La Brochette Des Corsaires Recipes

PAVE DES ROMAINES

Steps:

• Cut a thin layer off top of chocolate genoise to make a flat surface and sprinkle with 1/4 cup brandy. Place on a plate.
• Melt 6 ounces chocolate: put chocolate in bowl and cover with hot water. Let stand until chocolate is soft, then pour off water, leaving softened chocolate behind. Add chocolate to whipped cream and beat together. Add 1/4 cup rum.
• Spread layer of creamed chocolate over chocolate layer of genoise and top with yellow genoise. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup rum over top layer.
• Beat egg whites until stiff. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg whites, a little at a time, until incorporated. Spread all but 1/2 cup buttercream over top of cake and dust with icing sugar. Place another layer of ganache on top and spread smoothly. Arrange apricots around top of cake.
• Melt remaining chocolate in bowl, as before and pour over top of cake. Decorate with pipings of reserved buttercream.

GALETTE DES ROIS

Steps:

• For the cream filling: Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the almonds, then the egg, rum and vanilla. Beat until smooth with a fork. Cover and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• For the pastry shell: Lay an 8-inch/20 cm round plate on one sheet of cold pastry and go around it with a knife. Do the same for the top round, but then roll this one a little with a rolling pin to make it slightly larger than the bottom round. Lay the smaller round of chilled dough on a dampened baking sheet. Spread the chilled cream filling over, leaving a good 1-inch/2.5 cm margin all around the edge. Hide a bean somewhere in the cream. Brush the border with egg wash. Lay on the top round and press the edges well to seal. Score the edge all around with the blunt side of a knife to seal. Make a cross in the center for steam to escape and draw spirals out to the edges for decoration. Brush with egg wash all over the top, avoiding the edges, so that they'll puff up easily. Chill in the freezer until very firm, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F/230 degrees C. Bake the cake until puffed up high and dark golden in color. Sprinkle with a thin coating of confectioners' sugar and blast under the broiler or melt with a blowtorch. You can also brush with melted apricot jam for a glaze.