Prep Time: 30 min
Total Time: 175 min
Yield: 3
Mille-feuille (pronounced meel-foy) is a classic French pastry meaning “a thousand leaves” because of its flaky layers. The traditional version has three layers of buttery puff pastry, pastry cream between them, and royal icing on top, all cut into precise rectangles.
This recipe is a casual take, with just two layers of puff pastry and rich, creamy pastry cream in the middle. Raspberry coulis adds bright acidity to balance the flavors.
You can prepare the pastry cream and coulis ahead of time and assemble just before serving.
Pastry Cream
1 cup milk
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
pinch of salt
1/4 vanilla bean or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
Raspberry mint coulis
1 cup fresh raspberries
2/3 cup sugar
10 fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Mille-feuille
1 sheet Puff Pastry (store-bought or homemade)
1 tablespoon Icing sugar
Raspberry Mint Coulis
In a small sauce pan bring raspberries, sugar and mint leaves to boil over a medium heat.
Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and raspberries are soft.
Turn it off the heat. Pour in to a bowl through a very fine sieve. Add the lemon juice and let it cool down.
Pastry Cream
Heat up the milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to simmer.
In a bowl, whisk sugar, corn starch, salt and egg yolks together until color turns light.
Add the hot milk to the yolk mixture very slowly and whisk at the same time. Do it very slowly or the yolks turns to scramble.
Pass the mixture through a sifter back to the saucepan. Keep whisking it over medium heat until starts bubbling and thickened. Take it off the heat and whisk in the butter.
Cover the custard with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly against the surface of the custard to avoid a skin forming. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until completely cooled.
Mille-feuille
Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out the puff pastry into 1/4 inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter and cut 6 round shapes out of the dough.
Transfer the round doughs into the prepared baking sheet. Cover the dough with another parchment paper and place a baking sheet on top. This helps to weigh down the dough as it bakes.
Bake the dough for about 20 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Remove the top baking sheet and parchment paper and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until reach deep golden brown color.
To assemble the Mille-feuille, place one puff pastry in a plate. Transfer the pastry cream to a piping bag with a round piping tip. Pipe the pastry cream on top and leave the middle empty.
Spoon the raspberry coulis in middle and top with another puff pastry.
Top with icing sugar and enjoy!
