Ingredients (serves 2)
1 ready-made frozen puff pastry sheet* (store bought)
1 egg
Caster sugar
2 punnet fresh raspberries
Icing sugar for dusting
Mint
Crème Patissiere
165ml milk
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 egg
¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste2
Method
- For the crème patissiere, whisk the egg, sugar and flour in a glass bowl. Place milk and vanilla in a saucepan and bring just to the boil over medium heat. Pour milk onto the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Pour back into the saucepan and whisk continuously until the custard is very thick. Remove from heat, and place custard into a glass bowl and cover with baking paper (this prevents a skin from forming on top of the custard), place in the fridge to cool if preparing the day before. Or spoon into a piping bag and chill in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Cut out a rectangle baking paper template (2 x 4 inches). Using the template, cut out six rectangles from the puff pastry and lay them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with caster sugar evenly over each one, cover with another sheet of baking paper, then place another tray on top (this will prevent the pastry from rising). Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the pastry has caramelized and turned golden brown (check this regularly). Remove from the oven and turn the pastry over and repeat the process by brushing with egg and sprinkle the sugar to caramelize the next side. (If some are already golden on the other side, place them on a cooling rack). Bake for further 2-5 minutes or until golden and then remove from oven to cool on a cooling rack. Place in an air-tight container if preparing the day before.
To Serve
To assemble: place a pastry rectangle in the middle of each serving plate and pipe dots of crème patissiere on top (4 times along the sides and once in the middle at each end). Top with another pastry rectangle and repeat the same process as above with crème patissiere. Dust the final pastry rectangles with icing sugar and place raspberries on top, (try to have the same size here). Dust with more icing sugar and garnish with mint and carefully place each one on top. Garnish each plate with three half raspberries on each side and place a mint leaf on each one and serve.
Chef's Notes
*This recipe can be made the day before. Pending different brands of puff pastry, check the pastry regularly when baking, once it turns golden brown, turn over and cook for a short time as per instructions. Substitute with ¼ of vanilla bean if you are unable to find vanilla bean paste.