Cakes & Bakes: Pecan maple puff pastry plait

Recently, when we’ve been going back to the North to visit friends & family, we’ve stopped half-way for a comfort break. This generally entails a trip to the loo and a coffee & pastry each.

We often plump for their pecan plaits which make for the perfect, tasty energy boost.

So, with some ready-made, ready rolled pastry sitting in the fridge waiting to be used, I decided to have a go at making my own pecan maple puff pastry plait.

There are lots of tutorials available on YouTube for cutting the pastry and forming the plait – it’s quite easy and straightforward. When it comes to the filling, there’s a good degree of flexibility possible. I went for a combination of pecan & maple with a touch of cinnamon.

The addition of the cinnamon worked fine – however, we both think we might actually prefer the simplicity of the maple & pecan combination alone. There are other options too; incorporating toffee sauces, chocolate, dried fruit and various other types of nut.

There’s all manner of snacks that we enjoy with our coffee, but perhaps nothing beats a crispy, sweet pastry straight from the oven.

Click to save this pecan maple puff pastry plait recipe to Pinterest

Pecan maple puff pastry plait

2019-12-11 12:55:41

Serves 6

Cook Time

25 min

Cook Time

25 min

Ingredients

200g/7oz pecans
85g/3oz muscovado sugar
¼tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp maple syrup
30g/1oz butter, softened
1 pack (320g) pre-made, ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6
Finely chop the pecans. I put the pecans into a large mixing bowl and used the butt of my rolling pin. You could also use a large pestle & mortar for the task
In a large mixing bowl, combine 150g/5¼oz of the chopped pecans (reserve the remainder to sprinkle over the top of the plait before it goes into the oven), sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup and butter
Unroll the pastry onto a large baking sheet (still on its parchment paper)
Cut the pastry as shown in the photos (this is a useful video clip to show how it's done [opens in a new tab])
Spoon the sweet pecan filling down the centre of the pastry as shown in the photo
Fold the pastry as shown (also seen in the previously mentioned video)
Brush the top of the plait with some of the beaten egg and sprinkle over the reserved pecans
Cook for 20-25 minutes until the pastry has turned golden brown
Allow to cool on its tray for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Apple and raisin puff pastry tart

We are ‘pudding’ rather than ‘starter’ people and always have a sweet ending to our daily evening meal.

Sometimes, I’ve got to the day and haven’t had the time to make a dessert. At times like this, there are a few quick sweet dishes that can be rustled up in about half an hour. One such is jam and coconut slice which is one of Justin’s favourites from his childhood – and also great for using up pastry scraps.

Another is an apple and raisin puff pastry tart – using a sheet of ready-made puff pastry, of course.

All it takes is a couple of cooking apples – peeled, cored and chopped; a handful of raisins (pre-soaking them for an hour makes them more juicy and adds another layer of flavour – strong tea, brandy or armagnac perhaps – so recommended but not a necessity if your in a rush); a pinch of ground spice and aforementioned packet of puff pastry.

Delicious served with cream, creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.

Click here to pin the recipe for later!

Apple and raisin puff pastry tart

2017-05-11 09:16:59

Serves 4

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

35 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

35 min

Ingredients

75g/2⅔oz raisins
2 Bramley (or other cooking) apples
20g/¾oz butter
50g/1¾oz demerara sugar
¼tsp ground cinnamon
1 packet of ready-made, ready-rolled puff pastry

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Instructions

Soak the raisins in a cup of hot, strong black tea for at least an hour
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
Peel, core and rough chop the apples
In a large saucepan, melt the butter
Add the chopped apples, soaked raisins, sugar and ground cinnamon
Cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes until the apple just begins to soften
Roll out the puff pastry and cut into two equal lengths
Grease a 20cm/8-inch round or square baking tin and lay one of the lengths of pastry evenly into the tin allowing some overlap over the edge
Spoon the apple and raisin mixture evenly on to the puff pastry
Lay the other length of pastry over the top and brush with a little melted butter
Sprinkle a tablespoon or so of golden granulated sugar over the top if desired
Bake for 20 minutes or until the top of the puff pastry is a lovely golden brown

Notes

Serve with vanilla ice cream or thick pouring cream

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Apricot dartois

I’ve been looking at a tin of apricots in our store cupboard for about 2 years. Every time I opened the door it whispered, “use me, use me”, but I always reached for something else. But not this week – it was finally the apricots’ time!

I decided on a recipe from Michel Roux’s Desserts: A Lifelong Passion and made an apricot dartois.

Dartois is traditionally two layers of puff pastry with a sandwiched layer of frangipane or jam. It can occasionally contain a savoury filling.

It’s quite a simple recipe – especially if you’re using ready-made puff pastry – and the pastry cutting is very straightforward too. Don’t be put off by the precision! The amount of frangipane made in the given recipe is HUGE! I halved the recipe (what’s half of 5 eggs? I just used 3 medium-sized ones) it still made half a kilo of the stuff. I set aside the 150 grams needed for the recipe, then portioned up the rest into small lidded tubs and froze it all for use at a later date.

The resulting dartois is very attractive and very delicious. I don’t think it would look out of place in a French pâtisserie’s shop window!

I used tinned apricots, but peaches, pears, plums or figs also work really well. If you’ve got fresh fruit, you can easily poach it beforehand in syrup.

Serve warm or cold with a fruit coulis, cream or ice cream.

Apricot dartois

Michel Roux

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Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Ingredients

For the frangipane [Makes 1.15kg/2lbs 10oz. I halved the recipe and still had enough for 3 portions]

250 g/9oz butter at room temperature
500 g/1lb 2oz 'tant pour tant' equal quantities of ground almonds and icing sugar sifted together
50 g/2oz plain flour
5 eggs
50 ml/2 fl oz rum optional

For the dartois

1 500g pack of ready-made puff pastry or you could make your own
150 g/5oz frangipane (ingredients above)
eggwash 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 soup spoon of milk and a pinch of salt
1 tin apricot halves drained (or you could poach your own)
Icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

For the frangipane

Beat the butter until very soft
Still beating, add the tant pour tant and flour
Add the eggs - one at a time - beating well between each addition until the frangipane is light an homogeneous
Stir in the rum

For the dartois

On a lightly floured work surface, roll 225g/8oz of the pastry into a 27cm x 12cm/11" x 5" rectangle
Roll this pastry around the rolling pin, then unroll it on to a baking sheet lightly dampened with cold water. Prick the pastry with a fork
Using a spoon, spread the frangipane along the length of the pastry leaving a clear 2cm/¾" border on either side
Brush these pastry borders with egg-wash
Pat dry the apricots and arrange them on the frangipane
Roll out the remaining pastry into a 27cm x 13cm/11" x 5½" rectangle
Fold the pastry in half lengthways without applying pressure
Make incisions down the length of the pastry about every 4mm/⅙" with the heel of a chef's knife, leaving a 2cm/¾" strip intact on the two outside edges
Unfold the pastry into its original shape and drape it over the rolling pin and unroll it on to the apricot-filled rectangle
Lightly press the edges together with your fingertips and refrigerate the dartois for 30 minutes
Preheat the oven to 175ºC/345ºF/gas mark 4
Using a chef's knife, trim off about 3mm/⅛" in pastry along the length of the rectangle
Delicately and sparingly brush the top of the pastry with egg wash
Liberally brush the sides with more egg wash
With the tip of a small, sharp knife, make light, diagonal incisions in the borders, then along the edges
Bake for 25 minutes. Increase the temperature to 195ºC/380ºF/gas mark 6, dust the dartois with icing sugar and return it to the oven for 1-2 minutes, or place it under a hot salamander/grill for a few seconds until beautifully glazed

Roux recommends serving it with a little jug of red fruit coulis. I prefer it with pouring cream.

Adapted from Desserts: A Lifelong Passion

Keyword apricot, dartois, frangipane, pastry

Cakes & Bakes: Eccles cakes

Eccles cakes. In my opinion – they’re not cakes, or even biscuits – they’re pastries!

We watched the Great Sport Relief Bake Off recently and one of the celebrities’ challenges was to make Eccles cakes. Whilst watching, Justin started going on about how much he loves them and why haven’t I made them yet.

To be honest, they’ve not really been on my baking radar. For one, they involve pastry which I’m not fond of making. For two, they’re just pastry with currants. But, to placate him, I agreed… and besides, I always need the pastry practice!

I zig-zaged around the web and amalgamated a few recipes I found there. Most called for candied peel and/or orange juice, neither of which I like, to be added to the currants. I’m often a recipe purist but not in this case!

Remember a couple of paragraphs ago I said Eccles cakes are ‘just pastry with currants’? How wrong was I?! They were flaky, fragrant, buttery & delicious… and NOTHING like the dried up old things you find to buy in the supermarket.

Eccles cakes

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Cook Time 20

Total Time 20

Ingredients

for the puff pastry
225 g/8oz strong flour
225 g/8oz slightly-salted butter straight from the fridge, cut into 1½cm cubes
4 tbs cold water
1 tbs lemon juice
for the filling
15 g/½oz butter
100 g/3½oz currants
50 g/1¾oz golden caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
to finish
drop of milk to brush the pastry
1 egg white beaten to glaze
10 g granulated sugar

Instructions

Put the flour and 225g/8oz slightly-salted butter into a food processor and pulse about half a dozen times. Just enough to combine and not cream the butter completely
Empty mixture out into a large mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and add the cold water & lemon juice
With your fingers, bring the mixture together just enough to form a loose ball of dough
Empty mixture out on to a lightly floured surface and roll the dough out into a rectangular shape
Fold the dough into thirds along the long end and roll out into a rectangle again
Repeat the last step another two times before wrapping in cling film (Saran wrap) and putting it into the fridge for about an hour
In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the 15g/½oz butter and remove from the heat
Add the currants, caster sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and combine well
Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/Gas mark 7
When the dough has cooled, remove from the fridge and roll out again to about a 3mm/?in thickness
Using a 10-12cm/4-4¾in-diameter cookie cutter ( I didn't have one big enough so used a small glass bowl ) cut out 12-15 rounds
With a pastry brush, one at a time, brush the circumference of each round with milk, put a teaspoonful of the currant mixture in the centre and carefully fold up the pastry to the centre
Flip over and gently flatten with a rolling pin until you just about see the currants through the pastry
Make three, small parallel scores on the top before putting it on to a greased 39cm/15in x 27cm/10½in baking tray
With a pastry brush again, egg wash the top of each pastry, sprinkle with granulated sugar and put the tray in the oven
Bake for 20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown
Remove from the oven, allowing to cool on a wire rack before demolishing with a cup of tea!