Recipe by: Chef Richard Bancroft, pastry chef at La Varenne in Tornado Tower
Serves: 4
Equipment:
Baking sheet
Roll of baking paper
Roll of cling film
Rolling pin (*Chef’s tip: ‘If you don’t own a rolling pin, use the roll of cling film, as it works just the same!’)
Pastry brush
Thick bottomed pan
Small knife
Vegetable peeler
Chopping board
Ingredients:
125g red currants
75g cranberries (*Chef’s tip: ‘If you have trouble finding the correct berries in Doha great alternatives are blackberries, raspberries and dried fruits such as apricot or prunes. Pear and blackcurrants work really well together also.’)
250g Granny Smith apple (prepared weight/1 cm diced)
50g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla pod (split and seeded)
½ lemon, juice and zest
2 egg yolks
40g light brown sugar
500g puff pastry
Method:
• Pre-heat the oven to 160°C
• Roll the puff pastry into a rectangle shape 1/8 of an inch thick
• Cut the pastry into large circles, approximately 20 centimetres, put onto a baking tray with grease proof paper and then place into the fridge
• Next peel and cut the apples to a one centimetre dice
• Place the cranberries, apple, cinnamon stick, vanilla pod, sugar, lemon juice and zest in a thick bottom pan and cover with cling film
• Put the pan onto a low heat, stirring from time to time, making sure it doesn’t stick until the berries and apple start to slightly cook
• Remove from the stove and add the red currants then leave for around five minutes
• Take out the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod from the fruit mix and gently spoon into the centre of the pastry circles leaving a gap of around one centimetre from the edge
• Brush the edges of the pastry with egg yolks and fold in half towards the fruit, overlapping as you go
• Finally, brush the outside of the pastry with the remaining egg yolks, sprinkle with light brown sugar and bake for approximately 18 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the pastry is crisp on the base
