Gateau Pithviers by Hansells Recipes
Cakes and Tarts
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
This traditional French cake is eaten on New Year's Eve. It is very delicious so can be enjoyed at any time of the year! A silver coin is placed in the cake before it is cooked and whoever gets the coin in the slice of cake is the King or Queen for the night to see the New Year in. The coin must be made of real silver, not just look silver. If you don't have a real silver coin, wrap any coin in tin foil before placing in the cake.
100g butter
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup flour
1 cup ground almonds
½ teaspoon Hansells Almond Essence
400g packet flakey puff pastry
¼ cup apricot or cherry jam
Method:
Melt the butter in a saucepan or in the microwave. Beat in the sugar and eggs with a wooden spoon. Mix in the flour, almonds and almond essence until combined. Cut the pastry in half. Form each half into a ball and roll to a 24cm diameter circle. Use a 24cm diameter cake tin or plate to cut out each circle.
Place one circle on an oven tray. Cut 1cm wide strips from the pastry scraps. Wet the edge of the pastry circle and run the strips around the edge. Repeat so you have two layers of pastry strips around the edge of the circle. Spread the inside of the pastry circle with apricot jam then spread over the almond mixture to the inside edge of the pastry strips. Press the silver coin into the mixture. Wet the top edge of the pastry strip and place the second pastry circle over, pressing the edges lightly to seal.
Make 10 curved cuts from the centre of the pastry top to 1½ cm from the edge. Bake at 220 degrees C for 20 – 25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Leave to cool before cutting. Serve dusted with icing sugar.
Serves 8
