Pain au Chocolat. It sounds so…French. And we all know the French know a thing or two (or a million) about making yummy pastries and desserts, right? I mean, how can you go wrong with puff pastry and chocolate?
It couldn’t be easier to make this, either. You take puff pastry, cut it into sections, fill it with pastry cream, really good chocolate, and sprinkle on the coconut for that Latin flair.
Since you’ll only need a few ingredients for this recipe, try to use the best quality chocolate you can find. I used Scharffen Berger semi-sweet chocolate, and the chocolate really stood out.
Go ahead…add a little French to your life!
Tropical Pain Au Chocolat
Ingredients:
- 1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
- 1 recipe pastry cream (recipe follows)
- 3 oz. high-quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup shredded coconut
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use a knife to cut the thawed puff pastry into three rectangles. Transfer the rectangles onto the prepared baking sheet.
Spread 1/3 of the pastry cream onto the bottom half of each rectangle.
Sprinkle 1/3 of the chopped chocolate, and 1/3 cup of the coconut on top of the pastry cream.
Fold the top half of each pastry rectangle over the bottom half, and press down lightly.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until the puff pastry is fluffy and golden brown.
Let cool slightly, and enjoy!
Makes 3 pastries.
Original recipe by La Casa de Sweets.
Pastry Cream Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- Pinch of salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions:
In a small saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until bubbles form on the edges.
While the milk is heating, in a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks.
Slowly add the dry mixture to the egg yolks, whisking until a thick paste forms.
Once the milk has heated, slowly whisk the milk into the egg paste.
Pour the mixture into the saucepan, and cook over low-medium heat, whisking constantly until it thickens. This should take about 1 minute.
Once thick, remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract. Cover the surface of the cream with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold.
Recipe adapted from Flour Bakery Cookbook.
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