apples and caramel together, so it needs to be really well colored and crispy, otherwise it will become soggy with the juices from the apples.
Remove the pan from the oven and leave to cool for about 1 minute. This lets the caramel set a little and also makes it safer to turn out, but take care as the caramel will still be hot.
Place a large plate over the pan and, holding both plate and pan firmly, turn them over together so that the tart is apple side up on the plate. You can serve the tart at room temperature, but I think it is best warm, with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.
For a little twist to the classic recipe, I suggest you use a butter flavored with sea salt. It will give a gorgeous salted caramel flavor to the tart.
The feast of Epiphany (January 6) is a special day in France and is often marked by baking this traditional “kings’ cake,” named after the Three Kings. It is very simple: frangipane (almond cream) sandwiched between two rounds of puff pastry, with a dried (or ceramic) bean inside. Whoever gets the slice with the bean is king (or queen) for the day. Nowadays, you can buy all sorts of porcelain figurines to put inside the cake instead of the bean. You just have to warn everyone to look out for something hard so they don’t break their teeth. In some families, the tradition is that whoever is the king gets to choose the queen, or vice versa. In our family, we used to have two cakes: a kings’ cake and a queens’ cake, with a bean inside each one. It was more democratic!
Makes one 8-inch galette
1 recipe Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 1 pound ready-made all-butter puff pastry, cut in half
1 recipe Almond Cream (see page 119)
1 dried or ceramic bean (optional), to put inside the tart
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt, for glazing the pastry
½ cup superfine sugar or 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
7 tablespoons water (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a baking sheet.
Dust your work surface with flour and roll each piece of pastry into a circle about inch thick and 8 inches in diameter. The exact size doesn’t matter too much as long as the circles are the same.
With a blunt knife, mark a border all the way around one circle about inch in from the edge without cutting all the way through the pastry; alternatively, press the blunt side of a smaller-size cutter lightly into the pastry. Prick the area of pastry inside the border with a fork. By doing this, you will stop the central area from puffing up too much while letting the outer edge rise up to form a rim.
Lift the pastry base onto your prepared baking sheet and spread the almond cream over the pricked area. If you like, hide the bean somewhere inside the cream.
Brush the pastry rim with the beaten egg, then lay the other circle of pastry on top. With your fingertips, press gently from the center outward to remove any air pockets, then press the edges of the two circles together. With the back of a knife, decorate the top in a crisscross pattern, then go around the edge, pushing the back of the knife into the pastry at intervals to give a scalloped effect.
Brush the top of the galette with two coats of beaten egg, then use your knife to make a small hole in the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for about 25 minutes, reducing the heat to 350°F halfway through the baking time. The pastry should be dark golden.
To finish the galette, you can glaze it in one of two ways. Put the superfine sugar in a saucepan with the water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer briefly until you have a light syrup. Brush this all over the top of the galette and leave to cool. Alternatively, dust the top with the confectioners’ sugar and put the galette back into the oven just long enough for the sugar to melt and form a shiny glaze. Leave to cool before eating.
In France, these pastries are known as chaussons aux pommes. Chaussons are slippers, the kind of cozy slip-ons that are associated with granddads, and their apple namesakes are great comfort food. In England, the usual name for these pastries is “turnovers,” but I call them “leftovers” because they are a great way of using up any puff pastry, crème pâtissière, almond cream, or apple compote that is left after you have made some of the other recipes in this book. When I was an apprentice in France, we never wasted anything, and used to mix up all three creams, as they make a fantastic combination. However, if you don’t have them all, you could combine just two, or even use them alone. Whatever filling is used, you will need around 1 pound (roughly 2 cups) of it to one recipe of pastry.
The filled pastries can be frozen, ready to be defrosted and baked in the usual way when you need them.
Makes 12
½ recipe Crème Pâtissière (see page 105) or Crème Légère (see page 211)
½ recipe Almond Cream (see page 119)
½ recipe Apple Compote (see page 161)
1 recipe Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 1 pound ready-made all-butter puff pastry
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt, for sealing the pastry
1 large apple, such as Braeburn, or 2 small ones
superfine sugar, for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease two baking sheets.
Mix together the crème pâtissière, almond cream, and apple compote in a bowl.
Dust your work surface with flour and roll out the pastry inch thick. Using a cutter about 4 inches in diameter or a plate and a knife, cut out 12 circles.
Brush the edges with the beaten egg, then spoon some of the cream mixture into the middle of each circle. Fold the pastry over itself to form a half-moon shape, then press the edges together and crimp with a fork. Leaving the skin on the apple(s), slice very thinly widthwise through the core, so that you end up with 12 rings about inch thick. Push out the seeds, which will leave each slice with a star-shaped hole in the center.
Brush each “leftover” with beaten egg and lay a slice of apple on top. Sprinkle with a little superfine sugar, then place on your prepared baking sheets and bake for 20 minutes, until the base of each pastry is golden brown.
The name of these means “1,000 leaves,” which is simply a way of describing this classic light dessert, with its multilayered pastry sandwiching layers of creamy filling. Millefeuille is one of the first things that would-be pastry chefs are taught at college, and the key is to get the right balance of pastry and filling. Too much of one or the other and you don’t get the full, mouth-filling pleasure of the contrasting textures and flavors. Often I see mass-produced millefeuilles made with pale-looking, uninteresting pastry, overfilled with artificial-tasting cream, and smothered in colored icing. I like to keep millefeuilles simple, elegant, and classic, filled only with crème pâtissière or crème légère.
Makes 5 slices
1 recipe Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 1 pound ready-made all-butter puff pastry
a little rum
1 recipe Crème Pâtissière (see page 105) or Crème Légère (see page 211)
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a baking sheet.
Dust your work surface with flour, roll out the pastry into a rectangle measuring 12 by 8 inches and about inch thick. Place on your prepared baking sheet and prick well all over with a fork. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden, then turn over very carefully, place a similar-size baking sheet on top to keep the pastry from rising, and return to the oven for 5–10 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and cool on a rack.
When cool, cut the pastry rectangle widthwise into three strips, each about 4 inches wide. You will see that each strip has a flat side and a more bobbly side. Reserve the strip with the best flat side for the top. Of the other strips, lay one of them with the flat side facing down on your work surface. Mix the rum into the crème pâtissière and spoon half of this down the center (alternatively, you can pipe it; see page 61). Don’t spread it, or it will ooze out once you put the pastry on top. Instead, just place the next strip of pastry on top, again flat side down, and press it down very gently. Spoon or pipe the rest of the cream as before, then top with your reserved strip of pastry; this time you want the flat side facing upward.
Sift confectioners’ sugar over the top until completely covered. Then, if you like, take two metal skewers and put one over a lit gas burner to heat. Use the hot skewer to carefully and lightly brand the sugar diagonally in one direction. While you are doing this, heat the second skewer and use it to do the same thing in the opposite direction so that you create a dark crisscross pattern in the sugar. If you don’t have a gas burner, you could use a blowtorch to heat the skewers. If you don’t have either, leave the confectioners’ sugar as it is.
Finally, with a sharp knife, carefully cut widthwise into five slices, washing and drying the knife after each cut so that you keep the slices looking neat.
When I first came to London, I lived near Portobello Road, and it was always a treat to go to the Lisboa Pâtisserie for one of their famous and gorgeous Portuguese tarts. I say “one,” but the problem was you always wanted more.
Although I have called them custard tarts, I make my natas with crème pâtissière rather than custard (crème anglaise), which is baked until you get dark brown patches on top.
In France, I had grown up eating flan, which is a similar kind of tart, but usually a big one cut into slices. The little, deep, and irregular-shaped natas have a greater ratio of pastry to custard, and because you roll the pastry in sugar, it becomes caramelized in places: irresistible! You can finish the tarts with a sprinkling of cinnamon or nutmeg if you like, though I prefer them plain.
Makes 12
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
1 recipe Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 1 pound ready-made all-butter puff pastry
1 recipe Crème Pâtissière (see page 105)
ground cinnamon or freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
Lightly grease a 12-hole miniature muffin pan. Even if you use a nonstick pan—unless it is brand new—it is worth doing this as the sugar on the pastry will caramelize and cling to any bits of the pan that have lost their nonstick properties.
Dust your work surface with confectioners’ sugar. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and roll it out about inch thick, sprinkling well with more confectioners’ sugar as you go.
Use a pastry cutter to cut 12 rounds of pastry about 4 inches in diameter; they need to be big enough to line the holes and leave a little overhang (see page 35). Put the pan into the refrigerator to rest for about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Remove the pan from the refrigerator and fill each pastry crust with crème pâtissière. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg (if using). Bake for 15–20 minutes, until the pastry is golden, the sugar it was rolled in is caramelized, and the crème pâtissière is dark in spots. Allow to cool for just a few minutes before lifting the tarts out of the pan; don’t leave them in much longer, or the caramelized sugar may weld the tarts to the pan. Leave to cool completely before eating.
Traditionally, these French pastries are shaped like a palm leaf or a butterfly, but mine are more freestyle and quite fun to make. Kids love doing them, and though, in my experience, the palmiers are usually gone the minute they have cooled down, they will keep in an airtight container for 3–4 days.
Makes 8
superfine sugar or granulated sugar, for sprinkling or dusting
1 recipe Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 1 pound ready-made all-butter puff pastry
ground cinnamon, for sprinkling (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a baking sheet.
Sprinkle or dust your work surface with sugar and roll out the puff pastry until you have a square or rectangle about inch thick. Cut it into 24 squares measuring 2–2½ inches.
Sprinkle each square with a little sugar and with cinnamon, if you like, then set three squares on top of one another so that you have eight little stacks. Sprinkle more sugar on top of each stack, then take a wooden spoon and press the length of the handle down diagonally across the top of each stack so that it sinks in the center and the edges lift up.
Place the palmiers on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10–15 minutes, until golden and caramelized. They will puff up in different ways, so they are quite quirky. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
These are wafer-thin slices of puff pastry, coated in sugar, and baked so that they are crunchy (croustillant is French for something crispy), and they are perfect for using up scraps of puff pastry left over from making tarts, sausage rolls, or the like. You can sandwich them together with chantilly cream (see page 181) and berries, or any fruit you like, to make a smart-looking dessert. However, I also like to encrust them in nuts or seeds, as in this recipe, to make simpler cookies. Because any humidity in the air will affect their crispiness, croustillants are best made and eaten within a few hours.
Makes about 24
½ recipe Puff Pastry (see page 44) or 8 ounces ready-made all-butter puff pastry
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
about 1 cup sliced almonds or ground pistachios or a few tablespoons sesame seeds or poppy seeds, or some of each
Preheat the oven to 400°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll the puff pastry into a sausage shape about 9½ inches long, then cut into 24 slices about ⅜ inch thick.
Dust your work surface with some of the confectioners’ sugar and place a piece of pastry on it, cut side down. Sprinkle a little more sugar on top and, using a small rolling pin, roll the pastry into a long, roughly oval shape that is paper-thin.
Turn it over several times while rolling to coat it in the sugar and to make sure that it doesn’t stick. Repeat with the remaining pieces of pastry, adding more sugar as needed.
Lay the croustillants on the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle the top of each with your chosen nuts or seeds—about 1 teaspoon per croustillant. Bake for 6–8 minutes, until the croustillants are caramelized. Be sure to keep a close eye on them as they can burn quickly. Use a thin spatula to lift them from the baking sheets and cool on a wire rack.
