Raspberry millefeuilles

By JDARK

Rough puff pastry, crème pâtissière and fresh raspberries are layered up in this stunning French dessert - perfect for impressing dinner guests

Ingredients

• icing sugar, for dusting
• 200 200g 200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 tsp salt
• 175 175g 1 1/2 butter, cut into 1 1/2 cm cubes
• 1 1 1 tsp lemon juice
• crème pâtissière (see tip, below left, for recipe)
• 300 300g 300g raspberries (or other seasonal berries)

Details

Preparation time 80mins
Cooking time 110mins
Adapted from bbcgoodfood.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt and butter together in a bowl - the butter should remain in cubes. Make a well in the centre and pour in the lemon juice and 100ml cold water. Mix well, then bring together with your hands.

Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead until smooth. Shape into a rectangle, then wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out to a rough 32cm square. Using a sharp knife, trim the edges to make a neat 30cm square.

Cut the pastry into 3 long strips measuring 30 x 10cm. Transfer to 2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment and chill for 30 mins or until firm.

Leave the pastry to cool a little, trim the edges if needed, then cut each sheet into 6 smaller rectangles. You should end up with 18 pieces of pastry measuring about 10 x 5cm.

Add another layer of Crème patisserie and raspberries. Dust a third piece of pastry with icing sugar, then decorate with more raspberries and pop this on top. Repeat with the remaining pastry to make 6 millefeuilles.

To make the crème pâtissière, put 300ml whole milk and 1 vanilla pod, halved lengthways, in a pan and heat to just below boiling point. In a bowl, whisk together 3 egg yolks, 4 tbsp caster sugar, 2 tbsp plain flour and 2 tbsp cornflour. Pour the hot milk over the egg mixture, whisking continuously. Return the mixture to the pan and set over a medium heat, whisking all the time, until it has a thick custard consistency. Transfer to a bowl, cover the surface directly with cling film, leave to cool, then chill for at least 1 hr (can be made 2 days ahead). Whip 150ml double cream, then beat a little into the cold custard. Fold through the remaining cream and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Chill until ready to serve.

Keep the sides of the pastry as straight as possible when rolling out.Keep the pastry moving so that it doesn't stick to the work surface. If it gets stuck, use a palette knife to loosen it.If it becomes hard to work with, just pop it in the fridge to chill for 15 mins, then continue where you left off.Always use a sharp knife when cutting layered pastry, and make sure that you don't drag the knife through it, as this will destroy all the layers you have created.When the pastry is cooking, do not open the door during the first 15 mins, or it may not rise properly.

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