Round cake for the Twelfth Night

 Recipe from chef patrick

Ingredients :
As you can see, you have several opportunities : a "dry" cake (without any stuffing)or a cake stuffed with almond cream or with hazelnut cream or with frangipane (frangipane is made of half almond cream and of half confectioner's custard*)

A cake for 6 to 8 portions :
650 grams (1.4 lb) raw already made plain butter flaky pastry**
For the cream stuffing, if any :
110 grams (4 oz) very soft butter
100 grams (3.6 oz) caster sugar
1 small bag of vanilla flavoured sugar
110 grams (4 oz) almond or hazelnut powder
2 eggs (whites + yolks)
15 grams (1/2 oz) wheat flour
1 draught/draft rum (not compulsory)
1 egg yolk mixed with very little water (for gilding the cake)
... and a charm to hide in the cake of course !

Direction :
1/ Prepare the almond or hazelnut cream (if any) :
- put the soft butter in a large salad bowl
- add the sugars, then incorporate the almond or hazelnut powder, the beaten eggs, the rum and the flour
- cover with cling film and put into the fridge during 15 minutes
2/ Prepare the cake :
- if you use already made flaky pastry usually supplied in circular rolls (Note of the translator : if you make your own flaky pastry first cut it into 2 parts then make each of them 3 millimeters - 1/10 inch - thick with a rolling pin)
- on a working plan slighted covered with flour, cut a circle (10 to 12 inches diameter)in the flattened raw pastry
- lay this circle on a teflon cooking plate and draw an internal circle in the middle (with a plate) at 2 inches from the edge to limit the surface you will "gild" and so "gild" (with the yolk mixed with water using a brush) the external surface between the small circle and the edge of the pastry
- using a piping bag, cover the smaller circle of pastry with the chosen almond or hazelnut cream (do not touch the gilded surface), put the charm
- cover with a secon identical circle of flaky pastry (same size and same thickness)
- press well the external part of the cake (where there is no cream) with the fingers in order to seal both circles of pastry
- using a smal knife, make som small teeth (see the picture) all around the circle and make decorations on the top of it.
cover with the remaining mixture of yolk (except the edge) and water and put the pastry into the fridge during 30 minutes
- in the meantime, heat the oven at 450°F
- gild once more the pastry and cook it into the oven during 30-35 minutes (for a "dry" cake, 22-28 minutes only)

And now, how is the King ?

* confectioner's custard : the English translation of this recipe is available on the site
** flaky pastry : the English translation of this recipe is available on the site as well