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Maple Mille Feuille or Maple Napoleon

Published -Jul 30, 2014 Update -May 20, 2020 Veena AzmanovWords - 2094 words. About 11 minutes to read this article. This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon and other sides. This blog generates income via ads.

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Table of Contents

Maple Mille Feuille -
Napoleon Pastry

Mille-Feuille, or Napoleon, is a classic French pastry made with layers of crispy puff pastry and pastry cream. Here, I created a twist on the classic with maple syrup to make an exotic maple mille-feuille or maple napoleon.

Homemade French Pastry with puff pastry and pastry cream Mille feuille napoleon — Homemade French Pastry Mille Feuille or napoleon with Maple Syrup

Mille-Feuille literally means a thousand leaves and these leaves refer to the layers in a puff pastry, while napoleon means flaky pastry. You can use store-bought ready to roll or homemade puff pastry, or Pate-feuillettee for this.

I always have to double the batch of these because they are so addictive. And no matter how many I make, they are always never enough. The sweet pastry cream in between layers of crispy puff pastry sheets is absolute heaven. And, the addition of maple syrup in this batch really does make a huge difference in flavor.

About this maple mille-feuille or Napoleon

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 - For the mille-feuille 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 also 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 a day in advance.

Mille-feuille - Valentine's Day dessert

Mille-feuille is the perfect dessert for valentine's day no matter what shape you make. As you can see, I have made a heart shape to keep up with the Valentine mille-feuille theme.

Useful tips and tools

You will need two baking trays and two parchment papers. The baking tray on the top is for weight to prevent the pastry from puffing up and the parchment paper is to prevent it from sticking.
A heavy bottom saucepan works great when you are making pastry cream or custard type dishes.
And, I like to use a whisk to prevent lumps as well as a wooden spoon or silicone spatula for stirring pastry cream. Make sure to use spoons that have not been used for savory things like curry.
I like to use a piping bag to pipe the puff pastry. Often, I use either a star or round piping tip.

Ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)

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.

How to make a maple mille feuille or Napoleon pastry (Save/Pin)

Bake puff pastry

Preheat the oven at 190 C / 375 F.
Cut the puff pastry into two sheets.
Then, roll each puff pastry sheet so it’s 12 x 8-inch rectangle.
Work with one sheet at a time.
Place on a parchment paper so it's easy to move around.
Then, cut the pastry at every two-inch interval so you have 6 long strips.
Cut each strip in half at the center so you should have 12 equal pieces.
Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Place a parchment paper on top. Then, place a baking tray on top.
Bake on the center rack for 15 minutes.
Remove the baking tray and parchment paper - bake uncovered for another 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
Remove and let cool completely.

How to cut puff pastry for napoleon mille feuilles

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Puff Pastry for Mille Feuille Progress Pictures

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How to make a Classic French Dessert with Puff Pastry and Pastry Cream

Vanilla Napoleons Step By Step1

Prepare maple pastry cream

In a heavy-bottom saucepan, combine sugar, maple syrup, cornstarch, egg yolks, vanilla, and salt.
Slowly add the milk while whisking to prevent lumps.
Place the saucepan on medium heat, stirring continuously until the pastry cream thickens.
You want the pastry cream to come to a low simmer, so the cornstarch will thicken the mixture.
Add the butter and continue to stir on low.
Once the pastry cream is thick, remove from heat and pass through a sieve or mesh.
Cover with the plastic wrap touching the surface of the cream.
Set aside to cool completely.

Vanilla Pastry Cream Step by Step1

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Maple Napoleons Step By Step2

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Whip the cream

Whip the cream using a whisk attachment until soft peaks.
Combine half the whipped cream with the chilled pastry cream. Save the other half for the top layer.
Use a whisk to ensure you have no lumps.
Transfer to a piping bag with a large star piping nozzle.

How to Prepare pastry cream for piping on Dessert — Step by Step Progress Pictures Preparing pastry cream for piping

Assemble

Each mille-feuille or napoleon has three puff pastry layers.
Place one pastry rectangle on the serving plate.
Pipe two or three lines of pastry cream.
Top with a second pastry rectangle and pipe another two rows of pastry cream.
Place the top pastry rectangle and pipe some whipped cream.
Drizzle on some maple syrup.
Let chill in the fridge for a few hours.

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Tips for making Perfect mille-feuille every single time

Bake the puff pastry until it's nice and golden. This will make it easier to crack the pastry when eating otherwise the whole thing just crumbles into a big mess.
Sprinkle the pastry with sugar this helps make the pastry brown and crisp but do pay close attention to it as it can also burn very easily.
Cook the pastry cream until it's thick. This will give you a firm consistency pastry cream which will not be runny between the pastry.
If you plan to make this napoleon ahead of time I suggest you use stabilized whipped cream as it will ensure the pastry cream holds on for longer.
When stacking the layers of puff pastry, choose the flat ones for the bottom and top so the finished dessert looks straight, not slanted.
Traditionally, a mille-feuille is topped with royal icing and chocolate which can make the dessert sweeter and often quite messy. But you can also use melted chocolate or just powdered sugar.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between mille-feuille and napoleon?

While we use these terms interchangeably there is a difference between the two. Mille-feuille is filled with pastry cream, whipped cream or jams while napoleon usually has almond cream.

How long does this maple mille-feuille keep? Do you have to keep it in the fridge?

Yes, any dessert that has milk and eggs must be kept in the fridge. This napoleon will keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Do I have to use puff pastry to make this maple mille-feuille?

Yes, this dessert is all about the flaky layers of puff pastry. You can use any puff pastry, store-bought ready to roll, homemade classic puff pastry or even a quick puff pastry.

What can I use instead of pastry cream for my maple mille-feuille?

While pastry cream is the traditional filling, you can use whipped ganache for a chocolate mille-feuille, or whipped cream with fruits for a light and refreshing spring dessert.

What other flavors can I add to my maple mille-feuille?

Today, we have used maple syrup but you can also add other flavors like orange blossom, rose extract or liquors such as rum, cognac or Cointreau to the pastry cream.

How do you eat a napoleon or mille-feuille?

Personally, I like to place the Millefeuille on it side so the three layers are on the plate rather than stacked up. That makes it easier to cut through the flaky pastry without making a big mess.

Can I make this an Eggless Mille-Feuille?

Yes, you can. Replace the classic vanilla pastry cream with my eggless vanilla pastry cream. Everything else will remain the same.

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