Our October 2012 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Suz of Serenely Full. Suz challenged us to not only tackle buttery and flaky puff
pastry, but then take it step further and create a sinfully delicious
Mille Feuille dessert with it!
I was excited for this month's challenge not only because of the recipe but more so because it was hosted by Suz, one of my favorite bloggers! I've been reading every single blog post of hers ever since I chanced upon it in one of the challenges here a while back and let me say, she really has a way with words, she has the yummiest recipes and she takes really nice pictures! So...on to the challenge...what is it exactly?
‘Mille-feuille’ is
French for ‘a thousand leaves’ (or ‘layers’), which is very apt, as it
contains both layers of pastry (usually three) and layers within each
pastry sheet …in short...puff pastry! (insert shudder here)
To tell you honestly, I was a little bit wary of doing puff pastry again because of the hot and humid weather here in the Philippines. The few times that I made puff pastry, it was really a race against time and temperature. Even if the dough was refrigerated as often as possible, the butter tended to seep out after a few rolls and this was no exception...but the recipe Suz gave was awesome, I don't know if the weather cooperated today but there was less oozing of the butter today. Here is a link to the whole recipe that was given to us.
The recipe is very straightforward as is the directions. I just forgot to take out the baking parchment for the last 5 minutes of baking time for the first puff pastry sheet so it was a bit pale but otherwise everything went well.
I decided not to experiment and to stick to the recipe that was given to us. So instead of using my fool-proof recipe for creme patissiere I followed the recipe here and didn't have any problem with the setting of the cream. I made the puff pastry in the morning and the creme patissiere after lunch. I refrigerated it for 1 hour and it had thickened enough to set properly.
Thank you Suz for hosting this month's challenge, it was indeed a challenge for me! The resulting product was delicious and everyone at home oohed and aahed at this pretty and deliciously decadent dessert.
Dear friends, please don't forget to check out the other Daring Bakers versions of Mille Feuille, you won't be disappointed, I promise!
9 comments:
Oh Dahlia, what a lovely thing to say. Thank you so much! Of course, the feeling is more than mutual. :)
I'm so happy that you enjoyed the recipe & that the puff (shudder!) was manageable in a humid kitchen. As ever, your end result is an absolute treat to look at (and no doubt eat). Beautiful! Thanks again.x
Perfectly lookin mille feuille, and hats off to you for being successful in a warm weather. I totally understand, because I have made puff pastry in Brazil and it sure is extra challenging! A job well done, as always!
What a perfect Napoleon! Every part of it looks just fantastic! :)
Wow! Your pastry sheets look absolutely perfect! Please let me know when you are making this again, I will be there to "help"! (You know, onceI figure out how to teleport to the Philipenes...) Thank you for sharing your amazing talent and skill with us!
Looks great! I'm glad the humidity cooperated for you :)
WOW - your mille feuille looks like it came directly from a fancy, gourmet bakery. SO impressive. Suz knocked it out of the park with this one, and so did you!!
Oh I wish I had time to do this month's challenge as I love mille feuille! Yours looks fantastic!
Dahlia..your Napoleons look 5-star Italian bakery perfect! The photos are so lovely and crystal clear..I can almost taste the beautiful pastry cream! You always rock these challenges! :)
Dahlia - I forgot to say..I'm so sorry that you lost your Mom to Breast Cancer last year *hugs* If only cancer can be completely eradicated forever :(
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