Cooking 101: Mille feuille

Daniel Pfyl, hospitality management lecturer at Otago Polytechnic, shares some professional techniques to make your cooking easier.

This week Daniel Pfyl responds to a request from Mandy, of Queenstown, who remembers the 100ft mille feuille custard slice he used to make for the Queenstown wine and food festival many years ago when he was executive chef at the St Moritz. His father, Swiss pastry chef Sepp Pfyl, still holds the record for a 100m slice he makes as a fundraiser for a Swiss festival, he said.

Mille feuille means "thousand leaf " in French and refers to the many layers of puff pastry.

Mille feuille serves 12

600g puff pastry (3 sheets 380 x 240cm)
500g custard (see below)
150g apricot jam
180g icing (see below)
1 Tbsp kirsch
lemon juice

Custard:
1 litre milk
200g sugar
100g custard powder
a dash of vanilla essence

Icing:
1 cup or more icing sugar
1 Tbsp hot water or kirsch
1 tsp softened butter

To prepare the pastry:

1 Preset oven to 200degC. Spray a baking tray. Chef Pfyl uses bought puff pastry which he lays on the trays and docks (pokes holes with a fork) all over from edge to edge. This prevents it rising too much or unevenly while cooking.

2 Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Check part way through and poke any pillows that are showing signs of puffing high with the point of a knife.

3 The layers need to be fairly even and flat, and should be baked a little more than normal so they are crisp and dry. When cooked, cool on a rack.

To make the custard:

1 Pour about three-quarters of the milk in a saucepan with the sugar and vanilla and bring to a simmer. Mix the custard powder with the remaining milk until dissolved.

2 When the milk in the pot comes to the boil, pour it into the custard mix and whisk.

3 Check the pot for any signs of browning (burnt milk will spoil the flavour of the custard) and if there is any, either clean the pot, or use a clean one. Pour the custard mixture into the pot and whisk-stir while it comes back to a simmer. Use a wooden spoon to get into the corners. As it approaches boiling point it will thicken considerably. Beat vigorously, remove from heat as it starts to boil, and allow to cool. Sprinkle the top with icing sugar to prevent a heavy skin forming as it cools.

To assemble the mille feuille:

1 Push the cold custard through a sieve, or beat with a whisk, so it is smooth, soft and free of lumps. Whisk until light and fluffy. Some people like to stir in whipped cream, but it makes it harder to eat the finished mille feuille as it is more squishy.

2 Choose the flattest sheet of pastry for the top, and the thickest for the bottom layer of the mille feuille. Check each sheet carefully, and with a large, serrated-edge knife trim any pillows that have puffed up, so the sheets are more or less level.

3 Spread half the custard over the bottom layer of pastry. Dipping the knife in hot water and drying it between each pass makes the custard easier to spread.

4 Place the middle layer of puff pastry on, and spread the remaining custard over. Place the top layer on upside down so the base of the pastry forms a nice flat top. Press down lightly. Put in the fridge to chill before icing.


To make the apricot glaze: Put the apricot jam in a small pot, add a tablespoon of water and a squeeze of lemon juice. Simmer until it reaches the consistency of runny honey. Strain to remove any lumps.


To make the icing:

Photos by Linda Robertson.
Photos by Linda Robertson.
1 Mix the softened butter into the icing sugar (butter helps it set) along with kirsch and a squeeze of lemon juice.

2 Mix until smooth and a spreadable consistency. It should drop easily from the spoon but not be too runny. Add hot water if it seems too thick, and if it seems too thin, add more icing sugar.

3 When the mille feuille has chilled, brush the warm apricot glaze over the top layer, then spread the icing on.

4 Put back in the fridge to chill before trimming and cutting.

5 When chilled and the icing set, trim the edges of the mille feuille with a long knife with a serrated edge. The trick is to clean and dry the knife between each cut, and let the knife do the work, without too much pressure.

6 Cut the slab in half lengthwise and then into strips to serve.

 


• If you would like to request a particular technique we haven't already shown, write to Cooking 101, Editorial Features, Otago Daily Times, PO Box 181, Dunedin or email odt.features@odt.co.nz with cooking 101 in the subject line.

More information on cooking from the Otago Polytechnic can be found on www.otagocookeryl4.blogspot.com


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