Palmiers Recipe - Caramel and Chocolate Palmiers

Palmiers are a type of cooked pastry, and are so called because they are supposed to look like a palm leaf.

Now palm trees are not very common where I come from (rural UK) but I have seen one or two on my travels and am struggling to the the resemblance between the shape of a palm leaf and the shape of the pastry which comes out of my oven.

A better description of Palmiers is given by their nick-name of either elephant ear pastries or scroll pastries.

Palmiers are made with puff pastry which is made from many alternate layers of pastry and butter, giving a rich pastry which puffs up when cooked as the layers separate.

Unlike some other versions of pastry, such as short-crust which comes in sweet and savory types, puff pastry just comes as it is, and can be used to make either sweet or savory Palmiers.

In this case however, caramel and chocolate palmiers definately fall into the sweet category with the simple and easy to follow recipe.

Yes, in fact they really couldn't be any easier. Ready made puff pastry is easily available (and it's one of those things that really is easier to buy than make) and then all you need is your chosen filling, some sugar if you're making sweet Palmiers, and an oven.

It is no more complicated than that.

Ingredients: - makes approx 24

500g puff pastry

Plain flour for dusting

1 tin carnation caramel / dulce du leche (find near condensed milk in most bakery sections)

Cocoa powder

Icing sugar

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200C
• On a lightly dusted surface roll out the puff pasty into a rectangular shape slightly longer than it is wide (Figure 1)
• Spread a thin layer of the caramel onto the pastry (you just want to cover the pastry lightly - too much caramel and it will come out of the sides when cooking and burn).
• Sprinkle icing sugar over the caramel
• Sprinkle cocoa powder over the icing sugar. (Figure 2)
• Roll the two long sides up gently towards each other until they meet in the middle and press gently together. (Figure 3 - don't worry that it looks a mess at this point - all that cocoa, sugar and caramel will colour up beautifully in the oven)
• Place the pastry in the fridge for around 30 mins to harden slightly (makes cutting easier)
• Cut across the pastry in 1/4" slices and lay them on a baking tray which is lined with baking parchment. The pastries will double in size so make sure you leave sufficient room between each one. Sprinkle with icing sugar.
• Place in the oven for 10mins until slightly coloured. The remove the pastries and flip each one over on its other side before sprinkling lightly with icing sugar again returning to the oven for a further 3 - 4 mins. NB: These will be very hot when you take them out of the oven so unless your fingers are heat-proof please use a spatula to turn them over.
• Remove from the oven to cool.

Who wouldn't be delighted to receive a lovely little bag of Palmiers all tied up with ribbon.

Cellophane bags are available from most good craft and hobby stores and makes a lovely way of presenting Palmiers as a gift.

If caramel and chocolate Palmiers aren't your thing you can always change the recipe and spread the pastry with other flavours - anything from from plain sugar to peanut butter will work ~ then you could put together a selection of different flavoured Palmiers.