Mille Feuille (2024)

These delicate pastries are a stunning addition to any table. The light and airy puff pastry is a perfect accompaniment to that rich creamy pastry cream.

What You’ll Need for This Recipe

Vanilla Bean: You can use two tablespoons of vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract in the pastry cream if you don’t want to use a bean.

Frozen Puff Pastry: Use a square or rectangular sheets, not round ones.

How to Make Mille Feuille

1. Run a knife down your vanilla pod to open it up then use a spoon to scoop the seeds out. Add the milk and vanilla seeds to a medium pot and place over medium-high heat. Give it a whisk to break the clusters of seeds up and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and set aside.

2. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl then add the egg yolks and whisk until smooth and a light yellow color.

3. Temper the mixture by drizzling in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk while whisking. Whisk in the remaining milk then strain back into your pot and place over medium heat.

4. Whisk over heat until thickened and bubbling then remove from heat and mix in the butter. Transfer to a bowl and press plastic wrap against the surface. Chill for about two hours.

5. Set oven to 400F. Thaw your pastry dough then roll on a lightly floured surface to about 1/16 an inch. Cut into rectangles. I’m making 2×4 inch individual pastries but you can make one or two larger mille feuilles which can be cut after assembly. The directions are the same. Just increase the size of the pastry you cut.

6. Transfer the rectangles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet then cover with another sheet of paper and a heavy baking tray or a baking sheet. You can weight the top down with pastry weights if it’s a super-light tray, we don’t want the pastry to puff up much in the oven.

Bake for about 11 minutes at 400F rotating the pan halfway through. You’ll need to bake a few batches; either stage the cutting out or cut everything at once and have it ready to go into the oven when the first batch comes out. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. You can use a sharp knife to square the edges off after baking for a perfect edge.

7. I like to lighten the pastry cream with whipped cream but you can skip this step if desired. Whip the cold cream and sugar to almost stiff peaks. Whisk up your pastry cream to break it up then mix in about 1/2 cup of the whipped cream. Fold the remaining whipped cream in then return to the fridge while you make the glaze.

8. To make the glaze add the powdered sugar to a bowl then add the vanilla and a few tablespoons of milk. Whisk together then add more milk as needed until you get a thick, spreadable consistency.

Transfer about 1/3 cup of the glaze to another bowl then whisk in the cocoa powder and add milk as needed until you get a smooth consistency similar to the vanilla batch. Transfer each batch to a piping bag. You can use a smaller round tip for the chocolate or just snip the tip off.

9. Spread the vanilla icing onto the tops, preferably just to the edge but not oozing over. Pipe chocolate stripes across the surface then use a skewer or toothpick to rake across the chocolate stripes in alternating directions to create a chevron pattern.

10. Transfer the pastry cream to a piping bag fitted with a larger round tip like a 1A or 803 and pipe dollops onto one of the pastry pieces. Place a second pastry piece on top then repeat the process and place one of the iced pastry pieces on top.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Mille Feuille and Napoleon?

A Napoleon is usually made with almond cream while a mille feuille is filled with vanilla pastry cream. This distinction is being muddied as the two desserts are tagged with both names online.

How can I make this as one big pastry?

Instead of making the individual pastries you can just cut three large pieces of pastry and bake with the same steps. Instead of piping the pastry cream you’ll spread it on with a spatula. Chill then use a long SHARP knife to cut the dessert into pieces before serving.

How do you eat a them?

In my humble opinion these desserts are best eaten with a fork and knife. If they’re chilled the cream firms up a bit making cutting into them without squashing the layers a bit easier.

What is mille feuille cream?

These desserts are filled with either pastry cream, a delicious custard made with egg yolks, sugar and milk, or diplomat cream, pastry cream lightened with whipped cream. Some are just filled with a stabilized whipped cream, or an instant custard.

How can I store these?

Mille feuille will keep in the refrigerator for 2 days in an airtight container but the pastry will absorb liquid from the filling and lose it’s crispness. I prefer to serve them just after being assembled.

Pro Tips for this Recipe

• You can make a BIG pastry and cut it to serve. Just cut three 12×6 inch rectangles and follow the same steps to assemble your giant pastry. Cut with a very sharp knife before serving.
• This custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using.
• Don’t worry if your pastry cream is a bit of a blob after chilling. Whisking it up by hand or in the mixer will fix that right up.
• You can ice the tops with royal icing, a thin chocolate ganache, or a dusting of powdered sugar if preferred.
• If you want to make these in advance or just stage it out then bake the pastry, decorate the tops, make the pastry cream and assemble before serving.

If you’ve tried this Mille Feuille recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!