Are mille-feuille and Napoleon the same?

While both pastries are made with three layers of puff pastry, the main difference is the cream used to make the pastry. Mille-feuille is filled with vanilla pastry cream, while Napoleon cake is usually made with almond cream. Mille-feuille can have sweet and savory fillings, while Napoleon is always sweet.

How to make Mille Feuille as one big pastry

Double or triple the cream recipe, cut a more significant puff pastry layer, and make one big dessert. Cut it with a serrated knife into pieces and serve.

Can you make Mille-Feuille in advance?

Make vanilla cream one day ahead as directed and prepare the puff pastry crust one day in advance. The next day, whisk the cream and decorate the Mille-Feuille. This cake has to be served right after making it.

How to cut Mille Feuille pastry

It is advised to chill a classic three-layered Mille Feuille cake for a few hours or freeze it for 20 to 30 minutes and then cut it with a sharp knife, better the serrated one. This one-layered dessert is easily cut right after making it with the same type of knife without squashing the dessert.

How to eat Mille Feuille cake

This dessert is best eaten with a fork and knife, but you can bite into it if made with a single layer of puff pastry like this particular cake.

Mille Feuille Cake

Name: Mille Feuille Cake
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 8.8 oz. (250 g) puff pastry; 100 g icing (powdered) sugar; 2/3 cup + 3 tablespoons (200 ml) of milk; 1/2 cup + 1 teaspoon (120 ml) whipping cream; 3 large egg yolks; 1 1/2 sheet of gelatin; 6 oz. (170 g) mascarpone; 1 1/2 tablespoons (15 g) corn starch; 9 1/2 teaspoons (40 g) brown sugar; 1 vanilla bean; fresh red fruit, edible flowers, fresh mint leaves

Mille Feuille Cake

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Enter now for your chance to win big with this summery mille feuille recipe and make the most beautiful French mille-feuille cake ever. It makes your mouth water once you look at the dessert topped with red fruit and edible flowers.

Author: Irina Totterman
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (plus chilling time)
Yield: 6 1x
Category: Cakes
Method: Baking
Cuisine: French

Ingredients

Scale

For the crust:

8.8 oz. (250 g) puff pastry
100 g icing (powdered) sugar

For the vanilla cream:

2/3 cup + 3 tablespoons (200 ml) of milk
1/2 cup + 1 teaspoon (120 ml) whipping cream
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 sheet of gelatin
6 oz. (170 g) mascarpone
1 1/2 tablespoons (15 g) corn starch
9 1/2 teaspoons (40 g) brown sugar
1 vanilla bean

For the decoration:

fresh red fruit, edible flowers, fresh mint leaves

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Instructions

To make the pastry vanilla cream, start one day before. Soak gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes. Whisk the remaining ingredients of the cream in a medium pot. Bring the cream to a boil, continually stirring with a hand whisk. Then remove the pot from heat as soon as the cream thickens. Mix in the drained gelatin. Pour the cream into a shallow dish, wrap it with plastic film in contact, and chill for 24 hours.
To make the crust, preheat the oven to 355 degrees F/180 degrees C. Thaw the puff pastry dough, roll it on a lightly floured work surface, and prick with a fork. Cut out a large rectangle. Put the dough on the baking sheet between two sheets of parchment paper and cover it with a baking sheet or baking tray (not too heavy and, if possible, perforated). Bake for about 30 minutes rotating the pan halfway through. Make sure that the dough gets a beautiful caramel brown color.
To caramelize the puff pastry, take it out of the oven. Remove the second baking sheet and the sheet of parchment paper from the top of the pastry. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Bring the baking sheet with the pastry under the oven grill for a few minutes to caramelize the sugar. It takes about two to three minutes: be careful to watch it out to prevent the pastry from burning. Remove from the oven, cool completely, and cut a rectangular strip 4'' x 10 ''/ 10 x 27 cm with a ruler and a sharp serrated knife. Let it cool to room temperature.
To assemble the cake, whip the cream to aerate. Place the cream in a pastry bag fitted with the Ateco plain pastry tube and pipe dollops (the size of regular walnuts) on a caramelized puff rectangle. Decorate the top of the cake with halves of fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or other fruits of your choice. Arrange edible flowers and mint leaves between fruits and serve immediately.

Notes

Make sure to cover vanilla cream with plastic film in contact to prevent a crust from forming on the surface while refrigerating.
Cover puff pastry with a baking sheet on top of the parchment to prevent extensive pastry puffing while baking.
Do not burn the pastry while caramelizing. Two to three minutes are enough to get a beautiful result.
Cut the pastry bag's end and decorate the cake with cream balls if you do not have a special tip. It works.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 485
Sugar: 24.8 g
Sodium: 157 mg
Fat: 28.8 g
Saturated Fat: 11.5 g
Carbohydrates: 47.6 g
Fiber: 0.6 g
Protein: 10.4 g
Cholesterol: 145 mg

Find it online: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/millefeuille-christophe-michalak/