Puff pastry almond cake filled with crème frangipane

Warm all of the milk in a pan over low heat with the vanilla essence.

As the milk warms, whisk the two egg yolks with the sugar quickly until whitened, about 20 to 30 seconds.

Sift the cornflour into the egg and sugar mixture and incorporate gently.

Turn off the milk and pour it through a sieve over the egg mixture in two additions, a little first to dilute without clumps, then the rest; mix gently without whisking hard.

Skim off as much of the foam as possible with a small sieve, then strain everything back into the same saucepan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring gently with a whisk, until it thickens into pastry cream, about a minute; lower the heat once it sets and turn it off as soon as it is thick.

Transfer the pastry cream to a clean container, stir in the butter until creamy, and leave to cool at room temperature, not in the fridge.

For the almond cream, sift the icing sugar and incorporate it into the softened butter in two additions with a spatula, very gently, until smooth and creamy.

Incorporate the almond meal in two additions, gently, then the teaspoon of cornflour.

Add the whole egg and mix slowly with the spatula until a loose, liquid-ish cream; beat the egg first if preferred.

Loosen the set pastry cream with the rum, working it with a whisk, spatula or wooden spoon until creamy again.

Add the pastry cream to the almond cream and mix gently, pressing down, until smooth; this is the crème frangipane.

Refrigerate the frangipane for 10 minutes.

Beat the egg with the tablespoon of water with a fork for the egg wash; line a tray with a silicone mat.

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.

Cut a rectangle of rolled puff pastry in half; place one piece on the tray and brush only its edges with egg wash.

Spread a generous, even layer of frangipane over the bottom piece, close to but not on the edges.

Lay the second rectangle on top, then press down and trim the edges with the dough cutter to seal.

Brush the top with a first layer of egg wash without dripping down the sides, and seal the edges further with a fork.

Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then brush on a final layer of egg wash.

Decorate the top with a fork in a cross pattern.

Bake 10 minutes at 220 degrees Celsius.

Reduce the heat to 170 degrees Celsius and bake a further 20 minutes.

Mix honey with a teaspoon of hot water and brush it over the top and sides of the cake as a glaze.

Leave to cool a good 15 minutes before cutting.

Variation: other shapes or sizes work; a very big cake may need about 30 minutes after the first 10 on high heat. To serve later, keep at room temperature and warm briefly in the oven before serving.