Rhubarb and pistachio Danish pastries

Makes 16 Cakes, Bread and Pastries

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Method

Start with the rhubarb. Mix the sugar, vanilla, orange rind and 250ml water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium- high heat. Add the rhubarb to the boiling syrup, then immediately turn the heat down to medium-low. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat. Allow the rhubarb to cool completely in the syrup. Decant the rhubarb andthe syrup into an airtight tub and chill for up to a week.

Retrieve the dough and place on a lightly floured work surface. Very gently roll the dough into a square, roughly 40cm. If the dough starts to resist too much or shrink back during this process, gently fold it in half and chill for a further 10-20 minutes.

When your dough has reached the right size, gently lift to make sure it hasn’t stuck and allow for any spring back. Your square should be big enough to allow you to trim the edges to make them straight and be left with a square of around 36cm and 5mm thick.

Using a ruler, measure and make a small notch every 9cm along the bottom and the left-hand edges of the dough. Horizontally cut 4 long strips of dough where you have marked the notches. Use the notches at the bottom to cut each long strip into 4 equal squares. You should have 16.

To make the kite shape, gently fold the square in half diagonally. Make 2 diagonal cuts 1.5cm from the outside edge. Make sure these diagonal cuts don’t join at the tip of the triangle. Unfold the dough. Brush the whole surface with a little egg wash. Take the outer ‘frame’ edge and fold it over until it meets the cut you just made. Repeat on the other side, pulling it over the first edge to form a diamond shape. Do this on all of the squares.

Arrange the shaped pastries on 2 lined baking sheets and brush the square ‘ridge’ with a little egg wash.

Place the crème pâtissière into a piping bag and pipe into the central square of the pastry. Keep any excess crème pâtissière as you can often fit more in once they have proved a little. Allow the pastries to prove immediately or chill overnight until ready to bake.

Prove the Danish pastries in an oven preheated to around 25C for 10-15 minutes, then turned off. Make sure the oven door is closed while proving. They will take 30-60 minutes at this temperature, but keep an eye on them in case your oven is extra efficient. You can
of course prove them at room temperature; however, if you are in a colder climate, this can take as long as 3 hours. If they aren’t quite ready, don’t be afraid to prove them for longer. The Danishes should slightly jiggle, much like a just-set custard, when you shake the baking sheet. You should also be able to see the layers of dough beginning to separate all around the edge of the Danish pastries. They should be doubled in size and the edges should look almost wing-like. Once proved, pipe any excess crème pâtissière into the middle, being careful not to overfill. Remove the Danishes from the oven if using it to prove. Preheat to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 4.

Just before baking, give the pastries their second coat of egg wash. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until evenly golden brown and the crème pâtissière has sunk back on itself slightly. Remove from the oven, let sit for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack. Brush the edges with a little of the rhubarb syrup. Place the cooled rhubarb on top of the crème pâtissière. Sprinkle one side of the pastries with pistachio nuts, then dust the other side with icing sugar. Enjoy warm.

Crème pâtissière

MAKES AROUND 600ML

In a pan, warm the milk and remove from the heat just before it begins to boil. While this is happening, whisk together the eggs, sugar and cornflour with the vanilla. Pour the hot milk over the egg mixture, whisking all the time.

Pour the combined mix back into the pan and return to a low heat. Whisk continuously. Do not allow it to boil. Once thickened, pour into a heatproof airtight container. Press a piece of cling film on top to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool completely before placing the lid on top. Keep, chilled, for up to 1 week.

Croissant Dough

MAKES 8 CROISSANTS

DAY ONE evening
Combine all the dough ingredients along with 150ml water and knead for 10 minutes by hand
or for 3-4 minutes in the bowl of a free-standing mixer at a low-medium speed. The dough should come together and reach a stage of low-to-moderate gluten development. You are not looking for a huge amount of elasticity, but you should notice the dough is soft and springy. Unlike with breadmaking, you do not want too much gluten development because you will struggle with the dough fighting back during laminating. Flatten the dough into a rough rectangle and cover with cling film. Transfer to a baking sheet and chill overnight. This makes it easier for you to roll it out the following day.

DAY TWO midday
Cut the chilled butter for laminating lengthways into 4 equally thick slabs. Arrange the pieces of butter on greaseproof paper, then cover with another layer of greaseproof paper. Use a rolling pin to pound the butter until it is 5mm thick and roughly 20cm square. Straighten the edges of the butter and press any excess back into the square. Wrap in cling film, then chill until needed, or for at least 1 hour.

DAY TWO afternoon
Retrieve the dough and place on a very lightly floured work surface. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough to roughly 30cm square. Try to get the square as even as possible in terms of thickness. If you make sure that your thickness is always consistent, your layers will be consistent also.

Retrieve the slab of butter and place it in middle of the dough at a 45-degree angle. You should have 4 equal triangles of dough still exposed, with the butter covering the middle. Fold each triangle of dough over the butter, so the points of the triangle meet in the middle. The edges of the dough flaps should slightly overlap to fully enclose the butter. With the palm of your hand, lightly press the edges to seal the seams, but make sure you don’t press too hard and damage the first layer.

With a lightly floured rolling pin, start rolling out the dough to a rectangle of 20 x 60cm. Do this gently and gradually, starting from the middle of the dough and working out towards the edges. This helps ensure an even thickness. Make sure you always roll away from yourself, moving the dough when required as opposed to the rolling pin. Rolling in one direction only also helps with consistency. You want to lengthen the dough rather than make it wider and try to keep all the edges as straight as possible. Don’t use too much flour on the work surface as this can make the layers of the dough tough and ruin the effect. If your dough remains cold enough, you shouldn’t have issues with it sticking. Brush off any excess flour with a dry pastry brush.

Fold the top of the dough over itself, by 5cm. Fold the bottom half of the dough up on itself so that the seams meet. You should end up with a seam near the top of the dough and a rectangle that is now 20cm wide and 30cm tall. Fold the dough in half to form a 20cm x 15cm rectangle. This is called a book fold.

Cover in cling film and chill for 30-60 minutes. The trick here is to keep the butter cold enough so it doesn’t get absorbed into the dough, but warm enough that it can be rolled. If you find the butter cracks and splits when you roll it out, it has been chilled for too long. Leave at room temperature for 15 minutes, then try again. You want the butter to stay as a single thin, continuous layer.

Repeat the rolling and folding one more time, following the above instructions. Make sure you turn the dough 90 degrees before rolling again. The open ‘end’ of the dough (ie where you would open the book) should be on the right-hand side if your dough is vertically in front of you after the turn. After the second fold, allow the dough to chill for another hour.

It is worth noting that sometimes the dough will resist any more rolling before you reach 60cm. If this happens, stop rolling, cover the dough and chill for 10-20 minutes before continuing. If it is fighting you, don’t fight back, as you risk damaging the layers. Patience is key here.