← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 500 ml whole milk, for the cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 egg yolks, for the cream
• 80 g caster sugar, for the cream
• 40 g Cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1 tbsp dark rum (optional)
• 200 g soft butter, for the pastry
• 200 g caster sugar, for the pastry
• 1 egg, plus 1 yolk, for the pastry
• 1 lemon, zested
• 60 g Ground almonds
• 280 g plain flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 egg yolk beaten with a splash of milk, to glaze

Method

1. Make the cream: heat the milk with the vanilla until steaming. Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl, pour in the hot milk while whisking, then return to the pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking, for 2–3 min until very thick. Stir in the rum, cover the surface with cling film and chill for at least 1 hour.
2. Make the pastry: beat the butter and sugar until creamy, then beat in the egg, yolk and lemon zest. Mix in the almonds, flour, baking powder and salt to a soft dough. Wrap and chill for 30 min.
3. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F). Butter a 23 cm tin. Roll or press just over half the dough into the base and up the sides.
4. Spread the cold cream inside, leaving a small border. Roll the rest of the dough into a disc, lay it on top and press the edges to seal.
5. Brush with the egg glaze and score a criss-cross pattern with a fork. Bake for 45–50 min, until deep golden. Cool completely in the tin before slicing.

Tips

• The dough is soft: rolling it between two sheets of baking paper makes life easier.
• Instead of pastry cream, the Basque-country alternative is a layer of black cherry jam. Contains almonds.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Great British Chefs