Mille Feuille With Vanilla Pastry Cream And Bourbon Sauce Recipes

BUTTERSCOTCH MILLE-FEUILLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line an 18-by-13-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Have another 18-by-13-inch baking sheet and piece of parchment on hand.
• Roll out the puff pastry to a 12-by-15-inch rectangle. Cut in three equal rectangles, about 12 by 5 inches each. Dock all over with a fork to suppress the puff pastry's rise in the oven. Transfer the pieces to the prepared baking sheet, cover with the other sheet of parchment and top with the second baking sheet. Bake until the flour structure has set and the pastry looks light golden and flaky, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the top baking sheet and piece of parchment and return to the oven until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes more. Cool completely on a baking rack.
• Meanwhile, combine the granulated sugar, salt, vanilla and 2 1/2 cups of the milk in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until bubbles form around the edges. While the milk is warming, whisk together the cornstarch, flour, eggs and remaining 1/2 cup milk in a large bowl.
• Temper the egg mixture with the hot milk mixture, adding a ladleful to the egg mixture at a time, whisking the whole time. Once you've added two-thirds of the milk mixture to the egg mixture, pour it back into the pan and cook on medium heat, whisking constantly. Once the mixture thickens and comes to boil, stir vigorously and count to 60. Remove from the heat.
• Pass the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then stir in the butter and Scotch. Cool over an ice bath, stirring occasionally, until the pastry cream reaches room temperature. Transfer the pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip. (Or, if not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap onto the surface of the pastry cream to keep a skin from forming.)
• Whip the cream in a medium bowl with a hand mixer or balloon whisk until medium-stiff peaks form. Put the whipped cream in a separate pastry bag with a medium round tip.
• Trim the cooled puff pastry carefully with a serrated bread knife to produce three identical pieces. Then, slice the long rectangle pieces crosswise into 2-inch pieces.
• Line up a third of the pieces to form the first layer of the mille-feuille, like a puzzle. Pipe dots of pastry cream on the first layer. Top with the next layer of pastry. Pipe dots of whipped cream on the second layer of pastry. Line up the pieces of pastry for the final layer on a baking sheet. Dust the top with the confectioners' sugar, covering the pastry completely. Torch the top, being careful not to burn the sugar. Dust with a second layer of confectioner's sugar and torch again. Sprinkle with the smoked salt, and allow the pastry to cool before handling, about 3 minutes. Top the mille-feuille with the final layer of bruleed pastry. Serve immediately.

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.

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!

VANILLA BEAN PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• Place whole egg and 2 egg yolks into a mixing bowl. Add sugar, corn starch, and salt. Whisk together completely until mixture turns from yellow to a very page creamy color and is slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Place milk in a saucepan. Split vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape the cut side with a paring knife to extract the seeds (paste). Add the seeds to the milk. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until milk just barely starts to simmer and a few small bubbles appear on the surface. Remove from heat. Whisk hot milk into egg mixture, starting with a small splash then incorporating the rest. Pour mixture back into saucepan.
• Place pan over medium-low heat and continue to whisk until mixture begin to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool 5 minutes. Add chunks of butter and whisk until butter melts into the warm milk mixture. Pass mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove and chunks of cooked egg or vanilla seeds. Cover surface with plastic to keep it from discoloring; refrigerate until thoroughly chilled 2 to 3 hours.