Millefeuille
Millefeuille is one of the best pastries available, if it is well made, i.e.: 2 layers of light vanilla cream between 3 layers of fine crispy (possibly caramelized) puff pastry.
335 K 4.8/5 (33 reviews)
1 hour 45 min.
Average
15 people
5 IngredientsLast modified on: October 13th 2010
For 15 people, you will need:
- 1
900 g confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream) - 2
450 g Chantilly cream - 3
900 g puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée) - 4
12 tablespoons icing sugar - 5
a little dark chocolate (optional) - Total weight: 2,430 grams
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 60 min.
Resting: 15 min.
Cooking: 30 min.
All in all: 1 hour 45 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 20 min.
The day before, or several hours before, make crème pâtissière (confectioner's custard).
Roll out puff pastry as thinly as possible. Then put on a baking sheet in the fridge for about one hour, so that if it needs to shrink, it happens in the fridge instead of the oven.
It is very difficult to make a regular rectangle (see photo) but don't worry about that.
Preheat oven to 410°F (210°C).
Roll out puff pastry as thinly as possible. Then put on a baking sheet in the fridge for about one hour, so that if it needs to shrink, it happens in the fridge instead of the oven.
It is very difficult to make a regular rectangle (see photo) but don't worry about that.
Preheat oven to 410°F (210°C).
Stage 2 - 30 min.
Put a sheet of cooking parchment onto pastry and place a cooling rack on top. We do that to stop puff pastry swelling too much during cooking, essential for millefeuilles.
Put in the oven for about 30 minutes, but remove paper and rack after 20 minutes to allow pastry to brown.
Put in the oven for about 30 minutes, but remove paper and rack after 20 minutes to allow pastry to brown.
Stage 3 - 15 min.
When pastry is cooked, remove from the oven, allow to cool a little and put on a rack to finish cooling.
Stage 4 - 5 min.
With a bread knife or steak knife, trim the edges of puff pastry to get a regular rectangle (you can use a ruler to help with this).
Stage 5 - 3 min.
Cut the rectangle into three. (use the first piece as a template to cut the others to the same size)
Look at the three parts to determinate the best looking, that means flat, regular and brown. This will be the top of your millefeuille.
Look at the three parts to determinate the best looking, that means flat, regular and brown. This will be the top of your millefeuille.
Stage 6 - 1 min.
Make 450 g Chantilly cream and fold it gently into crème pâtissière, with a maryse by turning with the bowl tipped at an angle.
Stage 7
You will get a delicious vanilla cream, light and perfumed.
Stage 8 - 3 min.
On the serving plate (quite impossible to move a millefeuille when finished without catastrophe), put the least pretty piece of pastry.
Stage 9 - 5 min.
With a forcing bag full of cream, pipe small balls or rosettes of cream...
Stage 10
... over the whole surface.
Stage 11 - 2 min.
Then gently add the second piece of puff pastry.
Stage 12 - 5 min.
Cover with more piped balls of cream.
Stage 13 - 10 min.
Mix 1 tablespoon water with 4 tablespoons icing sugar to make a glacé icing, and spread over top of last (and best) piece of puff pastry.
You can also add trails of melted chocolate, but it's not easy to do well.
If you want to be sure of quick success, just sprinkle top with icing sugar.
You can also add trails of melted chocolate, but it's not easy to do well.
If you want to be sure of quick success, just sprinkle top with icing sugar.
Stage 14 - 3 min.
And finally, place the last puff pastry piece on top.
Your millefeuille is ready to serve.
Your millefeuille is ready to serve.
Remarks
Millefeuilles can be made in an infinite variety of shapes and flavours, but keeping to this basic principle: 2 layers of something soft between 3 layers of something crispy. Just by keeping puff pastry and replacing vanilla cream with a layer of raspberries or strawberries and a lime cream, it's extraordinary.
Be careful!: You can put your millefeuille in the fridge to wait, but not too long: 4-5 hours maximum, never more, never overnight! Because eventually the cream will soak into the pastry, and you will get that horrible limp thing that bad bakers try to pass off as millefeuille.
Be careful!: You can put your millefeuille in the fridge to wait, but not too long: 4-5 hours maximum, never more, never overnight! Because eventually the cream will soak into the pastry, and you will get that horrible limp thing that bad bakers try to pass off as millefeuille.
Keeping: Several hours in the fridge, covered by a plastic film.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 890 RDI=340 % | 4,950 RDI=470 % | 3,920 RDI=590 % | 9,180 RDI=460 % | 38,440 RDI: 460 % |
| Per 100 g | 40 RDI=10 % | 200 RDI=20 % | 160 RDI=20 % | 380 RDI=20 % | 1,580 RDI: 20 % |
| Per person | 60 RDI=20 % | 330 RDI=30 % | 260 RDI=40 % | 610 RDI=30 % | 2,560 RDI: 30 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 15 people : 10.45 €
- Per person : 0.70 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée)
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Cochelin d'Evreux, Chicken pie, Sicilian Epiphany Pie, Pecan fruit rolls , New Zealand pies, ... See them all 72
Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: St Tropez tart, Paris-Brest, Diplomat cream, Yvetot Douillons, Pear and lime meringue pie, ... See them all 19
Chantilly cream
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Viennese chocolate cups, Rice pudding with chestnuts and poached pears, Ice-cream Vacherin, Saint Honoré cake, Quick Strawberry Millefeuille, ... See them all 30
Icing sugar
Like these other recipes: Rich hazelnut buttercream, Finger biscuits, How to make marzipan decorations, Nanou's chocolate cake, Walnut short bread, ... See them all 61
Other recipes you may also like
Warm apple feuillantines
It's a rather long recipe but which never fails to impress, perfect for a special dinner party. It's made up of 3 circles: one almond "tuile", 2 of caramelized brik sheets, with a caramelized apple layer between each, whipped cream on top, and custard all around. Everything, except whipped cream,...May 28th 2012329 K5 3 hours 9 min.
European glass
A little dessert that's rather long to make, but which will always impress your guests. Layered in a glass: a jellied red fruit coulis, a layer of pineapple charlotte cream, a layer of kiwi coulis, topped with a peeled clementine segment. It's "european" because it resembles the italian flag, and in...August 15th 2010235 K5 2 hours 30 min.
Rolls of fish in smoked ham
Pieces of white fish rolled in thinly sliced smoked ham. These rolls are cooked in a little olive oil and served with French beans. The pairing of smoked ham with fish might seem a little strange, but in fact these flavours marry well.February 21th 2011316 K4.9 55 min.
Salmon and spinach quiche
This quiche recipe uses a traditional filling mixture, but adds slices of smoked salmon and blanched spinach.April 17th 2022414 K 14 1 hour 15 min.
Quail egg canapés
This starter is a small canapé consiting of a toasted and buttered bread slice covered with a slice of smoked ham topped with a fried quail egg.February 21th 2011336 K5 55 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-07-06)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe (as 5 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.