Curly Cooks: Pain aux Raisins

Since we're all stuck inside for lockdown, many people are currently baking to pass the time, including me! So, Curly Cooks is a series on the various items that I'm making while on lockdown, most of which will carry personal stories. Today's recipe is another memory of Paris: Pain aux Raisins.

Curly Cooks: Pain aux Raisins

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Way back in 2019, when I lived in Paris (did I mention I lived in France) I used to eat Pain aux Raisins All The Time. I couldn't get over the amazing flaky, buttery pastry, the smooth creamy filling and the tasty scattered raisins. My coworkers would often laugh at me for saying the word 'raisin' in a very English accent compared to the first two words in the name of this pastry, but I didn't care, I'd just laugh and eat another! It's a bit of a trickier recipe as it involves making your own custard, but it's worth it in the end.

First of all, you want to separate two eggs and mix the yolks in with 45g of granulated sugar. Once smooth, mix in 10g each of plain flour and cornflour, to make a sort of yellow paste.

Next, pour 200ml of milk into a saucepan with a dash of vanilla extract, and put it on the hob to boil. Once it's started bubbling, pour it slowly into the egg mixture, whisking as you go (if possible), then transfer this mixture back to the hob, keeping it on a low flame until it has thickened into a a lovely creamy custard. 

Put the custard back in the bowl and refridgerate it for around an hour.

While it is cooling, you can prepare the pastry. Roll out your premade puff pastry into a large rectangle, making sure to roll it out lengthways so that you can roll it up easier later. 

Once the custard is cooled, spread it over the surface of the pastry, but not too thickly or close to the edges or it will all spill out of the ends (I learned this the hard way). 

Sprinkle on your raisins, then roll it up.

Cut 1cm thick slices out of the roll and place them on a baking sheet. 

Egg wash if possible then cook them in a 180C oven for 20 minutes. 

And that's it, enjoy!

Pain aux Raisins

Prep time: 1h 30            Cook time: 20 mins            Serves: 1-20

Ingredients:

250g premade puff pastry

150g raisins

  For the Custard:

   2 egg yolks

   45g granulated sugar

   10g plain flour

   10g cornstarch

   200ml milk

   1tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Mix together egg yolks and sugar until smooth.

2. Add in plain flour and cornstarch and mix thoroughly.

3. Boil milk with vanilla extract on a medium heat.

4. Once boiled, pour into the egg mixture, then once cohesive-looking pour back into the saucepan and continue to heat (on low) until the mixture thickens significantly.

5. Pour back into a bowl and refridgerate for around one hour.

6. Roll out premade puff pastry into a rectangle of 1/2cm thickness

7. Spread cooled custard over the pastry, fairly thin, until most of the pastry is covered.

8. Sprinkle the raisins evenly over the whole surface.

9. Roll the pastry lengthways, as tightly as possible.

10. Cut out rounds of 1cm thickness and place them face up on the baking sheet, so you can see the swirls.

11. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown in colour.

12. Enjoy!

            

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