Mille-Feuille

Ingredients

• 2 puff pastry sheet, all-butter
• 5 dl milk
• 5 egg yolk
• 110 g white sugar
• 45 g cornstarch
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 30 g butter, cold and cubed
• 150 g powdered sugar
• 50 g dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 tbsp water, warm
• 1 pinch salt

Method

1. 1.

   Cook the pastry cream — Bring the milk and vanilla extract to a bare simmer in a saucepan. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt to a pale smooth paste, pour the hot milk in slowly while whisking, then return everything to the pan and cook over medium heat until it boils and thickens, whisking hard for a full 2 minutes. Off the heat, beat in the cold butter.

2. 2.

   Chill until firmly set — Pour the pastry cream into a shallow tray so it cools fast, press cling film directly onto the surface to stop a skin forming, and chill for at least 2 hours until cold and firmly set.

3. 3.

   Bake the pastry weighted — Heat the oven to 200°C. Lay the pastry sheets on a lined baking tray, prick them all over with a fork, cover with baking paper and set a second heavy tray on top. Bake weighted for 20 minutes so the pastry rises only a little and stays flat and even.

4. 4.

   Caramelise the top — Lift off the top tray and paper, dust the pastry lightly with some of the powdered sugar and bake for a further 8-10 minutes, until it is deeply caramelised and glassy on top. Slide it onto a rack and cool completely.

5. 5.

   Trim into three rectangles — With a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, trim the cooled pastry into three equal rectangles of about 10 by 24 cm. Choose the flattest, prettiest one and set it aside for the top.

6. 6.

   Pipe and stack the layers — Beat the cold pastry cream smooth with a whisk and pipe it in tight touching rows over two of the rectangles. Stack those two layers and set the reserved rectangle on top, smoothest side up, pressing only very lightly.

7. 7.

   Feather the fondant top — Mix the remaining powdered sugar with the warm water into a thick pourable fondant and spread it over the top layer. Melt the dark chocolate, pipe it in parallel lines across the fondant and drag a skewer through them in alternating directions to feather the pattern. Chill for 30 minutes, then cut with a serrated knife in one slow stroke per slice.