Description[]
Light flaky layers with some surprises between! Serves 10-12.
Ingredients[]
- 2 tsp / 10 ml margarine
- 1 lb / 450 g puff pastry
- little flour
- 2 oz / 50 g corn flour
- 1 pint / 600 ml milk
- 1 vanilla pod
- 4 oz / 125 g caster sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 4 oz / 125 g raspberry jam
- 2 oz / 50 g raspberries
- 8 oz / 225 g icing sugar
Directions[]
- Preheat the oven to Mark 7 / 425°F / 220°C, Grease 2 baking trays with margarine then sprinkle the trays with little water
- Roll out the pastry on lightly floured surface thin sheet, approximately 8 x 5in/20 x 15cm, trim the edges and prick the pastry all over with a fork.
- To achieve neat sized pieces of pastry, a cardboard template is useful when culling out.
- Cut the pastry into 14 pieces each 4 x 2½ in/10 x 6cm.
- Place on prepared trays, close but not touching, to ensure even cooking.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden in colour.
- Carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- When cold split each pastry slice horizontally through the middle into 2 or even 3 layers if the pastry is very well risen and flaky.
- Dissolve cornflour in a little milk heat with vanilla and sugar bring to the boil turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes to infuse, remove vanilla.
- Whisk together the cornflour milk and egg yolks.
- Return to the pan and bring back to the boil cook gently stirring all the time, for about 2-3 minutes, or until thick.
- Cool custard thoroughly whisking occasionally to avoid a too thick, solid custard if necessary sieve the custard before use.
- Warm the jam slightly and mix in the raspberries halved cool the mixture.
- Slightly and spread over the bottom layer of pastry (reserve 1-2 tbsp / 15-30 ml for the topping) if you have only 2 layers of pastry spread the cold custard over the jam and then top with a final layer of pastry, if you have 3 layers spread the second pastry layer with custard and place on top of the first, top with the final pastry layer.
- Blend the icing sugar with sufficient water to give spreading consistency spread icing over the top layer of pastry.
- Sieve reserved jam and place in a very small paper piping bag,snip a little off the corner of the bag to give a small hole.
- Pipe the jam across the top of the pastry slices in 2 or 3 lines.
- Gently pull a knife across these lines from end to end twice this will give the pretty feathered or pulled effect.
- If you are not intending to serve the slices immediately store in a cool but not chilled place, or the pastry will go soggy.