Vanilla custard mille-feuille

AT YOUR PACE, STEP BY STEP

Let’s get baking

1. 01

   Preheat the oven to 200 °C using conventional top and bottom heat. Dust the work surface with the flour and roll the cold puff pastry into a rectangle approximately 30 × 40 cm and 3 to 4 mm thick. Place it on a flat tray lined with baking paper and prick it all over with a fork.

2. 02

   Cover the pastry with another sheet of baking paper and a second flat oven-safe tray to limit its rise. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the top tray and paper, then bake for another 8 to 10 minutes until thoroughly golden and dry, including underneath. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

3. 03

   Using a serrated knife, trim the edges and cut the cold pastry into three equal strips approximately 10 × 40 cm. Reserve the neatest strip for the top. Do not cut the pastry while hot, as it breaks easily.

4. 04

   For the custard, heat the milk in a saucepan until steaming without bringing it to a vigorous boil. In a bowl, mix the yolks, white sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually whisk in half the hot milk.

5. 05

   Return the mixture to the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick and bubbling. Lower the heat and continue whisking for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Heating the milk and cooking the custard takes approximately 10 minutes in total.

6. 06

   Spread the custard in a wide container in a layer no deeper than 2 cm. Cover its surface with food-safe cling film, let it cool for 20 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 60 minutes until completely cold. The stated total resting time includes cooling the pastry, cooling the custard, and chilling the assembled dessert.

7. 07

   Stir the cold custard with a spatula until smooth and divide it in half. Place one pastry strip on a serving dish and spread with half the custard. For the optional fruit accent, spread the 20 g jam thinly over this layer. Add the second pastry strip, the remaining custard, and the third strip, setting the layers down gently without crushing them.

8. 08

   Mix the powdered sugar with the 20 ml water to make a thick but spreadable icing. Spread it over the top pastry strip. If using the remaining jam, put it in a small bag with a tiny corner snipped off, pipe parallel lines over the still-wet icing, and drag a toothpick back and forth across them to create a feathered pattern.

9. 09

   Refrigerate the mille-feuille for 30 minutes before cutting it into 8 portions. Use a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to cut through the layers without pressing down. Serve the same day for crisp pastry; keep any leftovers covered in the refrigerator and eat within 24 hours.

Times are approximate and vary with your oven. Use oven mitts and check doneness before serving.