Made with three layers of buttery, flaky rough puff pastry and rich, velvety vanilla-infused pastry cream, this Mille Feuille is a classic French dessert everyone should try at least once in their lifetime.
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What is Mille-Feuille
Mille-Feuille, which translates to “a thousand leaves” in French, gets its name from the dessert's signature multiple layers of puff pastry. Traditionally, it features three layers of pastry filled with pastry cream, with the top layer covered in a sugar glaze with a chevron pattern. Variations can include fruit, chocolate, caramel, and more.
Looking for more buttery and delicious pastry recipes? Look no further! Try this Cream cheese Danish, Apple Tarte Tatin with flaky crust, or challenge yourself with this Croissant recipe.
Ingredients you will need
Flour: You will need all-purpose flour to make this Mille Feuille recipe.
Salt: Add salt to both the dough and the pastry cream to balance and enhance the flavors.
Sugar: Use white granulated sugar in both the dough and the vanilla pastry cream.
Butter: Cold, unsalted butter is essential for creating the flaky layers in the puff pastry. It is also used in the pastry cream to add richness and smoothness.
Ice water: Ice water helps keep the dough cold during mixing, which is crucial for achieving the distinct layers of puff pastry.
Milk: Use whole milk to make the vanilla pastry cream.
Egg yolks: I prefer using only egg yolks for the Pastry cream, but you can substitute with 2 whole large eggs. While the texture and flavor may vary slightly, the cream will still be delicious. If you use only egg yolks, you may wonder what to do with the leftover egg whites. You can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and use them for other desserts, such as Coffee macarons, Mini pavlova, Chocolate pavlova, Coconut macaroons, and more.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch acts as a thickening agent in the pastry cream, helping it achieve a pudding-like consistency without any starchy taste.
Vanilla extract: You can use vanilla extract, vanilla paste, or a fresh vanilla pod to flavor the cream.
Heavy whipping cream: Heavy cream is whipped to stiff peaks and folded into the chilled pastry cream to give it a lighter, airier texture.
Cooking tips
Use cold butter for the pastry: Cold butter is key to achieving a flaky puff pastry. Dice it and chill it before working it into the dough to prevent it from softening.
Don’t skip the folding process: The folding and rolling steps for the dough are what create those signature flaky layers.
Chill everything: Both the pastry dough and the pastry cream need adequate chilling. This ensures easy handling and the perfect texture in the final dessert.
Assemble with care: Handle the delicate layers of puff pastry gently during assembly. Use a piping bag for the pastry cream to achieve a neat and uniform look. Avoid piping the cream too close to the edges, leaving some space for it to spread under the pressure of the additional layers of cream and pastry.
How to make homemade Mille Feuille
Prepare the rough puff pastry dough: The foundation of Mille-Feuille is its crisp, buttery puff pastry. Start by combining bread flour and all-purpose flour with salt, sugar, and cold butter. The butter pieces should remain visible in the dough to create the signature flaky layers. After rolling, folding, and chilling the dough, it’s ready to bake into golden perfection.
Bake it: Cut the dough into uniform rectangles and bake them between two baking sheets to prevent the puff pastry from rising. Bake until golden brown.
Make the pastry cream and assemble: The rich, creamy filling is made by heating milk, sugar, egg yolks, and cornstarch, then whisking in butter for a smooth, luxurious texture. Once chilled, whip the pastry cream until smooth, then fold in heavy cream whipped to stiff peaks. Transfer the finished cream into a piping bag, and you're ready to assemble your pastries. Layer the puff pastry with pastry cream, alternating until you have three layers of pastry and two layers of cream. Finish with a layer of cream and a sprinkling of grated chocolate.
What is the best way to eat it
Mille-Feuille isn't as soft as a Napoleon cake, so it can be a bit challenging to eat with a fork. If you try to eat it by hand, the cream may ooze from the sides, creating a mess. So, what’s the best way to enjoy it? In my opinion, the best method is to deconstruct it. Simply take one layer at a time and eat it by hand. This way, you can fully appreciate each layer, covered in cream on both sides, without making a mess!
Storing and serving tips
Refrigeration: Store Mille-Feuille in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also prepare the dough and the pastry cream base and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days before baking. This way, you can split the dessert-making process into several stages.
Freezing: You can roll out, cut and freeze the unbaked Mille Feuille layers for up to 2 months and then bake them straight from frozen. If you froze baked puff pastry layers (which you can also do for up to 2 months), thaw them completely before assembling your pastries.
Serving: Mille-Feuille needs some time in the fridge for the flavors to meld and for the puff pastry to soften. Make it during the day and leave it in an airtight container in the fridge until the next day.
Recipe card
Mille feuille
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale
- Saucepan
- 3 Mixing bowl
- Hand mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
- Rubber spatula
Ingredients
The dough
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon white granulated sugar
- 250 g unsalted butter cold
- 125 ml ice water less or more if needed
Pastry cream
- 400 ml whole milk
- 100 g white granulated sugar
- 100 g egg yolks 6 egg yolks of large eggs
- 32 g cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 25 g unsalted butter
- 100 ml heavy whipping cream
- Grated chocolate for decoration
Instructions
The dough
- Dice the butter into 1-inch (2.5cm) cubes and freeze for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, all-purpose flour, salt, and sugar.
- Add the butter cubes to the flour mixture. Work the dough with your hands until all the butter is coated in flour and large chunks of butter remain visible.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of water and mix until absorbed. Repeat this process until the dough forms and no dry flour patches remain. Do not knead—press and squeeze the mixture gently to bring it together. You may need slightly more or less water to hydrate the flour, so add water gradually until the dough comes together.
- Place the dough on a floured surface and roll it into a rectangle. Fold it in half lengthwise, then fold the top and bottom edges toward the center, leaving a small gap between them. Fold in half again to form a "book" shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.
Pastry Cream
- Heat the milk in a saucepan until it just begins to simmer, then remove from heat.
- In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt until smooth.
- Slowly pour ⅓ of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking vigorously to prevent curdling.
- Pour the tempered mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly.
- Once it begins to boil, cook for 1–2 minutes, until thickened to a pudding-like consistency with no raw starchy taste.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the butter until fully melted and incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold.
Baking and Assembling
- Preheat the oven to 400F (205C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Divide the chilled dough into two equal portions. Roll out one portion on a floured surface into a rectangle and cut it into 12 rectangles, each 2x4 inches (5x10cm).
- Arrange the rectangles on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between them. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and place a second baking sheet on top to weigh them down.
- Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
- Repeat with the second portion of dough so you have 24 rectangles in total.
- Whip the heavy cream until stiff, shiny peaks form.
- Using the same mixer, whip the chilled pastry cream until smooth.
- Gently fold one-third of the whipped cream into the pastry cream with a rubber spatula, then fold in the remaining whipped cream until fully combined. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with round nozzle.
- To assemble, pipe 8-10 small dollops of cream onto one puff pastry layer. Top with a second layer, pressing gently. Repeat with cream and a third layer. Pipe cream on top of the third layer, and sprinkle with grated chocolate.
- Repeat with the remaining puff pastry and cream to assemble 8 Mille-Feuille pastries.
Sonia says
Can I only use all purpose flour for the recipe? where I live there is no bread flour.
Anna says
Yes, you can! The mention of bread flour was actually a glitch in the recipe card software, but it’s been fixed.