Banana and Custard Pastries

STEP 1: MAKE THE DOUGH (DAY ONE)
Combine the strong white bread flour, caster sugar,(/interesting-ingredients/caster-sugar) fine sea salt and fast-action dried yeast in a bowl, keeping the salt and yeast apart until you mix. Add the cold egg, cold whole milk and softened butter and bring to a shaggy dough.

STEP 2: KNEAD AND REST OVERNIGHT (DAY ONE)
Knead for 6 to 8 minutes until smooth and elastic. Flatten to a rough 15 cm square, wrap, and refrigerate overnight. This overnight rest relaxes the détrempe so it rolls without springing back, which is what allows clean layers rather than smeared ones.

STEP 3: START THE CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE (DAY ONE)
Bring the whole milk and vanilla to a bare simmer. Whisk the egg yolks, caster sugar,(/interesting-ingredients/caster-sugar) cornflour, plain flour and salt to a smooth paste. Pour the hot milk over, whisking, then return to the pan.

STEP 4: COOK THE CUSTARD (DAY ONE)
Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and blips, then keep whisking for a full minute more so the starch cooks out and the custard will not weep.

STEP 5: FINISH AND CHILL THE CUSTARD (DAY ONE)
Off the heat, beat in the cubed butter. Fold in the mashed banana and the lemon juice. Adding the banana after cooking keeps the fruit tasting fresh rather than stewed, and the lemon juice holds the colour. Press cling film onto the surface and chill overnight.

STEP 6: FORM THE BUTTER BLOCK (DAY TWO)
Beat the chilled 150 g butter between two sheets of parchment into a 12 cm square. It should be pliable but cold — bendable, not brittle, and not greasy.

STEP 7: ENCLOSE THE BUTTER (DAY TWO)
Roll the détrempe to a 24 cm square. Set the butter block on it as a diamond and fold the four corners of dough over to enclose it completely. Pinch the seams shut.

STEP 8: LAMINATE WITH THREE SINGLE TURNS (DAY TWO)
Roll out to a rectangle roughly 45 cm by 18 cm and fold in three like a letter for one single turn. Wrap and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Repeat for two more single turns, resting 30 minutes between each. Do not skip the rests; if butter breaks through or the dough feels warm and slack, chill for 20 minutes before continuing, as rushing lamination is what produces thick bars. After the third turn, rest the block in the fridge for a final 30 minutes.

STEP 9: SHAPE THE PINWHEELS (DAY TWO)
Roll the block to a 32 cm by 16 cm rectangle, about 5 mm thick. Trim the edges square with a sharp knife so the layers can lift, then cut eight 8 cm squares. Shape each into a pinwheel: cut from each corner towards the centre, stopping about 1 cm short, then fold alternate points into the middle and press to seal. Space well apart on the lined baking sheets.

STEP 10: PROVE FULLY (DAY TWO)
Prove at 24 to 26°C, loosely covered, for 2 to 2.5 hours. This is the central correction: the pastries are ready when they look visibly inflated, jiggle as a whole when the tray is nudged, and a light dimple pressed into the edge springs back slowly and only partway. Sixty minutes is not enough; if your kitchen is cold, give it three hours.

STEP 11: EGG-WASH, FILL AND BAKE (DAY TWO)
Heat the oven to 200°C fan-off / 180°C fan. Egg-wash the pastries gently, brushing the tops only and never the cut sides, or the layers will glue shut. Spoon about 1 heaped tablespoon of banana crème pâtissière into the centre well of each pastry. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until deep golden and dry and crisp underneath. Cool on a wire rack.

STEP 12: GLAZE (DAY TWO)
Warm the sieved apricot glaze and brush it lightly over the pastry rim while the pastries are still just warm. Leave the custard bare.

STEP 13: TOP WITH BANANA AND BRÛLÉE (DAY TWO)
Slice the firm-ripe bananas into 5 mm coins and arrange three or four over the custard on each pastry. Dust the banana with sugar and brûlée with a blowtorch (/cooking-equipment/blow-torch-(blowtorch))until amber and bubbling, keeping the flame moving as the pastry beneath will scorch before the sugar does. Torch at the last moment, not before the pastries cool, and serve within the hour.