Pithiviers Galette

Before starting this Pithiviers recipe, organise all the necessary ingredients for the almond cream.

For the almond cream: In a mixing bowl, place the soft butter and castor sugar.

Blanch the ingredients with a whisk until homogeneous.

Add the egg yolks, the almond flour and the rum.

Combine well, then reserve in the fridge.

Divide the puff pastry dough in half and store one half in the fridge. Roll out the other half to a thickness of 3 mm.

Place the almond cream filling in the centre...

... and spread with a small palette knife.

Roll out the second portion of puff pastry. I used a manual laminator for this recipe, but this operation can be done with a rolling pin.

Using a brush, moisten the puff pastry around the almond cream filling.

Wrap the puff pastry sheet around the rolling pin...

... then gently arrange it over the almond cream. Make sure there are no air bubbles between the filling and the top pastry.

Press firmly to seal both layers of puff pastry.

Place a tart ring around the filling. The tart ring size will vary according to the cake size. If the rounded part of the cake (filling) has a diameter of 20cm, use a tart ring that is slightly bigger (24 cm).

With the tip of the knife, cut the pastry to create a scalloped edge. The tart ring serves as a guide in this recipe.

Remove the tart ring and the pastry scraps.

Glaze the surface with a beaten egg yolk...

... and score the pastry with curved lines, starting from the centre. Make sure you do not pierce through the pastry.

Bake at 220°C (gas 7) for 10 minutes...

... then reduce the temperature to 180°C and cook for a further 20 minutes. The galette is ready when the base pastry is cooked. Gently lift the cake with a palette knife to check. The base should be golden. Return to the oven if the base is not cooked enough.

When cooked, remove from the oven...

... and glaze the surface with cane sugar syrup, using a brush. At this stage, the cake doesn't need to be stored in the oven. When coming in contact with the hot cake, the syrup will dry and create a glossy film on the surface. The main distinctions of a Pithiviers are the following: an almond cream filling, a scalloped edge and the curved lines on the surface resembling a sun.