How to make arlettes

How to make arlettes

How to make arlettes

by Great British Chefs12 August 2015

How to make arlettes

Arlettes are thin wafers of caramelised puff pastry originating from the south of France in the early 1900s around the same time as palmiers started to appear. As they are baked flat and do not need to rise, it’s a great way to use up any leftover puff pastry scraps – just combine them together and roll them out into a sheet.

Traditionally arlettes are sprinkled with cinnamon but the spice can be omitted if you are using them as a component of another dish and therefore want them to be more plain.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

  • 100g of puff pastry
  • 50g of icing sugar
  • 1 pinch of cinnamon
1
Roll the pastry out to a thickness of 0.5cm
2
Sprinkle liberally with icing sugar and dust lightly with cinnamon
3
Roll the pastry up into a scroll and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge
4
Remove the pastry from the fridge and cut the roll into 2cm slices
5
Lay the slices on their sides and roll each one into an oval with a thickness of 0.5cm. Put the ovals on to a baking tray lined with baking paper and return to the fridge for a further 30 minutes
6
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6
7
Dust lightly with more icing sugar
8
Cover with a piece of baking paper and place a second baking tray on top
9
Bake between the two trays for 10–12 minutes until golden brown
10
Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool

Tips

When dusting with the icing sugar before baking make sure to dust lightly as too much sugar will result in lumps of crystallized sugar which are undesirable to eat.

If your baking trays are very light, weigh the top tray down with a heavy saucepan to make sure the arlettes stay very flat while cooking.

Arlettes can be kept in an airtight container for 2–3 days.

Variations

Cinnamon is the classic addition to arlettes but other spices can be used, why not try allspice, nutmeg or a soupçon of ground cardamom. Finely grated lemon or orange zest gives a nice citrus note or you could even try lavender.

Serving suggestions

Arlettes are delicious served as wafers in a bowl of ice cream or with an afternoon cup of tea. For something a little more fancy, try layering arlettes with whipped cream or even crème pâtissière and fresh fruit to create a mille-feuille effect.

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