Gateau St James Food

ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• Finely grind the almonds in a food processor.
• With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the sugar to a smooth pale cream. Beat in the zests and almond extract. Add the ground almonds and mix very well.
• With clean beaters, beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold them into the egg and almond mixture (the mixture is thick, so that you will need to turn it over quite a bit into the egg whites).
• Grease an 11-inch springform pan, preferably nonstick, with butter and dust it with flour. Pour in the cake batter, and bake into a preheated 350°F for 40 minutes, or until it feels firm to the touch. Let cool before turning out.
• Just before serving, dust the top of the cake with confectioners' sugar. Or, if you like, cut a St. James cross out of paper. Place it in the middle of the cake, and dust the cake with confectioners' sugar, then remove the paper.

GâTEAU ST HONORé

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Line two baking trays with silicone mats or baking paper.
• Heat the milk, butter, sugar and 125ml/4½fl oz water in a saucepan over a high heat until the butter has melted (do not boil).
• Add the flour all in one go and beat firmly and quickly with a spatula or wooden spoon, keeping the pan over the heat. Cook the mixture for one minute, then transfer to the bowl of a food mixer and beat for a further 1-2 minutes, or until cooled slightly (you can do this by hand if preferred).
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
• Transfer the pastry to a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle and pipe a large spiral, about 24cm/10in in diameter and 1cm/½in deep, onto one of the prepared baking trays.
• Pipe small, evenly sized balls of the remaining choux pastry onto the second baking tray. Using a wet finger, gently smooth any pointed peaks on the top of the balls.
• Bake the choux pastry in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown and cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly, then pierce the sides of the small buns once using a small, sharp knife to let the steam out. Do the same to the large pastry base.
• For the filling, whisk the custard with the double cream until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Add the orange liqueur and whisk until firm peaks form when the whisk is removed. Spoon one-third of the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle.
• Pierce the flat bases of 16 of the small choux buns with a knife, insert the nozzle of the piping bag, and fill each with some of the cream mixture.
• Heat the sugar in a frying pan over a high heat until it melts and starts to caramelise to a light golden-brown; swirl the pan, but don't stir. (CAUTION: melted sugar is very hot. Take care not to burn yourself.) Working quickly, dip the tops of each filled choux bun into the caramel to coat, then return them to the tray until the caramel has set.
• To serve, place the choux pastry base onto a serving plate. Cover the pastry base with quenelles of the remaining cream mixture. Arrange the caramel-topped choux buns at the edge of the pastry base, then fill the centre with the soft fruit.

GATEAU ST. JAMES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Spray 10-inch springform pan and line bottom with parchment round.
• Spray again and dust with cocoa powder.
• Grind chocolate and almonds in food processor until fine.
• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add yolks one at a time, beating well.
• Add chocolate/almond mixture and blend well.
• Beat whites to soft peaks.
• Mix 1/3 of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten (it will be stiff).
• Fold remaining whites into chocolate mixture.
• Bake until tests done, about 30 minutes.
• Cool.
• Unmold upside down on to platter.

STRAWBERRY GâTEAU ST HONORé

Steps:

• Make the pastry for the base: whizz the flour, almonds, butter and sugar in a food processor to fine crumbs. Add the egg yolk (reserve the white for later) and a few drops of water if necessary, then pulse until the dough comes together. Wrap in cling film, then chill for 1 hr.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out pastry on a large square of baking parchment, then trim to a 26cm round using a cake tin or plate as a guide. Carefully transfer the pastry still on the paper to a large baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 mins until golden. Cool on the paper, then transfer to a large, flat serving plate. Can be made 2 days ahead.
• To make the choux pastry, line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Heat the butter in a pan with 125ml water until melted, then increase heat until boiling. Remove from the heat, then add the flour in one go, quickly stirring until everything comes together as a thick paste. Leave to cool for 10 mins. Beat the eggs in to the paste, using a wooden spoon, a little at a time, until you have a thick, glossy mixture. Spoon 12 equal-size blobs of choux, a little apart, over the baking sheet. Lightly whisk the reserved egg white, then brush over each blob of pastry. Sprinkle with flaked almonds.
• Bake the buns for 25-30 mins until crisp and golden. Remove from the oven, carefully split each bun, then return to the oven for 5 mins more to dry out the insides. Cool on a rack, then scoop out any soft insides. Can be made 2 days ahead - if they go soft, briefly crisp them up in the oven.
• To make the filling, mix the custard powder and sugar in a pan, then blend in a little milk to a smooth paste. Add the rest of the milk, then gently bring to the boil, stirring, until you have a thick custard. Remove from the heat, then stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a bowl, then cover the surface with cling film. Cool. Can be made 2 days ahead.
• Now assemble the gâteau: stir the custard to loosen a little. Whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold into the custard. Slice a third of the strawberries. Spread a thin layer of custard over the pastry base. Add the sliced strawberries to the remaining custard, then use to fill the choux buns. Arrange buns around edge of the pastry base. Spoon any remaining custard into the centre, then top with the remaining strawberries.
• To make the caramel, tip the caster sugar into a heavy based pan with 2 tbsp cold water. Heat, without stirring, to dissolve the sugar, tipping the pan if necessary, then boil hard until it becomes a light caramel. Remove from the heat and, when the bubbles subside, drizzle carefully over the choux buns. Dust with icing sugar and serve. The gâteau can be chilled for up to 2 hrs before serving.