I remember the first time I saw a row of mille-feuille soldiers lined up for battle in a bakery display case. I had just moved into my then-partner’s Parisian flat in the 18th arrondissement, and there was a small boulangerie/patisserie combo on the corner of our apartment building. It certainly wasn’t Pierre Hermé, but the establishment had won some awards, which they displayed proudly in the front window. It’s worth noting that it’s seldom you see bread and pastries together because they’re typically separate businesses in France. This is partially due to the fact that to be called a “boulangerie” a business must completely make its bread from scratch on the premises start to finish, no pre-made doughs allowed! Also, fine pastry requires fine training, and its rare that you find a baker who does both bread and pastry at an expert level. The passion usually goes one way or the other, which is probably why I’ve found several symbiotic pastry chef-bread baker friendships throughout my life. Sharing knowledge is fun!

The little corner bakery was named Boulangerie Simart de Przystaniak Christophe — try saying that 3 times fast! They offered a classic (and average) line up of religeuses, macarons, croissants and more. They also had a full shelf of amazing bread that you could get fresh from the oven. I can still smell it. My favorite item, though, was the mille-feuille, comprised of few layers of well-baked puff pastry sandwiched together with a lightened pastry cream. Stunningly simple once you get past the puff pastry part. I loved how the deep nutty flavors of the puff pastry found harmony with the perfectly fluffy cream. I went in the boulangerie every day but would only get my favorite pastry a few times a week. After a few months I reached “regular” status and the cashier, Camille, could predict my orders most of the time. Whenever I would ask for a mille-feuille Camille would always respond with “bien sur monsieur, c’est une bonne journee!” which meant “of course, it’s a good day!” It was definitely a good day if I left with a mille-feuille.

My version of the beautiful layered pastry uses a sheet of my puff pastry, a handful of ripe strawberries (preferably dark in color), and a pastry cream that we’ll stabilize with gelatin and then lighten it with whipped cream — this is also called creme diplomat. But, if you wish to make things simpler, you could just fill with a lightly sweetened whipped cream…

Recipe Notes: You can absolutely use store bought puff pastry for these if you need a quick dessert! Other berries should work in place of strawberries as well. You can also just keep it vanilla if you like. These are best eaten day of, but would hold up overnight thanks to the gelatin, although they’ll soften considerably. As I said above, the creme diplomat can be completely subbed out for plain old whipped cream if you prefer.

mille-feuille

Makes 4 individual pastries

puff pastry

1 sheet prepared puff pastry, about 8x12”

strawberry crème diplomat

1 half batch prepared pastry cream (roughly 1 cup), still warm
1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
3/4 cup strawberries, diced
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Plus 1 cup heavy cream, chilled, for whipping

To bake the puff pastry: preheat the oven to 400°. Line a half baking sheet with parchment and place the sheet of puff pastry on it (it should be cold/nearly frozen). Prick (“dock”) it all over with a fork. This will help keep it even and prevent excessive rising. Place another sheet of parchment on top of the puff pastry, and then top it with another half baking sheet. Again, this prevents rising and keeps it even. Bake for about 30 minutes, then carefully remove the top sheet pan and parchment and continue baking 5 minutes or until very golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely. Check half way through the initial bake time and if the pastry is browning too quickly, lower the temp to 375°.

To make the strawberry crème diplomat: In a small bowl, add 1 tablespoon of water and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Stir and let sit for a moment before continuing. If your pastry cream is still hot, stir the gelatin mixture directly into it. If it isn’t, heat about 1/3 cup until hot, then add in the gelatin mixture and immediately stir that back into the chilled pastry cream. Place the pastry cream in the fridge and do not use until it’s completely chilled. If you want things to move more quickly, spread the pastry cream on a sheet pan in a thin layer and cover it before chilling. This will make it chill much faster, but also create more dishes. You can make the strawberry cream and prep the pastry for the next steps while you wait.

Blend the diced strawberries with 1 tablespoon of heavy cream until smooth. Since it’s such a small amount, I used a hand blender in a glass measuring cup. Strain the mixture. Whip 1 cup heavy cream until medium peaks appear (if you remove the whisk from the cream, it should leave an imprint and some small “peaks”). Fold the puréed strawberries into the whipped cream, just until combined. If not using immediately, you can guess: just put it back in the fridge!

To assemble: Remove the chilled pastry cream from the fridge and beat with a spoon for a few minutes to smoothen it out, if needed. Begin folding in the strawberry cream, slowly at first until the mixture lightens but still holds a loose shape, almost like soft serve (you may need a little less cream depending on how thick or thin your pastry cream is after cooking!). Cover and chill while prepping the layers.

Place the baked puff pastry on a cutting board and cut into equally sized rectangles. You will need 3 per pastry — but you can also just do 2 layers, it’s your life! I cut my rectangles to 1.5” x 3”.

Place the crème diplomat in a piping bag with a star, ribbon, or round tip — baker’s choice! Pipe an even layer of cream on 2 of the rectangles (if the mixture isn’t firm once piped, a quick pop in freezer at this point should help them set up). Carefully stack one of the rectangles on the other, and top with a plain rectangle that has no cream on it. Garnish with powdered sugar. Repeat with the remaining components until you’ve built 4 mille-feuille. Serve immediately, or chill for a few hours before eating… but these are best eaten soon after making. When I worked in restaurants we would keep all of the components (except the baked pastry layers) in the fridge and assemble to order, which is also a great idea for home dinner parties.

Hi reader! Thanks for reading! I know this one was quite technical, so here’s something a little easier if you need it: rhubarb & tahini blondies