Tambores | Puff Pastry with Pastry Cream

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 rectangular puff pastry sheets
• 500 ml hot milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 50 g sugar
• 50 g cornstarch
• 50 g butter
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• Ground cinnamon and powdered sugar (for dusting)

PREPARATION:

Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

Roll out the puff pastry sheet and cut out rounds using a round cutter or a glass. Place the rounds on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and prick them with a fork, so they don't rise too much. Bake at 200°C for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden and well risen. Also bake the pastry scraps.

Remove from the oven and let cool. Then, crush the baked pastry scraps until you get a crumb-like texture — we'll use this later for decorating.

Meanwhile, prepare the custard: in a bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch, and whisk well until you get a smooth mixture.

Pour the hot milk over the egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Add the vanilla essence, butter, and cinnamon stick, and mix everything together. Place over low heat and let the custard thicken, stirring continuously and scraping the bottom of the pan well to avoid lumps. Once it starts to boil and thicken, let it cook for about 1 minute, then remove from the heat.

Transfer the custard to a bowl and cover immediately with plastic wrap, in direct contact with the surface — this prevents a dry crust from forming. Refrigerate until completely cool.

Once cold, stir the pastry cream well until smooth and creamy. Place a layer of cream on one pastry round, sprinkle with a little ground cinnamon, and cover with another round.

Spread more pastry cream around the outside edge of each "drum" and roll them in the crushed pastry crumbs, so they're well coated. To finish, dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.