Pithiviers
Ingredients
- 500 g puff pastry, preferably homemade and made the day before
- 100 g almond powder
- 100 g unsalted butter, softened
- 8 tbsp honey
- 2 egg yolks, for the filling
- 1 tbsp kirsch or rum
- 1 egg yolk, for glazing
- Cane sugar syrup, to finish
The Pithiviers, from the town of the same name in the Loiret, is the ancestor of the galette des rois: a dome of puff pastry enclosing almond cream, with two details that make it recognisable. The edge is cut into scallops with the tip of a knife against a tart ring, which both seals the layers and gives the rim its flower shape; and the top is scored with curved lines radiating from the centre, deep enough to mark but never through the pastry, so the puff rises along the cuts. A brush of cane syrup on the hot cake gives the lacquered finish.
Method
Cream the softened butter with the honey until homogeneous, then beat in the egg yolks, the almond powder and the rum. Refrigerate the almond cream.
Divide the puff pastry in half and roll one piece out to 3 mm thick.
Spread the almond cream over the centre with a palette knife, leaving a clear border.
Roll out the second piece, moisten the border of the first with a brush, then lift the second sheet over on a rolling pin and lay it down without trapping air. Press firmly to seal.
Set a 24 cm tart ring over the filling as a guide and cut a scalloped edge around it with the tip of a knife, then remove the ring and the trimmings.
Brush the top with beaten egg yolk and score curved lines radiating from the centre without cutting through.
Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 10 minutes, then lower to 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes more until the base is golden. Brush the hot cake with cane sugar syrup for a glossy finish.
