1.  For salted choc chip cookies, cream the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a flat beater until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until fully incorporated.

2.  Sift all the dry ingredients into a separate bowl and, using a hand whisk, combine them such that they are evenly distributed throughout.

3.  Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter, sugar and egg and mix  on low speed until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Finally, add the milk chocolate chips and mix on low speed until evenly distributed.

4.  The cookie is used in two applications in this pastry, little lumps of unbaked cookie dough will be pressed on top of the pain au chocolat before it is baked. Once baked, broken cookie also garnishes the finished pastry. Crumble the cookie dough into little pebble-sized lumps, store in an airtight container and reserve in the fridge until required. You will require 30g of cookie dough crumble for each pastry, so reserve 180g of the cookie dough for the unbaked topping.

5.  Shape the remaining dough into 5 g balls. Preheat your oven to 160°C fan and line a couple of baking trays with baking paper. Arrange the cookie dough balls on the lined baking trays, spacing the balls about 10 cm (4 in) apart. Bake for 10 minutes, then spin your tray to allow for even heat distribution and bake for a further 3–4 minutes.

6.  If you are a chewy cookie person (as I am), you will want to pull the cookies out after they have had 13 minutes of cooking time. If you prefer them on the crunchier side, leave them in for a little longer. Cool completely before packing away into an airtight container.

7. For dulcey ganache, heat the 175g of thickened cream in a small saucepan to just before boiling point. Weigh the Dulcey chocolate buttons and glucose into a heatproof bowl. Pour the cream over the prepared ingredients in the heatproof bowl and whisk until the mixture has a smooth consistency. If the chocolate is not fully melting, put your heatproof bowl over a double boiler or bain marie (a saucepan one-third full of simmering water) and continue whisking to melt the chocolate.

8.  Once the chocolate is melted and the mix is fully emulsified, remove from the double boiler and start to pour in the second addition of thickened cream, whisking to combine while you pour. Cover the bowl of ganache and refrigerate overnight.

9.  The following day, transfer the ganache to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip gently until stiff peaks form, being careful that it doesn’t split. Transfer into a piping bag.

10.  Weigh the chocolate buttons and glucose into a heatproof bowl. Pour the cream over and whisk until the mixture has a smooth consistency. If the chocolate is not fully melting, put your heatproof bowl over a double boiler or bain marie (a saucepan one-third full of simmering water) and continue whisking to melt the chocolate. Once the chocolate is melted and the mix is fully emulsified, remove from the double boiler and start to pour in the second addition of thickened cream, whisking to combine while you pour. Cover the bowl of ganache and refrigerate overnight. The following day, transfer the ganache to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip gently until stiff peaks form, being careful that it doesn’t split. Transfer into a piping bag.

11. For cookie frangipane, beat the butter and sugars in a stand mixer fitted with a flat beater until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, waiting until each one is incorporated fully before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl after the incorporation of the first egg. In a food processor, blitz the marie biscuits to a fine crumb, similar to the texture of almond meal. Then also blitz the oats to a fine crumb. In a bowl, combine the blitzed marie biscuit, oats and flour and mix well with a hand whisk. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients and the salt.  Once again, scrape the bowl down well, giving it a final mix by hand (with a spatula) to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated. Transfer the frangipane into a piping bag fitted with a size 11-star nozzle.

12. For cookie sugar syrup, place the water and brown sugar in a small saucepan and stir over  a medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved, then bring the syrup to  the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and add the Frangelico.

ASSEMBLING

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C fan and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Using a large serrated knife, carefully cut the 6 pains au chocolat in half. Brush the cut side of both halves of each pain au choc generously with the warm ‘cookie’ sugar syrup. Pipe a healthy wiggle of cookie frangipane, completely covering the bottom half of each pastry, then sprinkle about 15g of milk chocolate chips over the frangipane, followed by a pinch of sea salt flakes. Repeat for each of the 6 bases.

2.  Replace the top half of each pain au chocolat, cupping your hand and gently securing each top.  Finish off each pastry by piping a seam of cookie frangipane across the top, just enough to be able to press a few pieces of raw cookie dough into the frangipane seam, approximately 30 g per pastry.

3.  Place the prepared pastries on the lined baking tray and bake for 20–25 minutes, until the frangipane inside is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely to room temperature.

4. Once the pains au chocolat are cool, place 110g of milk chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl and either melt over a double boiler or in the microwave. When fully melted and still warm, transfer the melted chocolate into a small disposable piping bag. Cut a 1–2 mm hole in the tip of the piping bag and, working quickly, drizzle the chocolate over the top of each pastry, working in a fast left-to-right motion.

5. Allow a few minutes for the chocolate to cool and set, then, just before you are ready to serve, cut a 4 mm hole in the tip of the piping bag  of Dulcey ganache, and pipe 5 random little kisses on top of the pastry, in amongst the clumps of baked cookie.

6. Finally, break some of the pre-baked cookies into small, odd-sized pieces, and using the kisses of ganache to help them stay in place, secure 5 little pieces of broken choc chip cookie to the top of the pastry.