Almond Coffee Cake Wreath - milk

Method

• For the vanilla custard, bring 1 3/4 cup of milk to a boil in a saucepan. Mix the custard powder with 4 tbsp cold milk then pour into the boiling milk. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1-2 mins. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool for at least 2 hours.
• To make the wreath, bring 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of milk, 3 oz of butter and a pinch of salt to a boil in a saucepan. Pour in the flour all at once. Stir until the dough forms as a mass and pulls away from the bottom of the pan. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in 1 egg. Set aside to cool for 10 mins.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Use a 10 inch cake pan to draw a circle on a piece of parchment paper. Place the paper on a baking tray. Stir 3 eggs into the pastry one by one. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag with a large star-shaped tip and pipe a wreath onto the baking paper, using the line as a size guide.
• Beat 1 egg then brush it lightly over the surface of the pastry. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake for 20-25 mins. Do not open the oven door throughout baking. Remove the pastry from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
• Melt the nougat in a bowl above a pan of gently simmering water. Cream the rest of the butter in a bowl then gradually beat in the nougat. Mix the nougat buttercream and vanilla custard together. Transfer to a piping bag.
• Slice the wreath in half horizontally. Pipe the nougat cream filling into the pastry then chill for 1 hour. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.