With Just Two Ingredients: An Easy Recipe for Perfect Dulce de Leche Pastries
Recipe for perfect dulce de leche pastries / Efrat Siachi, Recipes in 10 Minutes
Ingredients for perfect dulce de leche pastries: puff pastry, dulce de leche spread
For sprinkling on top: powdered sugar
Method for perfect dulce de leche pastries: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Roll out the puff pastry on a work surface and use a glass about 4 to 5 cm in diameter to cut out small circles. Arrange the circles on the lined tray. Brush or spray each circle with a little oil and bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until golden and evenly colored. Remove from the oven and cool completely at room temperature. Open each circle gently and fill with dulce de leche. For easier filling, you can transfer the dulce de leche to a piping bag or a food bag and snip off the corner. Before serving, dust generously with powdered sugar and serve.
The secrets to perfect dulce de leche pastries, like from a bakery: Defrost only in the refrigerator: Do not defrost puff pastry outside. Warm pastry becomes sticky and its layers are ruined. Transfer it to the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours before working with it, and work with it while it is cold and quickly. Has the pastry softened? Put it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes. (Works great for mille-feuille and cheese pastries too!)
Complete cooling before filling: Fill the pastries only when they are at room temperature. Dulce de leche that meets a hot pastry becomes runny and messy. Let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes on a cooling rack, and only then fill them. (Also true for alfajores.)
Neat, even piping: Forget the spoon, use a piping bag (or a sandwich bag with the corner cut off). Pipe a spiral onto the bottom half, close it and press gently, so the filling does not spill out from the sides. Tip: If the dulce de leche is too thick, heat it for 10 seconds in the microwave.
Powdered sugar at the last moment: Powdered sugar gets absorbed and disappears on a moist pastry. Sprinkle it through a fine sieve right before serving. Want a festive upgrade? Sprinkle a little shredded coconut on top as well. Good luck and enjoy
