Homemade Mille Feuille using Puff Pastry

This Mille Feuille recipe using puff pastry isn't so difficult to make when you are using ready made puff pastry from your local grocer.

Add in instant pastry cream and these Sfoglia pastries will be ready for a sinful indulgence in an hour.

A perfect dessert for a small group. This mille Feuille recipe is light, crispy and not overly sweet. You will fall in love with these easy to make Mille Feuille pastries.

Is Mille Feuille the same as Napoleon?

The term mille-feuille comes from the English translation of a thousand layers.

Mille-feuille (pronounced meel-foy) is a French pastry by origin and is essentially made from layers of thin puff pastry that is alternated with a cream filling and topped with a ganache. A simple dessert but difficult to replicate unless you are cutting corners.

Traditionally a mille-feuille recipe consists of 3 layers of puff pastry with alternating layers of cream and then dusted with powdered sugar. Often instead of powdered sugar, the top layer is iced with vanilla icing or fondant.

A Mille-feuille recipe is very similar to the Italian dessert, Napoleon. The main difference is that a Napoleon is layered with almond paste instead of cream.

Jump to:

• Is Mille Feuille the same as Napoleon?
• Tips and Tricks to Make the Easiest Mille Feuille Pastry
• How to Make Your Pastries Unique
• Step by Step Guide to Making Mille Feuille
• How to Make a Glaze (Optional)
• Store Bought Puff Pastry Dough
• Storage of Mille Feuille Pastries
• Food Safety
• Recipes Using Pre-Made Puff Pastry
• Recipe Details
• Comments

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Tips and Tricks to Make the Easiest Mille Feuille Pastry

A traditional mille-feuille will consist of three layers of puff pastry alternated with two layers of pastry cream. Icing sugar will be dusted over the top, along with cocoa powder, pastry crumbs, and sometimes crushed nuts. Another version of mille-feuille is glazed with chocolate and vanilla icing or fondant. Other variations of mille-feuille are layered with whipped cream and fruit, and topped with custard.

How to Make Your Pastries Unique

There is no doubt that Mille Feuille Pastries alone are absolutely delectable. But you can too make these unique by using your imagination and creating a pastry that is all your own.

Here are some ingredients for you to consider:

• Add nuts
• Add berries
• Use a flavoured cream
• Use ganache topping

Step by Step Guide to Making Mille Feuille

Step 1

Roll out your puff pastry on a surface dusted with flour. You want to role out the dough to a little under the size of your baking sheet.

Step 2

Carefully transfer the puff pastry onto your baking sheet and cover it with parchment paper.

Step 3

Place another baking sheet on top of the parchment covered puff pastry and bake in the oven until you get a golden brown colour.

You will need to flip the puff pastry (carefully) half way through the baking - about 15 minutes.

Step 4

Transfer the puff pastry onto a cooling rack and let cool.

Step 5

Cut in half, then cut in half again. A pizza cutter can help to cut clean lines.

Step 6

Continue cutting the puff pastry in half until you have enough squares to make 4 pastries 3 layers each.

When I made them, I had enough puff pastry to make 4 pastries (3 layers each) and 2 pastries (2 layers/each). I gave the 2 layer pastries to my parents.

Step 7

Prepare the pastry cream by making Dream Whip as per the box directions and adding a tablespoon of vanilla pudding. The vanilla pudding not only adds flavor but is needed in order to stabilize the cream. You can also use any flavour of pudding to make this unique.

Place the pastry cream in a pastry bag. If you don't have a pastry bag use a sandwich bag and cut a small piece of the corner.

Step 8

Start assembling the mille feuille by piping cream onto the bottom layer. Place the middle layer on top. Top the middle layer with cream and then place the third layer on top. Continue until you have used up all of the puff pastry you have cut into squares.

Step 9

Dust with icing sugar (confectioner's sugar) and refrigerate for at least one hour.

At this point, you are done and you have created these little darling pastries in less than one hour.

But, if you are courageous you can skip the powdered sugar and top with a decorative glaze by following these instructions.

Store Bought Puff Pastry Dough

You can definitely make your own puff pastry dough for this recipe. But, if you have looked around my blog, you probably know that I love to save time and cut corners.

For this recipe, I purchased puff pastry from my local grocers which I found in the frozen section. When you are ready to use frozen puff pastry, remember to thaw it out in the refrigerator over night.

Buying prepared puff pastry is truly so convenient. Puff pastry is so versatile. You can make so many things with puff pastry both sweet or savory. Check out my related posts down below, particularly my recipe for a strawberry sfoglia cake.

Want something a little larger? Why not try my recipe and instructions on how to make a Strawberry Sfoglia Cake using puff pastry, the ultimate cake for a special occasion!

Storage of Mille Feuille Pastries

Once you have finished assembling these pastries, they should be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and then consumed within 2 days. Regrettably, these pastries do not store very well because the longer they are leftover the more the cream will soften the pastry dough.

It's the crispiness of the dough that really makes these pastries so special. Therefore, if you are making these you will need to make them on the day that they are consumed.

Alternatively, you could make the puff pastry ahead of time (the day before) and then make the cream filling at the time your assemble the pastries.

If your family is like mine, you likely will not have any leftovers. So you won't need to worry about storage options!

Recipes Using Pre-Made Puff Pastry

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Recipe Details