Apple and Elderflower Nicuatole Pastries
Nicuatole is a traditional corn pudding from Mexico. This recipe transforms it into an apple and elderflower puff pastry tart to make a unique dessert.
Introduction
The name for this indigenous set corn masa dessert comes from the words necutil (honey) and atole (see page 89 of Mexican Soul). Today, people make nicuatole with fruit juice bases to create more complex variations. I’ve used a mixture of apple and elderflower, as they give the finished dish a vibrant, aromatic taste, and instead of corn masa I use cornflour (cornstarch) to thicken. The whole thing is encased in pastry for extra texture.
Ingredients
| 1 litre (34fl oz/4¼ cups) | apple juice |
| 80g (2¾oz/scant ⅔ cup) | cornflour (cornstarch) |
| 100g (3½oz) | elderflower syrup or cordial |
| 50ml (1¾fl oz/3½ tbsp) | apple cider vinegar |
| 2 sheets (640g/1lb 7 oz) | ready-rolled puff pastry |
| 2 large | egg yolks, beaten with 1 tbspwater |
| 1 | eating (dessert) apple |
| 20g (¾oz/2½ tbsp) | icing (powdered) sugar |
| melted butter, for brushing |
Method
Mix 150 ml (5 fl oz/scant ⅔ cup) of the apple juice with the cornflour in a small bowl and set aside.
Combine the remaining apple juice with the elderflower syrup and vinegar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the cornflour mixture and cook for 10 minutes while stirring constantly with a silicone spatula to prevent the mixture from sticking.
Pour the nicuatole mixture into a small baking tray (pan) and spread it out evenly. Refrigerate until needed.
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan (425°F).
Unroll the puff pastry and cut out 18 x 13 cm (5 inch) diameter circles with a pastry cutter. Set aside six to be your bases, then use a 9 cm (3½ inch) cutter to cut out the middles of the remaining 12 discs to create rings. Reserve the middles.
Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and arrange the bases on the sheet. Place two rings on top of each base to make little pastry vessels.
Remove the nicuatole from the refrigerator and cut out six 9 cm (3½ inch) circles. Remove them from the tray with a spatula and place one inside each puff pastry vessel.
Brush the pastry with the melted butter. Bake the tarts in the oven for 14–18 minutes until golden.
Meanwhile, thinly slice the apple into half-moons.
Place the reserved pastry middles on a lined baking sheet and cover each one with a layer of apple slices. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes.
Remove the vessels and apple-topped middles from the oven. Dust the middles with icing sugar and place on the vessels to finish the pastries. Serve warm.
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