Palmiers

Although Elephant’s Ears or Palmiers in French are age old sweet treats, I just learned how to make them only a few years ago. In Thailand they call them Butterfly Pies – maybe because they are made of puff pastry and look a bit like butterfly wings.

Ready-rolled puff pastry is readily available in most supermarkets so you don’t have to make it from scratch. My favourite store- bought is either Pam’s or Signature Range. They normally come in a pack of five square sheets.

For 13-14 pieces of Palmiers, you will need:

1 sheet of Puff Pastry, thawed but still firm
A knob of butter
3-4 tablespoons white sugar (I use vanilla infused sugar – just leave an old vanilla pod in a jar with white sugar)

Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees C

Spread butter thinly on a pastry sheet then sprinkle with sugar. Fold two sides of the sheet inward to ¼ each side – spread butter over the upturned bits of pastry and sprinkle with more sugar. Fold again so that both edges meet in the middle, repeat with butter and sugar.

Fold both sides together – spread butter on both sides and roll this flat-ish log in about a tablespoon of the sugar, use your hands to press the sugar into the pastry.

Slice the pastry into ½ inch thick and bake in a baking paper lined baking sheet for 8-9 minutes on each side until golden. Toss them in a little bit more sugar so that they are well coated. Done!