Pain aux Raisins

A spiral of laminated dough rolled round pastry cream, cut with a thread rather than a knife.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (butter), dairy (milk).

Ingredients

• 1 batch croissant dough, as on its own page, through all its folds and rested
• 1 batch crème pâtissière, as on its own page, cold and whisked smooth
• 150 g raisins
• 3 tablespoons dark rum, or hot tea
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, to glaze
• 3 tablespoons apricot jam, to finish

Method

1. THE RAISINS ARE SOAKED AND THEN DRIED. Soaked, because dry raisins pull moisture out of the pastry cream and go hard and bitter in the oven. Dried afterwards on a cloth, because the liquid they are carrying would otherwise thin the cream and make the spiral slide apart as it proves. Both halves matter and the second is the one people skip.
2. THE CREAM IS SPREAD THIN AND KEPT OFF THE FAR EDGE. A thick layer squeezes out of the ends as it is rolled and then burns on the tray; and a clear strip at the far edge is what lets the roll close on itself.
3. IT IS CUT WITH A THREAD, NOT A KNIFE. A length of strong cotton slipped under the log, crossed over the top and pulled, which cuts straight through without pushing the spiral out of shape. A knife -- even a sharp one -- drags the outer layers round and the swirl comes out oval.
4. AND THE LOG IS CHILLED HARD BEFORE CUTTING, 30 minutes at least. Soft, nothing cuts it cleanly whatever you use.
5. Raisins covered with the rum or hot tea and left 30 minutes, then drained and SPREAD ON A CLOTH to dry.
6. Crème pâtissière made as on its own page, chilled, and whisked smooth.
7. Croissant dough made as on its own page and rolled to a rectangle 3 mm thick, about 30 by 45 cm, the long edge towards you.
8. The cream spread in a thin even layer, leaving 3 cm clear along the far long edge.
9. The raisins scattered over and pressed in lightly.
10. Rolled up firmly from the near edge into a log, finishing on the clear strip.
11. Wrapped and CHILLED 30 minutes.
12. Cut into 10 slices about 3 cm thick, using a thread.
13. Laid cut side up and well apart on lined trays, and the loose outer tail of each tucked underneath so it cannot unwind.
14. Proved 2 hours at warm room temperature, glazed, and baked at 190C for 18 to 20 minutes until deep gold. The jam warmed with a splash of water and brushed over while they are hot.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under France · All recipes