“I adore this rich and decadent pudding, I remember making hundreds of these when I worked at Kinnaird House in Perthshire many moons ago, with the great John Webber. The addition of crème pâtissière to the chocolate is wonderful and lightens the rich frangipane. Have a go at making your own rough puff pastry, there is nothing more rewarding. And here the coffee anglaise works oh so well. A true French classic at this time of year.”
Serves 4
For the rough puff pastry:
500g plain flour
500g unsalted butter, softened
10g salt
50ml cold water
A small splash of vinegar
Combine the flour, butter, salt and vinegar but don't over mix, and slowly add the water. Again, don't over mix. You should see flakes of butter through the dough. Chill for 20 minutes.
Roll the chilled dough into a long scarf shape, then fold the left side into the middle, and the right side onto the (now) top of the left side so you begin to create many layers. You may need a lot of extra flour to do this. Repeat this process another 3 times rolling and folding as you go. You will have an incredible puff pastry (suitable for freezing) and you’ll never need to buy the industrially-made stuff again!
For the pithivier filling:
100g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
50g cocoa powder
100g ground almonds
100g chopped chocolate, I use Montezuma’s
A splash of dark rum
A spoonful of custard to bind
Egg wash
Beat the butter and sugar together until light and add the almonds. Sift in the cocoa powder and add the rum and the chocolate, chopped into small pieces. Next, add a spoonful of custard to help bind the mixture and combine all the ingredients,
Shape the mix into hockey-puck-sized shape and allow to rest.
For the coffee custard:
750ml double cream
100g caster sugar
10 egg yolks
2 shots of good, fresh coffee made with a very course grain that won’t go through your sieve
Place the cream on a moderate heat with the coffee for 5 to 10 minutes, being careful not to over boil.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a clean bowl until combined, then add the hot coffee cream, stirring all the time.
Add this mix to a clean pan and cook until the custard coats the back of a spoon, or reaches at least 75°C. Pass this through some muslin cloth, or a very fine sieve.
To assemble, roll out the puff pastry to a 3mm thickness and cut 2 circles, each about the size of a side plate. Place the filling in the center of one piece of pastry and brush egg wash around the edges, before covering with the other piece. Crimp the edge with a fork and score the top in a swirl pattern, then brush with egg wash again and bake at 200°C for 15 minutes, or until risen and golden.
Remove from the oven and when cooled a little, dredge with icing sugar.
Serve warm or cold. If you don’t like coffee, make a plain custard by omitting the coffee from the recipe.