My son recently came home for a visit….. and to celebrate his birthday. Of course, a birthday cake is in order and expected (always a JennyBean Mocha Chocolate Cake). We had three birthday celebrations while he was here and I couldn’t imagine making three separate cakes! So, I came up with alternate desserts for the non-birthday cake dinners. Our favorite was this AMAZING, chocolaty, rich and decadent Chocolate Mille Feuille. Though the dessert may look intimidating, it becomes much more approachable once you realize it’s built from just two components: puff pastry and dark chocolate Crémeux (filling). You can make this BEYOND simple by using pre-made puff pastry dough instead of making your own.

What is Mille-Feuille?

Classic Mille-Feuille (pronounced “Meal-Foy”) is a classic French pastry made of multiple thin layers of crisp puff pastry stacked with rich pastry cream in between. In this recipe, we use a Dark Chocolate Crémeux – a rich custard like filling somewhere between a ganache and mousse consistency – substituted for the pastry cream.

Traditionally, Mille Feuille has three layers of puff pastry and two layers of cream. It is topped and finished with powdered sugar, fondant, or icing, sometimes decorated with chocolate. The name “mille-feuille” literally means “a thousand leaves,” referring to the many delicate, flaky layers in the pastry. As the laminated dough bakes, the butter melts and forms little pockets of steam, which create the flaky, layered pastry.

considerations:

You could certainly make your own puff pastry from scratch (which I did), but I recommend saving yourself the time here by buying store-bought dough instead. Since this dessert contains little more than puff pastry and pastry cream, it’s worth looking for a good-quality dough that’s made with butter (like Dufour Classic Puff Pastry). This will be much more flavorful (and healthy) than pastry that’s made with palm, soybean, and/or vegetable oil.

Proper baking is just as important as ingredient quality. The goal is pastry that’s crisp, flaky, and sturdy enough to hold the pastry cream, yet perfectly flat rather than puffed up. To achieve this, pierce the dough all over with a fork, place it between two rimmed baking sheets, and weigh down the top sheet with about two pounds of rice or dried beans. This extra weight keeps the layers even and beautifully golden as they bake.

You could easily make the components of this dessert the day before you plan on serving it. You will want to assemble it as close as possible to serving (before dinner works fine). If you assemble it too far in advance, the layers of puff pastry become a bit “soggy” and loose the wonderful, layered crispiness that makes Chocolate Mille Feuille such a treat.

Ingredients

Dark Chocolate Crémeux Filling

4 Eggs
1⅓ Cup Whole Milk
1⅓ Cup Heavy Cream – Preferably 40%
1 Tbsp Sugar
Pinch Salt
14 Oz Dark Chocolate (70%) *High quality dark chocolate chips or chocolate wafers work well here.

Puff Pastry Crust For Layers

2 Sheets Puff Pastry – High quality, preferably made with butter *Here is where I made things more complicated and made homemade puff pastry (definitely and option, but so much easier and quicker to use store-bought).

Whipping Cream Topping

1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream (40%)
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

Instructions

Dark Chocolate Crémeux Filling

Measure out your Dark Chocolate and add to a 9×13 (or equivalent) baking dish. Spread them out evenly on the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
In a double boiler, gently whisk the Eggs, Sugar, Milk, Cream and Salt until it reaches 175℉.
Once the Cream mixture comes to 175℉, pour through a fine mesh strainer over the chocolate. Let sit for about 5 minutes to melt the chocolate.
Gently whisk the Cream Mixture and Chocolate together to make a smooth, pudding-like filling.
Cover surface with plastic wrap, pressing it down onto the Chocolate. This will prevent a rubbery film from forming while it is cooling.
Pop in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

Puff Pastry Layers

Pull out your puff pastry to defrost about an hour before you are ready to bake the crust layers.
Preheat oven to 400℉
You will need at least two 9×13 baking sheets (you can definitely use larger ones). The process will go quicker if you have four baking sheets. You will need two baking sheets for one layer of puff pastry. If you have four baking sheets, you can prepare and bake both puff pastry sheets at once.
Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.
Roll out sheet(s) of puff pastry to 9×12. Place on lined baking sheet(s). Prick all over with a fork. Lightly cover dough with plastic wrap and pop in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Remove dough from fridge. Remove plastic wrap. Top dough with another sheet of parchment paper.
Place second baking sheet on top of the parchment covered dough. Add a layer of parchment paper to the top baking sheet and fill with 1½-2 pound of rice, distributed evenly. This prevents the puff pastry from puffing too much, as well as keeping it "even" in its puffed height.
Pop trays in the oven. Bake until the pastry begins to rise, about 15 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, check to make sure pastry isn't "over-puffing". If it has raised the top baking sheet, gently push it back down to deflate and even out the puff pastry.
Bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and gently remove the top, rice-filled baking sheet. Return the puff pastry to the oven and continue baking for 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from oven. Set aside to cool. Repeat with second sheet of puff pastry if needed.

Assembling

Using a serrated knife, cut each puff pastry sheet into 12 squares by dividing it first into 4 even, vertical columns, then cutting each column into 3 even pieces. You will end up with 24 pieces of puff pastry.
Remove chilled Chocolate Filling from fridge and spoon/scrape it into a piping bag fitted with desired tip. Fill piping bag with Chocolate Crémeux.
Arrange 8 of the pastry squares onto serving plates or serving tray.
Holding the piping bag 1/4-1/2" above surface, pipe a layer of Chocolate, taking care to make the "edges" look pretty, since that is what shows.
Add next layer of puff pastry and pipe more Chocolate Crémeux. Top with last layer of puff pastry – bringing total layers of puff pastry to three.
Top last layer with a beautiful, decorative layer of Chocolate Crémeux.

Whipping Cream Topping

Add Whipping Cream, Vanilla, and Powdered Sugar to a small bowl. Using a hand mixer, whip to whipping cream consistency. Place dollop on top of your beautifully layered dessert. If you have a chocolate bar, microplane some chocolate over the dessert. Garnish with a mint leaf. Enjoy.

Chocolate Mille Feuille – An Easy, Decadent Dessert

What is Mille-Feuille?

considerations: