How to Make Handmade Rough Puff Pastry Pistachio & Custard Squares

It’s been a while since we made something using rough puff pastry. It being sweet treat season I thought it may be a good idea to give it another go. Rough puff pastry is super versatile. It can be used in sweet as well as savoury applications. You can find a few good examples in the pastry playlist on my channel.

This recipe is easy, and it does not require a lot of different ingredients. The custard is the simplest one you’ll ever make. And you can customize it to your taste by adding spices like cardamom or cinnamon and using different nuts for the topping.

You’ll get 8 pastries from this recipe.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the pastry –

250g (8.8oz) white bread flour

200g (7oz) cold butter, cut into cubes

3g (0.1oz) salt

80g (2.8oz) cold water

To top –

1 egg for glazing

Chopped pistachios

For the custard –

1 egg yolk

75g (2.6oz) milk

25g (0.9oz) sugar

10g (0.35oz) cornstarch

3g (0.1oz) vanilla paste

For the sugar syrup –

30g (1oz) sugar

20g (0.7oz) water

Bring these up to a boil before the pastries come out the oven.

Method

1. In a large bowl combine the flour and salt. Mix. Add the butter cubes and coat them with flour. Break each butter cube into 4 – 5 pieces. Do not break the butter up too much!
2. Add the water and mix until there is no dry flour left. Do not work the dough too much. Press it together slowly and do not knead it.
3. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for 40 minutes.
4. Dust the dough and the table with flour generously. Roll the dough out to three times its length. Straighten the edges and fold it in three layers.
5. Roll it out again and fold it into three layers once more. Wrap it up and chill it for 40 minutes.
6. Repeat the same steps as before. Roll the dough out. Fold in 3. Roll out again and fold into 3 once more. Wrap up and refrigerate for 40 minutes. Now it is ready to be used for any project you decide to use it for.
7. Make the custard. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a small pan. Mix to get rid of any lumps. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and milk. Place the pot on medium-high heat and cook until thickened (around 3 minutes).
8. Take the custard off the heat as soon as it becomes thick and transfer it to a piping bag or a bowl. Leave to cool down.
9. Roll out the pastry to slightly larger than 40cm x 20cm (16in x 8in). Trim the edges and cut into 8 equal squares.
10. Shape the squares. Glaze with egg and top with custard. Finish with the pistachios.
11. Bake at 180C (355F) fan on for 25 minutes.
12. As soon as they come out the oven brush the pastries with the hot sugar syrup.

Leave to cool down and enjoy!