mille feuille

it is starting to feel like christmas has been so close. wherever i go, i hear christmas songs playing and christmas decorations have already hung everywhere. so warming! i have made panettone last week, which is a traditional italian bread usually served during christmas. this time, i want to get a little merrier with mille feuille. i think this pastry will soon be a hit around the city, replacing red velvet cake and macarons.

turns out this pastry is crazily easy to make but insanely delicious. however, i didn't make my own puff pastry from scratch and just used the store bought one. if you were planning to make it from scratch, well it may take you some time to make it before you are able to make this mille feuille. once you had your puff pastry in your hand, mille feuille is made just by stacking those puff pastry and layer it with cream and any fillings that you like. i prefer fruits though.. mine was layered with cream diplomat and peaches and then topped with another thin layer of cream diplomat and finely chopped dried cranberries, mint leaves and last but not least.. generous amount of shaved white chocolate. the topping gives you shades of red and green which will go well with this holiday theme. and the minty flavor you got from munching those leaves are just adorable and refreshing.. i want to eat it againnn, now!

one thing that i'm not really content with is the cream diplomat. cream diplomat is basically pastry cream mixed with some whipped cream so that it becomes lighter. i love the taste of it so much, but i didn't get the super smooth satiny cream texture i wanted. it's all because i added the pastry cream into the whipped cream in undesirable temperature. you should wait until the pastry cream has completely cool before you add it to the whipped cream, otherwise your cream diplomat will curdle and looks ugly and separated. i hope none of you follow my mistakes, okay? ;) and look at those roses, they are real roses! bicolor roses with red and yellow color. they are so beautiful, aren't they?! 

Mille Feuille
serves 4

1 ready rolled puff pastry, thawed
1 tbsp granulated sugar

cream diplomat:
1 cup milk
2 egg yolks
50 gr sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
1/2 cup whipping cream
vanilla extract
1 tsp unsalted butter

sliced peaches
chopped dried cranberries
chopped mint leaves
shaved white chocolate

directions:

1. preheat oven to 200 degree C.
2. make pastry cream: dissolve cornflour with 2 tbsp of the milk. heat remaining milk in a medium saucepan, meanwhile whisk sugar with egg yolks until pale and lemon colored. remove milk from heat, slowly pour into the yolks, whisking continuously. add cornflour mixture into the yolks. pour mixture into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring continuously until thick. remove from heat. let cool completely.
3. cut thawed puff pastry into 8 (5 x 11cm) rectangles. scatter with granulated sugar. bake in preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
4. make cream diplomat: whip the whipping cream until soft peaks stage. gradually add room temperature pastry cream into the whipped cream, mix evenly until smooth.
5. to assemble: spread 1 tbsp of cream diplomat on top of 1 slice puff pastry, arrange some peaches over the cream. spread another 1 tbsp on the bottom of other slice, stack it over the peaches so that the cream will stick with the peaches. spread another tablespoon cream on top, scatter with white chocolate curls, chopped cranberries and mint leaves.

what happened in my kitchen?

• tips from me: to make beautiful chocolate curls, use potato peeler and your chocolate will automatically curls beautifully. so practical.
• never ever add hot or warm pastry cream to cold whipped cream, your mixture will curdle and look ugly.

so, that's all for today's post..

thank you for reading my dear readers..

have a blessed day!