Preparation
Puff pastry
Preparation time: 25 min, resting time: 2 hours
The dough
- Dissolve salt and sugar in water.
- Put the flour in a bowl – add the salted sweetened water. Mix.
- Add the cooled melted butter. Mix again then gather into a ball. Work it for 1 minute on a floured work surface to obtain a smooth dough.
- Wrap it in cling film and leave it to cool for 30 minutes.
Butter
- Meanwhile, cut the softened butter into small cubes. On a floured work surface, pat the butter with a rolling pin and create a 10cm square. Set aside.
Make the dough
- Roll out the dough into a 18cm square.
- Place the square of butter in the center of the dough in a staggered pattern.
- Fold each corner of the square over the butter. Press firmly so that the butter is covered.
- Turn the dough over onto the other side so that the fold is underneath.
The first round
- Carefully roll out the dough into a rectangle 3 times longer than it is wide (45x15cm)
- Make a double turn by folding each end towards the center then close everything in a single fold.
- Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
The second and third rounds
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Place it so that the fold is on the right or left. Repeat twice as for the first round.
- In the same way, the rest between each round is 30 minutes and wait 30 minutes after the last round to assemble the cake.
Creams
White chocolate cream
- In a salad bowl, cut the white chocolate and butter into pieces – melt in a bain-marie or in the microwave. Once melted, add the cream and mix well – leave to cool.
Frangipane
- Start with the pastry cream: In a bowl, whisk the egg yolk with 2 tbsp of milk and the cornstarch.
- In a saucepan, heat the remaining milk with the sugar (without bringing to the boil). And pour in the egg mixture. Cook the cream over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Off the heat, add the vanilla and butter. Whisk well to obtain a smooth cream. Put in a salad bowl and set aside.
Almond cream
- In a bowl, whisk the sugar and softened butter. Add the egg and whisk again. Add the almond powder and mix well. Finally, add the rum and bitter almond extract.
- Mix the pastry cream and the almond cream – Set aside.
- Mix with the frangipane and add the crushed nuts.
Assembly
- Preheat the oven to Th6 (180°C)
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator – 15 minutes before assembling the cake.
- Cut the dough in half – roll each out into a 26cm circle. Brush each pastry to remove excess flour.
- With a fork, prick the first circle. Moisten the edges by 2cm with a little water.
- Spread the mixture to within 3 cm of the edge to allow the dough to rise well.
- Place a bean in the filling.
- Place the second disk of dough on top, adjusting it well. Press lightly to seal the edges. Do not press too hard so as not to prevent the dough from rising properly during cooking.
- Decorate the outline.
Decoration
- Brush the cake with the egg yolk/milk mixture without letting the glaze run down the sides.
- Leave to rest for 30 minutes in a cool place.
- Poke a few holes in the top to let the air escape during cooking and make designs on the gilding.
- Bake for 35 minutes.
- Leave to cool on a rack and enjoy cold or warm.