Christian Le Squer’s light and fluffy recipe

Preparation time : 1h30 (puff pastry included)

Cooking time : 40 mins

Break : 48h + 3h30 (puff pastry) + 3h (assembly of the cake)

Difficulty : AVERAGE

Ingredients for a pancake

For the puff pastry:

  • 100 g of fresh butter
  • 40 g of T55 flour
  • 93 g of T55 flour
  • 3.5 g of fine salt
  • 38 g of water
  • 30 g of creamed butter
  • 1 g of vinegar

For the almond cream:

  • 140 g of almond powder
  • 120 g of icing sugar
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 2 egg whites
  • 100 g of pastry cream
  • 75g butter
  • 1 egg yolk for gilding
  • 5 cl of rum

Step 1: puff pastry

Very time-consuming and particularly difficult, making puff pastry is not essential. To make work easier, it is possible to buy puff pastry in a supermarket or obtain dough pieces or already rolled out dough from the pastry chef.

For the bravest, here is the procedure to follow. Work the tempered butter with the first part of the flour. Store in a cool place overnight. Sprinkle the butter and flour then add the water, vinegar and salt. Don’t get tough. Store overnight.

Spread the dough without completely mixing the Beurre Manié with the tempera, the goal being to have layers of butter in the middle of the dough. Give a simple turn (fold the dough into thirds) and leave to rest for two hours in the fridge. Repeat the operation seven times, leaving to rest for fifteen minutes in the refrigerator each time.

Step 2: frangipane

In a mixing bowl, pour the icing sugar with a touch of flour, and pour in the soft butter. Mix with a wooden spoon, then pour in the whole eggs. Continue to mix to obtain a small, well-homogenized mass. Add the almond powder and pastry cream.

At the same time, beat the egg whites until stiff using a mixer, to lighten the frangipane and so that it is less packed.

Meanwhile, add a little organic orange zest (or other citrus fruit) to the almond cream, as well as the rum (or Grand Marnier) to relax and lighten the frangipane. Incorporate the egg whites and mix the mixture well until perfectly combined.

Step 3: assembling the cake

Prepare two circles of dough. Place a metal circle 22 cm in diameter in the center of the first circle of dough and place the frangipane on it. This is the time to place the bean on the outer edge of the frangipane. Place the second circle of dough on top of the frangipane, then place the metal circle on top or weld the two layers of dough by hand. Press firmly on the edges to seal perfectly.

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Leave to rest for two to three hours in the refrigerator. Using the metal circle, trim the excess dough to obtain a perfect circle. Cut the ends of the circle regularly with a knife to “close” the dough. Turn it over on a plate.

Using a brush, cover with lightly sweetened egg yolk for gilding. Draw on the top of the pancake as desired, with the non-sharp side of a knife blade.

Pierce a few places on the pancake with a knife to let the dough breathe.

Place in the oven for 40 minutes at 160°C.

Read also: Crêpes Suzette: Benoît Castel’s easy recipe for Candlemas

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