Llavaneres Coca

Name: Llavaneres Coca
Yield: 1 servings
Ingredients: 1 sheet square puff pastry; pastry cream for filling; 40 g ground almonds; 1 tsp cornstarch; 50 g sugar; 60 g egg white; vanilla; 30 g egg whites; 40 g pine nuts; sugar; 3 eggs eggs; 375 g milk; 75 g sugar; 45 g flour; lemon; vanilla

Puff pastry coca with pastry cream, light marzipan and pine nuts.

Ingredients

Servings

Measurement units

Ingredients for the coca

1 sheetsquare puff pastry
pastry cream for filling

Light marzipan topping

40 gground almonds
1 tspcornstarch
50 gsugar
60 gegg white
vanilla

Final glaze

30 gegg whites
40 gpine nuts
sugar

Pastry cream

3 eggseggs
375 gmilk
75 gsugar
45 gflour
lemon
vanilla

Nutritional Information

Per 100 g

Calories

285 kcal

Protein

5.7 g

Fat

17.9 g

Carbohydrates

24.9 g

Calculated from reviewed ingredient weights and pinned USDA FoodData Central records.

Step-by-step Guide

Prepare a light marzipan

The marzipan should have a texture similar to porridge.
Mix the ground almonds, sugar, lemon zest and a little vanilla.
Add the unwhipped egg white.
Mix until you obtain a porridge-like texture and let it rest for a while.

Making the coca

Soak the pine nuts.
Preheat the oven to 190 ºC.
Roll out the sheet of puff pastry with a rolling pin until it is very thin.
Cut the sheet lengthwise into two equal halves, which will be the base and lid of the coca.
Line the baking tray with baking paper.
Transfer one of the puff pastry sheets to the tray using the rolling pin: roll the sheet onto the floured rolling pin and unroll it over the tray.
Prick the base with a fork so that it does not rise too much during baking.
Fill a piping bag with the cream.
Spread the cream over the base without reaching the edges, leaving a perimeter strip without cream; the best method is to pipe a perimeter line set in from the side around the rectangle of the base and then fill the centre.
Moisten the perimeter strip left without cream with water, using a wet finger.
Prick the lid with a fork so that it does not rise too much during baking.
Place the lid over the cream using the rolling pin.
Press the edges of the two sheets together to seal them and twist the seam to form a rope.
Spread the light marzipan over the surface of the coca. It does not need to be completely even.
Whip the egg white for the final glaze to stiff peaks and spread it over the marzipan.
Distribute the well-drained pine nuts over it, generously but without overdoing it.
Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 190 ºC, with heat from above and below, for 35-37 minutes.
At around 20 minutes, if you see that it is browning too much on top, cover it with aluminium foil.
Let it cool on a wire rack.

Making traditional pastry cream

Separate the yolks from the whites.
Set aside a little cold milk.
Put the milk, lemon peel and half a vanilla pod in a saucepan until it comes to a boil. Remove it from the heat and put it back on until it comes to a boil 3 times.
In a bowl, put a little cold milk and the sifted flour, and stir so that it dissolves.
Strain the milk, pour it hot into the bowl with the flour and yolks, and stir.
Put the mixture over the heat and stir until it thickens. It must not come to a boil.
When it has thickened a little, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
When cold, cover it with plastic wrap touching the cream and leave it in the refrigerator until the next day.

Pastry cream - easy option

Baltà bakery sells a mix for making instant pastry cream.
Mix 270 g of the mix with one litre of cold milk; these are the quantities for 2 cream cocas.
Mix 135 g of the mix with 500 ml of cold milk; these are the quantities for 1 cream coca.
Mix it cold and whisk it with electric beaters for 3 minutes, or more, until it thickens.