Team Red’s Speculaas and Creme Patissière Stack

Team Red's Speculaas and Creme Patissière Stack

Recipe by Dee, Charné, Derick and Ange

2.5 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp aniseed
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground ginger

120g flour
40g butter at room temperature
40g icing sugar, sieved
1/4 tsp fine salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Combine the butter and icing sugar together and mix thoroughly.
Combine the flour, salt and baking powder and stir through. Add one tablespoon of the speculaas spice mix to it and stir.
Combine the flour and butter mixture together and mix. Do not overmix.
Add the egg and mix until it forms a dough. Do not overmix.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, roll the dough out to about half a centimeter thick. Use a cutter to cut out your desired shape.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until they start to become golden around the edges.
When they come out of the oven, remove them from the tray and place onto a cooling rack.

2 bay leaves
2 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
1/5 tsp ground ginger
500ml milk
6 egg yolks
100ml flour
1 vanilla pod
5 coffee beans

Boil the milk with the bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, sugar, ginger and coffee beans.
Mix the yolks with the flour and slowly add the hot milk while mixing.
Return the mixture to the stove and cook, stirring constantly until it thickens.
Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl.
Cover with cling film and make sure the cling film is touching the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming.

90g popcorn kernels
3 tbsp oil
115g light brown sugar
85g unsalted butter
75g honey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Heat the oil in a pot and once it is warm, add the popcorn kernels. Once they start popping, cover with a lid and keep a close eye to prevent it from burning. When the popcorn is ready, remove from the heat and transfer to a baking sheet. Set aside.
Place the sugar, honey, butter, salt and vanilla paste into a pot and bring to a temperature of 120C. Once it reaches 120C, whisk in the bicarbonate of soda. Be careful because the bicarbonate of soda is going to make it bubble.
Pour the caramel over the popcorn and mix through.Place the tray in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes
When the popcorn comes out of the oven, remove it from the tray so that it doesn’t stick to the tray.

Stack the sweet shortcrust pastry with the chai pastry cream, alternating the two, starting with the shortcrust pastry and ending with the pastry cream. You want 2 layers of the shortcrust pastry.
Garnish with the caramel popcorn.