Mille-Feuille Recipe

A Mille-Feuille (also known as Napoleon) is a classic French pastry made of thin, flaky layers of puff pastry alternating with creamy layers of pastry cream or whipped cream. It’s a decadent dessert that might seem intimidating, but with the right technique, you can make it at home and impress anyone who tastes it. Here’s a recipe to guide you through the process:

Ingredients:

For the Puff Pastry:

• 1 sheet of puff pastry (store-bought or homemade)
  • If using homemade puff pastry, you’ll need a lot of time and patience, but store-bought will work perfectly fine for simplicity.

For the Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière):

• 2 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tbsp vanilla extract)
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

For the Icing (optional):

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tsp water or lemon juice
• A few dark chocolate squares (for decoration)

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Puff Pastry:

• Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
• Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. You want to make it about 1/8 inch thick. Trim the edges to create a neat rectangle.
• Place the pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Prick the pastry all over with a fork to prevent it from puffing up too much.
• Place another piece of parchment paper over the pastry and bake with a second baking sheet on top to prevent the puff pastry from rising too high.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crisp. Once baked, remove it from the oven, and let it cool completely. Then cut the pastry into three equal pieces.

2. Make the Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière):

• In a medium saucepan, heat the milk with the vanilla bean (cut the bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds, adding both seeds and pod to the milk). If you’re using vanilla extract, wait to add it later.
• While the milk heats, whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar in a bowl until the mixture becomes pale and smooth. Then, whisk in the flour and cornstarch until well combined.
• Once the milk begins to simmer, gradually pour it into the egg mixture while whisking constantly to avoid curdling the eggs.
• Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and starts to bubble. This should take about 3-5 minutes.
• Once thickened, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. If you used a vanilla bean, discard the pod. If using vanilla extract, add it now and stir well.
• Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (press the wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming), and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

3. Assemble the Mille-Feuille:

Read more on next page

ADVERTISEMENT

Next→