Pain aux Raisins
This classic French pastry is made with buttery puff pastry dough, filled with sweet cream, and topped with sugary raisins. It has a deliciously light texture and just the right amount of sweetness that makes it perfect for any occasion!
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 75 g raisins
- 1 tbsp dark rum (optional)
FOR THE CUSTARD CREAM (the crème pâtissière)
- 300 ml whole milk
- 1 vanilla pod
- 85 g sugar
- 2 yolks
- 30 g flour
To brush on top:
- 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
Instructions
- Put the raisins in a bowl, cover them with boiling water and, if desired, 1 tablespoon of dark rum. Leave them like this for about 30 minutes, then drain the raisins in a mesh strainer, so that it loses the water.
- Make the cornerstones of French pastry: the crème pâtissière. Heat the milk with the vanilla pod, bringing it up to the boiling point and then turning off immediately.
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar with a fork in a bowl heat resistant, then add the flour and mix again, until you get a smooth, dense and homogeneous mixture.
- Start diluting it with 2 - 3 tablespoons of warm milk, then remove the vanilla pod and pour the milk into the bowl, stirring with a hand whisk.
- Put everything back into the pot where you heated the milk, place it over a medium heat and cook, stirring slowly and continuously, for about 5 minutes, until you get a thick, soft and homogeneous cream, very fragrant.
- Cover the cream with cling wrap by touching the surface of the cream to avoid any crust from forming, and let it cool down.
- Take the puff pastry out of the refrigerator and put it on a work surface lightly floured if needed. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough into a rectangle of about 25 × 40 cm. Spread the cold cream over it, leaving the edges free. Sprinkle the raisins on the surface, then roll the dough on itself, so as to obtain a compact cylinder of about 25 cm long.
- Cut 10-12 wheels from the cylinder and arrange them on the baking sheet. Turn on the oven at 180°C (static). Brush the sweets with egg whisked together with the water, then put in the oven and cook for 22 - 25 minutes: they must be golden and crunchy on the surface.
- Let them cool on a grill and serve them cold. You can keep them 1 day on a tray covered with perfectly adherent food cling wrap.
