Mille Feuille - Napoleon

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A napoleon or mille-feuille is a classic French pastry with layers of buttery, flaky puff pastry baked until golden and crisp, then filled with alternating layers of pastry cream. Once you learn to make this pastry at home you will never buy it at the patisserie again.

Mille-Feuille literally means a thousand leaves, and these leaves refer to the layers in a puff pastry. I think this is one expensive dessert at most restaurants. And, for a long time, I just presumed it was so difficult to make this dessert. But, in reality, I can think of so many desserts that are much more difficult than this pastry.

Having said that, if you've ever had this dessert in a French restaurant made with homemade puff pastry? Ah, now that is a real treat. I hate to say this, but I use store-bought pastry almost all the time because it just makes this dessert so much easier. But, the one time I did use my homemade puff pastry was my best mille-feuille ever.

Table of Content

• About this pastry
• Ingredients and substitutes
• Step by step instructions (pin)
• Frequently asked questions
• You may also like
• Recipe

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About this pastry

This dessert looks complicated, but in reality, it is very simple and easy. There are four components to making this dessert.

• Puff pastry sheets - The trick to getting this perfect is to dock the pastry and sandwich it between two parchment paper and two baking trays. Docking, as well as the weight of the baking tray, prevents it from puffing. When baked to a nice golden color, the pastry becomes crisp, so it cracks when cutting with a fork.
• Pastry cream - I prefer to use a nice stiff consistency pastry cream, that will hold its shape. If the pastry is too soft, it will easily spread and the layers will collapse.
  Stabilized pastry cream is often used in French patisseries to prevent the pastry cream from spreading. Gelatin is often used as a stabilizer. Today, we have used extra cornstarch, but you must cook it until it thickens as shown in the video.
• Whipped cream - I like to add whipped cream to the pastry cream to lighten it up.
• Assembling - The puff pastry and pastry cream can be made up to three days ahead of time. You can even assemble the mille-feuille or napoleon a day in advance.

Ingredients and substitutes

• Puff Pastry - Store-bought is just fine. I often make homemade puff pastry too. But, either one works just fine.
• Milk - For the sake of consistency it is important to use full-fat milk, no low-fat or skimmed milk.
• Sugar - I use white fine grain sugar so it dissolves easily in the milk.
• Cream - Again, you want to use a good 38% or more or you won't have the right consistency for your pastry cream.
• Vanilla - I like to use vanilla bean scrapings because it gives me those black specks in the pastry cream just like you find in the French patisseries.

Step by step instructions (pin)

Puff pastry

• Preheat the oven at 190 C / 375 F. Cut the puff pastry into two. Roll each sheet to about 12 x 8-inch rectangle
  Tip - this measure is a guide but you can certainly main your own size and shape.
• Work with one sheet at a time. Place on a parchment paper so it’s easy to move around.
  Tip - always keep puff pastry chilled or it will be difficult to work with. If necessary place in the freezer for 5 minutes for a quick chill between steps
• Then cut the pastry at every 2-inch interval so you have 6 long strips. Cut each strip in half at the center so you should have 12 equal pieces. Dock the pastry with the fork and sprinkle with granulated sugar
  Tip - docking the pastry encourages crispness, and, the granulated sugar caramelizes and gives that golden color to the baked pastry
• Place a parchment paper on top. Then place a baking tray on top.
  Tip - the top baking tray prevents the pastry from puffing too much as well as helps make it crispy.
• Bake on the center rack for 15 minutes
• Remove the baking tray and parchment paper – bake another 10 minutes until lightly golden. Remove and let cool completely
  Tip - the final baking without the baking tray will encourage the pastry to become crisp which is what we want.

Prepare pastry cream

• Today, we are using the simple one-pot pastry cream method but you can also use the classic pastry cream method. Click to videos on how to make these
• In a heavy-bottom saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, vanilla bean paste, and salt. Gradually add the milk while whisking to prevent lumps.
• Place the saucepan on medium heat stirring continuously until the pastry cream thickens.
  Tip - You want the pastry cream to come to a low simmer (boil) so the cornstarch will thicken the mixture and cookout.
• Add the butter and continue to stir on low making sure to prevent the pastry from sticking or burning at the bottom.
• Once the pastry cream is thick, remove from heat and pass it through a sieve or mesh. This will remove any lump and give you a smooth velvet-like pastry cream.
• Cover with the plastic wrap touching the surface of the cream. Set aside to cool completely.
  Tip - the plastic touching the pastry cream will prevent skin from forming on the pastry cream which can later cause lumps and cause blockage in the piping bag

Whip the cream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment - whip the cream. You want nice stiff peaks.
• Combine half the whipped cream to the chilled pastry cream. Use a whisk to ensure you have no lumps. Save the rest of the whipped cream for the top layer.
  Tip - adding whipped cream to the pastry cream will lighten it up. I highly recommend it.
• Transfer both the pasty cream mixture and the whipped cream to two piping bags with star piping nozzles. (you can also use the round piping tips)

Assemble

• Each mille-feuille or napoleon uses three puff pastry pieces. Two rows of pastry cream mixture and one row of whipped cream mixture.
  • Place one piece of puff pastry on the serving plate. Pipe two or three lines of pastry cream mixture.
  • Top with the second piece of puff pastry and pipe another round of pastry cream mixture.
  • Top with the third piece of puff pastry and pipe the whipped cream on the top.
• Garnish with fresh fruits.

Frequently asked questions

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You may also like

• Maple Mille Feuille - Napoleon
• Strawberry Mille Feuille - Napoleon
• Homemade Puff Pastry from scratch
• Cream puff or Profiteroles
• Danish Pastry or Croissants

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Recipe

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