Dauphinoise potato and caramelized onion pie

Instructions

Prepare potato Dauphinoise.

1. With the help of a peeler, preferably to avoid losing as little potato as possible, peel the potatoes.
2. Wash under cold running water.
3. With the help of a mandolin, slice the potatoes to a thickness of 2-3 mm. Set aside.
4. Peel the onions, removing the outer part, and slice with the mandolin to the same thickness as the potatoes.
5. Finally, peel the garlic cloves and slice.
   

Cook potatoes.

1. In a large skillet or saucepan, add the crème fraîche along with the milk, salt and spices.
2. Place over medium-low heat and cook until slightly heated through.
3. Stir the potatoes into the milk mixture, raise the heat slightly and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly, to prevent the potatoes from sticking to the base.
4. Remove the potatoes, drain well and set aside. Keep the leftover liquid or sauce in a bowl, we will use it later.
5. NOTE: To speed up the process of assembling the filling, I recommend dividing the weight of the potatoes equally between 3 plates or containers.
   

Caramelize the onion.

1. In a large frying pan, add the oil together with the butter, place over medium heat and let it melt completely.
2. Add the onion along with the pinch of salt and cook until caramelized. If the onion does not have a nice golden color and we need to cook it longer, add a little water and cook until it has a nice golden color (and the water has evaporated completely).
3. Set aside.

Bake the stuffing.

1. Preheat the oven to 392ºF/200ºC, heat up and down.
2. Line a round baking pan (23-25 cm in diameter) with parchment paper. To help it stick to the baking pan, grease the inside of the pan with a little butter.
3. Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the baking pan, trying to create an even base.
4. Grate 100 g of Cheddar cheese on top. Spread the cheese over the entire surface of the potatoes.
5. Pour 1/3 of the reserved sauce over the grated cheese.
6. Place another third of the potatoes over the entire surface of the baking pan, creating a second layer of potatoes.
7. Cover the second layer of potatoes with all the caramelized onion. On top of this, grate the other 100 g of Cheddar cheese, making sure to cover the entire surface.
8. Place the last third of the potatoes and pour another third of the sauce on top. Reserve the remaining third, we will use it later.
9. Cover the baking pan with baking paper and bake for 35 minutes.
10. Remove the baking paper, pour the remaining third of sauce trying to cover the entire surface of the potatoes and bake at 374ºF/190ºC for 20 minutes more. Before removing the baking pan, check that the potatoes are tender by inserting a knife, if not, prolong the baking until tender.
11. Remove from the oven and let cool completely inside the pan and on a rack.
12. Once cooled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours or until the next day.

Prepare shortcrust.

1. Beat the eggs together with the cold water. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
2. Add in the bowl of the mixer the flour together with the salt and the cold butter cut into cubes.
3. Mix with the paddle until a sandy texture is obtained. It is possible that some butter pieces remain, it's fine.
4. Make a hole in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture.
5. Beat with the paddle until the mixture comes together and compacts.
6. Transfer the mixture to a lightly floured work surface and knead for a few seconds to homogenize. We should not knead excessively because we are not interested in developing gluten in this case.
7. Flatten the dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Create the base of the pie and place the filling.

1. Divide the dough into two more or less equal parts. Cover the half you are not going to work with with cling film and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Sprinkle lightly with flour and roll out the dough with an adjustable rolling pin to a thickness of 4 mm. You must stretch the dough to a diameter slightly larger than the mold used, in order to create the edge of the pie.
3. Place a plate or disc with the desired size and with the help of a knife, cut the dough. Keep the excess dough wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated to create the top decorations.
4. To unmold the potato filling, if you do not use a removable mold (as in my case) proceed as follows. With the help of a blowtorch, apply a little heat to the base and sides of the mold. This will help to melt the butter with which we grease the mold and the baking paper will come off and you will be able to unmold it very easily.
5. Place the filling on the dough disc, previously cut, and remove the baking paper.

Create the top of the pie.

1. Sprinkle lightly with flour and stretch the dough with the help of an adjustable rolling pin to a thickness of 4 mm. Then, I used a marble rolling pin (you can use a normal rolling pin) to give sufficient dimensions to cover the pie, top and sides.
2. Place the stretched dough on the cake and adjust it, making sure there are no holes or folds.
3. Cut the excess dough from the edge and seal very well the union of both pieces; top dough and base dough.
4. To give a decorative touch, in the video I show you how to seal the edge. This is a suggestion, you can make the one you like the most.
   

Create the top and side decorations.

1. For the decoration of the sides, we will create a braid.
2. Stretch a piece of dough, no matter the length. Later in the video I will show you how to decorate the joints between each braid for an attractive finish.
3. Cut very thin strips of dough. Each braid needs six strips.
4. Once cut, we will give the strips a rounded finish. To do this we will roll the pieces on the work surface.
5. Create braids to cover the entire diameter of the pie. In my case I had to make 3 braids. Remember to seal the beginning and the end of each braid to prevent them from opening.
6. Cut the ends of each braid, which are not braided, and lightly moisten with water the area where you are going to place the braid. Place the braid and adjust carefully.
7. To decorate the braid joints, create small leaves (made with a cookie cutter with an ejector) and a small flower.
8. To carry out the top decoration I used different molds with and without ejector, plus a small silicone mold to create the central decoration of the pie. Some of the leaves, the larger ones, were made by hand. This part of the process is optional, you can decorate the cake the way you like.
9. Once decorated, refrigerate the cake for 2 hours before brushing with beaten egg yolk or until the next day.
   

Brush with yolk and bake.

1. Brush the entire surface of the pie with yolk beaten with water. It is important not to leave excess yolk in the holes. To brush the details you can use a smaller brush.
2. With the help of a toothpick, prick different parts to allow the steam to escape. Try to do this near the decorations to hide the holes.
3. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 374ºF/190ºC fan.
5. Bake for 5 minutes at 374ºF/190ºC fan, reduce to 356ºF/180ºC fan and bake for 45-50 minutes more. The outside surface should have a nice golden color.
6. Remove from the oven, let stand for 10 minutes and serve.
   

Notes

• To make the Dauphinoise filling I used the Monalisa potato variety. To make this filling, the Maris Piper variety is usually used.
• The original recipe is made with double cream, in my case I used crème fraîche.
• If you wish, and you have it available, you can use thyme and fresh rosemary.
• The potato is cooked three times; a very short one in the milk mixture, a much longer one inside the mold and finally with the dough covering.
• To make the caramelized onion it is not necessary to use sugar, we just need to be patient to brown it.
  
• This filling is made with the variety of Cheddar cheese, in my case I have used a Mature type, but you can use the variety you prefer. The ideal is to use a variety of strong or intense flavor.
• The dough is made with a high quantity of butter, I recommend you to use good quality butter whenever possible.
• When you make the dough, follow the steps that I detail. Respect the temperatures and times to get a good result.
• The decorations are completely optional, you can do it the way you prefer.
• In my case I made the pie in 3 days; the first day the filling, the second the dough and the shaping and the third the baking. But it can be reduced to 1-2 days without any problem.
• I recommend serving the pie hot or warm.
• It can be kept, once baked, for 4-5 days in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap.
  

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• Cheddar cheese
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