A Flaky Dessert

With a crunchy-sounding name, the mille-feuille really has that delicate little crunch in this recipe by chef Francoise Depee of the Les Templiers. Traditionally, this French pastry consists of layers of thin flaky pastry and custard cream. It is then garnished with fresh fruits and luscious raspberry sauce. If you follow the recipe and serve the dessert as your grand finale after a fine dinner, it is a guaranteed impressive finish to a splendid evening.

Because of its structure and presentation, the mille-feuille looks complicated and difficult to prepare. But if you approach it layer by layer (and with the help of prepared or store-bought puff pastry), you’ll be surprised at how relatively easy if can be. You can purchase the frozen puff pastry in most groceries and supermarkets. Just remember to thaw the frozen dough for about thirty minutes before you can roll it out to the desired thickness.

The mille-feuille, also known as napoleons, directly translates to a “thousand leaves.” It is a classic French dessert made of rectangular sheets of puff pastry layered with crème patissiere or pastry cream. It is then sprinkled with powdered sugar. There are many versions of mille-feuille with different kinds of fillings alternated with the pastry cream. Some of the more popular fillings include whipped cream, pureed fruit, preserves, jams, nuts, and custard. Depending on how grand you want the mille-feuille to be, the number of layers can be as little as 2 to as many as 7 or more.

For savory versions, omit the pastry cream and fruits and use cheese, vegetables or meats instead. For this recipe, keep the puff pastry from rising unevenly or too much by poking holes on the dough with a fork. You can also place a grill on top of the baking pastry. The pastry dough should cook in about 20 minutes in a 420 degrees F oven but check part way through if they puff too high. Serve these crunchy pastries with a glass of refreshing Loupiac.

Ingredients
1/2 lb. puff pastry
3 1/2 oz. powdered sugar
1/2 lb. pastry cream
1/2 lb. whipped cream
1 vanilla pod
3 1/2 oz. granulated sugar
0.44 lbs. raspberries
1 pint water

Fruits for the decoration:
Strawberries
raspberries
pineapples

1. Prepare the filo pastry. Preheat the oven to 420 degrees F. Thaw the pastry according to package directions then place the pastry in a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes 20 or until crunchy. Watch it so it does not burn.

2. After baking, cut the dough into 4 equal rectangles of 3 1/2 in length and about 1 1/2 inches in width - one for each person. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

3. Vanilla cream: Mix 1/2 lbs. creme patissiere with the vanilla pod. Stir until well blended and creamy. Beat 1/2 lb. heavy cream and incorporate it to the previous mixture, along with 1/2 tablespoon powdered sugar. Stir gently with a wooden spoon.

4. Raspberry sauce: Mix the raspberries with water. Strain to remove the seeds. Add sugar to this raspberry juice. Mix well. Chill.

5. Place a sheet of pastry then spread vanilla cream and top with raspberry sauce and cover with a pastry sheet on top. Make another layer until you make four.

6. Cut the fruits into thin slices and top it on the mille-feuille. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve chilled.