Puff pastry cigars, Jeanne's pastry cream & spiced pear confit

INGREDIENTS
- 1 pack of filo pastry
- 70 g of melted margarine
- Crushed pistachios

Crème pâtissière au Jeanne:
- 1 Jeanne
- 250 g of soya milk
- 20 g of cornstarch
- 1 tsp. agar agar
- 30 g hard margarine (or coconut oil)

Pear confit with spices:
- 100 g blond sugar
- 100 g water
- 3-4 pears
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 1⁄2 vanilla pod

RECIPE
Crème pâtissière de Jeanne:
Mix the Jeanne with the soya milk. In a saucepan, pour the milk-Jeanne mixture then add the cornflour and agar.Bring to the boil while stirring constantly with a whisk.
When the mixture has thickened, remove the pan from the heat.Add the margarine and whisk in.
Transfer the cream to a bowl and strain on contact to prevent a crust from forming. When the mixture has cooled, chill it for at least 2 hours.

Pear confit with spices:
In a saucepan, put the water, sugar and spices.Bring everything to a gentle boil and leave to simmer to make a syrup.
Meanwhile, peel the pears and cut them into small cubes.When the syrup is ready, add the pear cubes and leave to cook for about ten minutes on a low heat.
Set aside in another container in the fridge when ready.

Filo pastry cigars:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Melt the margarine over a low heat. Cut into 5-7 cm wide strips. Brush both sides of the strip with melted margarine. Then, like a palm tree, roll each side back to the middle.
Place each bite on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Before putting in the oven, brush the whole with the pear-spice syrup made earlier (keep the pear cubes for the final presentation).
Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 180°C, until golden brown.

Dressing:
Pour the cold custard into a piping bag or make quenelles with a teaspoon. Top the filo pastry cigars with a line of pastry cream. Add a few cubes of candied pear and sprinkle with pistachio slivers.

- Recipe by Aude @thegreenquest -