Napoleon

Note: All recipes, method, and assembly adapted from The Daring Baker’s October 2012 Challenge page.

For the puff pastry:
Cut 14 tablespoons (or 1 3/4 stick) butter into cubes and set aside to come to room temperature.

Put 1 3/4 cup flour into a bowl with the salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold, cubed butter. Lightly rub the butter and flour between your fingertips until it forms a mealy breadcrumb texture.

Add the cold water and bring together with a fork or spoon until the mixture starts to cohere and come away from the sides of the bowl. As the dough begins to come together, you can use your hands to start kneading and incorporating all the remaining loose bits. If the dough’s a little dry, you can add a bit more water. Knead for 3 minutes on a floured surface until the dough is smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, take the reserved room temperature butter and mix with the remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons plain flour until it forms a paste (called a beurrage). Place the butter paste between 2 sheets of clingfilm, and either with a rolling pin or your hands, shape it into a 4 ½” square. You can use a ruler, pastry cutter or your fingers to neaten the edges. Refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes so the butter firms up slightly. You want it to be solid but still malleable.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a 6″ square. Place the square of butter in the center, with each corner touching the centre of the square’s sides ( imagine a big butter diamond in the middle of a dough square). Fold each corner of dough over the butter so they meet the centre (you might have to stretch them a little) and it resembles an envelope, and seal up the edges with your fingers. You’ll be left with a little square parcel.

Turn the dough parcel over and tap the length of it with your rolling pan to flatten it slightly.

Keeping the work surface well floured, roll the dough carefully into a rectangle ¼” thickness. With the longest side facing you, fold 1/3 (on the right) inwards, so it’s covering the middle section, and ensure that it is lined up. Then, fold the remaining flap of dough (on the left) inwards, so you’re left with a narrow three-layered strip.

Repeat the procedure above. Wrap up in cling wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Repeat the procedure again, twice through, turning over and folding 2 times as mentioned. Wrap again in cling wrap and chill again for at least 30 minutes.

Repeat the procedure 2 final times (for a total of 6 times). Wrap up in clingfilm and refrigerate until needed. The dough keeps a couple of days in the fridge.

To bake the the puff pastry:
Preheat oven to moderately hot 200°C (400°F). Lightly dust your work space with flour and remove your dough from the fridge.

Roll into a large rectangle, the thickness of cardboard (about 12”x 18″). Roll on the work surface, and finish it off on a large piece of parchment paper. That way it’s easier to move the sheets of pastry around.

Cut into 3 equal pieces and place on a baking tray. If you don’t have space for all three, you can bake them separately. Prick the pastry sheets all over with a fork. Place another sheet of parchment paper over the top and then top that with a heavy baking tray to prevent the layers from puffing up too much.

Bake sheets for about 25 minutes in a moderately hot oven 200°C (400°F), removing the top layer of greaseproof paper/tray 10 minutes before the end for the tops to brown. Keep an eye on them and lower the temperature if you think they’re browning too much. Remove the baked sheets from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool completely.

(The puff pastry dough, alone, will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Any leftovers can be well wrapped up and frozen for a year. Thaw for 30 minutes on the counter or overnight in the fridge.)

For the pastry cream or creme patisserie:
Mix the cornflour/cornstarch with ½ cup of milk and stir until dissolved.

Heat the remaining milk in a saucepan with the sugar, dissolving the sugar and bringing the milk to the boil. Remove from heat.

Beat the whole eggs into the cornflour/milk mixture. Then beat in the egg yolks. Pour in 1/3 of the hot milk, stirring constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking.

Bring the remaining milk back to the boil and add the egg mixture, whisking as your pour. Keep whisking (don’t stop or it’ll solidify) on medium heat until the mixture starts to thicken.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and thoroughly whisk the pastry cream free of lumps. Beat in the butter and vanilla until fully incorporated.

Pour the pastry cream into a stainless steel or ceramic bowl, and then place clingfilm over the surface to stop a skin forming.Refrigerate overnight to give the pastry cream time to further thicken.

Note: If you’re worried about the pastry cream continuing to cook off the heat, you can transfer it to a stainless steel/ceramic bowl.

For the icing:
Whisk egg whites with lemon juice until lightly frothy. Whisk in confectioners sugar on a low setting until smooth and combined. The mixture should be thick enough to leave trails on the surface and hold its shape briefly when poured back into the bowl. If it’s too thin, add in a more sugar, bit by bit until thick enough.

For the final assembly:
Once the pastry has cooled, you’re ready to assemble your mille-feuille. Get ready a sturdy surface, clean chopping board, your pastry and the chilled crème pâtissière from the fridge.

Lay one pastry sheet on the board and spread half the crème patisserie evenly over the top. Take the second sheet and place it on top, pressing down lightly with your hands to ensure that it sticks to the filling. Spread the remaining cream and place the last sheet of pastry on top, pressing down again. Oozing around the sides is normal and can be neatened up after assembly. Pop in the fridge while you prepare the icing.

For the icing:
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, stirring periodically. Once melted, transfer to a piping bag (or plastic bag with end snipped), resting nozzle side down in a glass or other tall container.

Immediately pour the icing over the top of the top layer of pastry and spread evenly to the edges. Still working quickly, pipe or draw a row of thin perpendicular chocolate lines, cross-wise along the top of the icing.

Again swiftly, take a sharp knife to make perpendicular cuts through chocolate lines down (from top to bottom) through the rows of chocolate. Draw the knife across the surface top in one direction, then make the next cut across the pastry in the opposite direction. Continue in this manner, moving along the rows of chocolate until the top is covered in a pretty swirly pattern.

Once you’ve decorated your mille feuille with a clean knife, mark out where you’re going to cut your slices, depending on how big you want them to be and leaving space to trim the edges. I got 10 out of mine, or 2 rows of 5.

Chill for a couple of hours to give the icing time to set. With a sharp knife, trim the edges and cut your slices.