Raspberry Mille-Feuille

Mille-feuille is actually French and translated to English, it means a dessert of a thousand layers. I do believe it is also called "Napolean" in the States and "Custard Slice" in some countries in Europe. The name "mille-feuille" itself conjurs up images of sophistication and the very first time I tried this dessert, I fell thoroughly in love with it. The dessert which I had many years ago, had custard cream in-between layers of puff pastry with a topping of lemon glaze icing. Simple but absolutely delicious! Thus I'm somewhat surprised that this dessert is not found in most coffee shops or bakeries.

I've been thinking of trying this for some time now and this seems the right opportunity. This is my first attempt at mille-feuille and I was quite pleased with the end result. You should have seen my husband clean up his dessert plate (shucks if only I had a video camera!). For a "non-dessert" person, he certainly enjoyed this one! Definitely something that I'll be making again.




Raspberry Mille-Feuille
Recipe Adapted from Desserts by James Martin
(serves 8)

Ingredients:

250g puff pastry (see recipe below) or packet of fresh or frozen ready rolled all butter puff pastry
Flour for rolling out pastry
About 2 1/2 cups of lemon custard see recipe below)
1 egg beaten
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (substitute with other fruits/berries if preferred)
Icing sugar for dusting

Method:

1) Prepare the custard cream and set aside to cool. Once cool, refrigerate for about 30 minutes before using.

2) Preheat the oven to 180C.

2) Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut out a rectangle measuring 12cm x 45cm. Place on a non stick baking tray and brush the top with the egg wash.

3) Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until well risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool. Once cooled cut the pastry in 3 rectangles of equal size.

4) Spread half of the lemon custard on the first layer. Then sprinkle 1 cup of the raspberries on top the of the custard, spread each fruit apart to get an evenly distributed layer. Then add the 2nd layer of puff pastry on top of the 1st layer and repeat with the remaining custard and raspberries. Place the final layer of puff pastry and dust the top with icing sugar. Serve immediately.


Simple Rough Puff Pastry:
(Makes 350g)

200g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
150g butter
1 tsp lemon juice

1) Mix together the flour and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes and mix the butter into the flour without breaking up the lumps. Mix to a stiff doug with 100ml cold water the lemon juice.

2) On a floured board, roll the dough into rectangle three times as long as it is wide - about 30cm x 10cm.

3) Fold the top third down and bottom third up. Turn the pastry sideways and seal the edges. Continue to roll adn fold four times, leaving the pastry to rest for 15 minutes between each folding and rolling. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before using. (Left over pastry can be frozen in the freezer.)


Lemon Custard
(makes 750ml)

8 egg yolks
75g castor sugar
300ml milk
300ml double cream
zest of 1 large lemon
1 Tbsp lemon juice (I added a bit more as I prefer it to be a bit more tart)
1 tspn lemon extract

1) Beat egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until well blended.

2) Place the milk and cream in a saucepan. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract Bring mixture to a slight boil over medium fire.

3) Once the milk and cream starts to boil, remove from heat and pour a little into the egg mixture and mix well. Then pour back into the pan. Return to the heat and using a whisk, lightly stir the mix to thicken, do not boil.

4) As the egg yolks warm, the cream will thicken to create a custard. Keep stirring until it coats the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat and pass through a sieve and leave to cool. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before using. Remaining custard can be frozen in the freezer for about one month.