Puff Pastry Milk Cake

Base and top

• Defrost the pastry in the fridge overnight.
• Roll out to the size of a 9″ pan.  Allow a bit extra for shrinkage of the dough when baking, so cut it to the size of the outer edge of the base of the pan, then it will be perfect once baked.
• Cut 2 circles from Tenderflake Puff Pastry (one for the bottom and one for the top) to fit a 9-inch Springform Cake Pan and remove the cut-off edges. 
• Prick the bottom circle, then lightly paint with the whipped cream* (see below), and sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Cut the second disk into at least 12-16** (see below) slices, then lightly paint with some whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Separate them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and bake at 180^oC/350^oF for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Filling

• Place 320 g butter and 60 g white sugar in a glass bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy and set aside.
• Add 4-5 eggs (depending on size) 4 XL or 5 L and mix through the butter mixture and
  set aside.
• If using food coloring, add ±8 drops of yellow food coloring (optional) to the above.
• Mix the 300 g sugar, 120 g corn starch and 1 liter of milk in a large plastic bowl.
• Place in the microwave, then bring to a boil and whisk through to form a thick smooth paste (milk tart style). 
• Check and mix through every 2-3 minutes to achieve a nice smooth texture.
• Depending on your microwave, this can take up to ± 8 minutes.
• Add the first mixture and beat with an electric mixer to remove all lumps cover the top with clingwrap to prevent skin from forming and leave in the fridge until completely cold.
• Beat the 2 x 170ml tins of Carnation* thick cream (it must be very cold, but NOT frozen) until thick and return to the fridge for later use.
• When the milk mixture is cold, add the whipped cream and blend through until smooth. You can also beat it with an electric mixer as it’s easier to get a soft smooth consistency.
• Place parchment paper in your springform pan and then drop the round baked puff pastry circle in the pan.
• Spoon the filling on the base and smooth out the top.
• Add the pastry triangles to the filling and dust with extra cinnamon if you like.
• Set in fridge for at least 2-3 hours.
• Cut as per the triangles and serve.

Bakers Notes:

I had no recipe and winged it as I wanted to try out something different.  I will make this again, the only modification would be to make the triangles smaller** (I only had 8) as the slices were monstrously big, enough for 2 servings, and it’s difficult to cut the pastry without making a huge mess.