administratorDespite the generous amount of butter, it’s surprisingly light. It’s made on a yeast base, layered with pastry cream, and topped with a buttery almond crust. A bit of work, but absolutely worth it. The recipe comes from “Comme un chef” by Larousse and was shared by Stephan Franz, a brilliant pastry chef from Berlin who has worked in 2- and 3-Michelin-star restaurants.
Ingredients
Starter:
- 17.5 g fresh yeast
- 60 ml warm milk
- 75 g flour
- Dough:
- 175 g flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 35 ml milk
- 2 egg yolks (medium eggs)
- 30 g powdered sugar
- 25 g cream cheese (like Philadelphia) or triple-ground quark
- zest of ½ lemon
- seeds from 1 vanilla pod
- 50 g soft butter
- 1 teaspoon dark rum
- 100 g crème fraîche
Butter Cream:
- 200 g soft butter
- 200 g pastry cream (crème pâtissière, see below)
- 1 egg yolk
Topping:
- 175 g powdered sugar
- 25 g vanilla sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 80 g sliced almonds
- 50 g honey
- 100 ml crème fraîche (or thick sour cream)
Pastry Cream (crème pâtissière):
- 250 ml whole milk
- 25 g cornstarch
- 65 g powdered sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
- 3 egg yolks
- 25 g butter, room temperature
Pastry Cream Preparation
Whisk milk, cornstarch, and half the sugar in a saucepan. Split the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds, and add both seeds and pod to the milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar, then slowly pour in the hot milk while stirring. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Remove from heat and place the pot in an ice-water bath. Add butter in small pieces and whisk until smooth and glossy.
Dough Preparation
Make the starter by mixing yeast with milk and flour. Knead into a smooth dough, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise for 20 minutes in a warm place.
In another bowl, sift flour and salt, then add milk, egg yolks, sugar, cream cheese, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. If the dough feels dry, add a little more milk. Add the starter and knead well. Then incorporate the butter and rum, knead again, and let rise for 20 minutes under a damp cloth.
Roll the dough to fit a 20×30 cm baking tray lined with parchment paper. Spread crème fraîche evenly on top and press small dimples into the dough with your fingertips. Preheat the oven to 210°C.
Butter Cream
Beat butter with pastry cream and yolk until smooth. Fill a piping bag with a large nozzle and pipe diagonal lines across the dough covered with crème fraîche.
Topping
Mix the yolk with sugar to form a crumbly texture and sprinkle evenly over the cake. Top with sliced almonds. Reduce oven temperature to 175°C and bake for 40 minutes. For extra browning, switch to top heat and increase to 220°C for the last few minutes.
Heat crème fraîche with honey and brush over the warm cake right after baking.
Best served slightly warm.
