Mille Feuille French Napoleon Pastry Recipes

NAPOLEON DESSERT | MILLE FEUILLE CREAM PASTRY

Steps:

• Thaw the puff pastry according to the package directions.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204.4 degrees C) and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Unfold both sheets of pastry and divide each into thirds by cutting along the fold lines, giving you 6 rectangles of pastry. Lay the rectangles on the parchment covered baking sheet, spacing them about 1/4-inch apart.
• Cover the pastry with another sheet of parchment paper and lay another baking sheet on top. This will prevent the puff pastry from rising too much and give the pastry nice, flaky layers.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove the top baking sheet and the top layer of parchment and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. (*Please read the note below abotu preventing your puff pastry from burning.)
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely before assembly.
• Lay one sheet of baked puff pastry on a serving dish and spread about a 1/2-inch thick layer of pastry cream evenly over the top. Layer another rectangle of pastry over the cream, repeat with another 1/2-inch thick layer of pastry cream and top with a third pastry rectangle. Press on the top of the Napoleon slightly just to evenly distribute the layers.
• Repeat with the remaining pastry rectangles and pastry cream. Cover the Napoleons with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (*See note below.)
• Dust the tops of each Napoleon with a thick layer of powdered sugar right before serving.
• Slice each Napoleon into 6 slices, using a serrated knife.

MILLE FEUILLE: FRENCH NAPOLEON PASTRY

Steps:

• Puff Pastry
• In a large mixing bowl, add sugar and cornstarch. Whisk so that the two ingredients are well combined.
• Add egg yolks and whisk until you get a fluffy mixture.
• Heat milk in a saucepan and set it aside.
• Add about 2 tablespoons of hot milk and continue to whisk. Slowly pour the remaining hot milk and continue to whisk.
• Add vanilla extracts and whisk some more.
• Strain the mixture into a saucepan and place it on medium heat. Continue to whisk until the mixture starts to simmer and gets thick.
• Remove the pan off the heat and add butter. Mix so that the butter melts and is well incorporated. Let the mixture cool down a bit.
• Transfer it to a bowl, wrap with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until it is chilled.
• Thaw the puff pastry, unfold the sheet, and place it on a floured surface.
• Use a sharp knife. Cut the pastry sheet into 2 by 4-inch rectangles.
• Place the rectangles on a parchment-lined baking tray at least 2 inches apart from each other. Place another parchment sheet on top of the rectangles and place the baking tray in a preheated oven at 400 °F for about 10 minutes.
• Once done, take the baking tray out of the oven and transfer the rectangles onto a cooling rack.
• Icing
• Prepare the icing by whisking the 1 ½ cups of confectioner's sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract in a bowl until it has a thin consistency.
• Pour half of this mixture into a separate bowl and add cocoa powder. Add a dash of milk is necessary and whisk until everything is well incorporated and you get a smooth consistency.
• Transfer the white and chocolate icing into separate piping bags with round or star tips.
• Add heavy cream and 1 ½ tbsp powdered sugar in a bowl and whisk until soft peaks are formed, and you get whipped cream. Pipe it into a plastic piping bag.
• Take the cream out of the refrigerator and whisk it until it is smooth. Pipe it into a piping bag as well.
• Assemble
• Assemble the dessert by placing four puff pastry rectangles in front of you on a cooling rack. Create patterns of the rectangle using white and chocolate icing. You can create a marble effect or a zig-zag pattern using a toothpick. Feel free to use your imagination.
• Pipe the pastry cream between the six layers of puff pastry. You can adjust the number according to your liking. Place another piece of puff pastry on top of it and pipe dollops of whipped cream on it. Place the decorated puff pastry rectangle on top. Repeat this process until you get four pastries.
• You can garnish it with mini chocolate chips and enjoy!

MILLE FEUILLE (NAPOLEON PASTRY SHEETS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone sheet.
• Separate dough at the seams into 4 squares and place on prepared baking sheet. Score the dough all over with the tines of a fork to prevent it from rising too much when baking. Lightly sprinkle dough sheets with white granulated sugar.
• Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and 3 sheets of aluminum foil. Nest another baking sheet on top to apply some pressure to the dough while it bakes.
• Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes; remove top pan and foil and gently peel off the parchment paper. Return pan to oven and bake until pastry is beautifully browned, 10 to 15 minutes. (Optionally, you can bake about 7 minutes after uncovering, then flip sheets over and bake until brown on the other side, another 7 minutes.)
• Transfer to cooling rack and cool completely before cutting.
• Square the sheets by trimming uneven edges off sheets using a sharp serrated knife with light sawing motion to keep the pastry from breaking. Cut each rectangle crosswise into 3 equal smaller rectangles. Use 3 small rectangles per pastry.