French Mille Feuille Recipe

Instructions

For the Pastry Cream

1. Begin by taking the vanilla bean and slicing it in the middle. Remove all the seeds using a spoon.
2. Now, take a medium-sized pot, add milk and vanilla seeds, and place it over a medium-high flame.
3. Make sure to whisk the milk occasionally and instantly turn off the flame as soon as it comes to a boil. Keep the pot aside to infuse for about 15 minutes.
4. Take a bowl and add sugar and corn starch to it. Whisk them together. Add the egg yolks and whisk until all the ingredients are well combined and the mixture turns light and fluffy.
5. Add in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture and whisk properly until well combined. Add in the residual hot milk mixture, keeping the saucepan.
6. Take the saucepan again (in which the milk mixture was prepared), use a strainer and transfer the mixture through it to the saucepan
   again. Once done, turn the flame to medium-high. Remember to continuously whisk the mixture throughout cooking. Cook until the mixture turns thick and begins to boil slowly.
7. Once done, add in a little butter, mix well, and let it all cool.
8. Take some plastic wrap and cover the pan with it. Make sure that it presses a little against the surface to stop a skin from forming. Let it chill for at least 2 hours.

For the Pastry Layers

1. Begin by thawing the puff pastry for around 45 minutes. The next step is to unfold one sheet onto a slightly flour-dusted surface. Pre-heat the oven to 400F.
2. Even out to about 1/16 inch and then, with the help of a knife or pizza cutter, cut 2x4 inch rectangles.
3. Take some parchment paper and use it to line a baking sheet. Transfer the first lot of rectangles onto it and keep them at a distance
   of about 2 inches from each other. Put one more sheet of parchment on top and cover it with another baking sheet.
4. Let it bake for around 11 minutes and remember to rotate the tray when it’s halfway through.
5. Once done, take it out of the oven, shift to a wire rack and allow it to cool. Repeat for the rest of the sheet of puff pastry.

Assembling the Mille Feuille

1. Take a piece of paper, place a wire rack over it, and place 9 rectangles on it. Smear the vanilla icing on every rectangle, and then pipe stripes of chocolate on each one.
2. You can try and become creative here by trying to forma chevron pattern (using a toothpick, skewer, or knife) by drawing it across
   the chocolate streaks in irregular directions. Put it away to set.
3. The next step is to pipe 8 blobs of pastry cream onto the first piece of puff pastry. Put one more piece of pastry over it, pipe 8 more blobs, and place the top on, and voila!