A thousand layers of crispy and delicate puff pasty with rich and velvety vanilla custard (Italian Crema pasticciera)
Here is the step-by-step, simple and traditional recipe to make one of my all-time favorite Italian desserts: Millefoglie cake made with two dangerously delicious layers of vanilla custard, sandwiched between light and crispy layers of puff pastry.
As the name "millefoglie" implies, this dessert is for sure one thousands layers of YUMM.
Take a look!
Originally from France, but just as popular in Italy, this puff pastry and vanilla custard dessert recipe is so simple to make and yet, super delicious and versatile.
When making millefoglie cake, the options are endless:
You can use my recipe for vanilla custard cream or your favorite. Think zabaione, mascarpone cream, chocolate custard ....
You can dress up this cake with berries or other fruit. In each layers or just on top!
You can top with more cream or whipped cream, a sprinkle of chopped almonds or hazelnuts. OR some simple powdered sugar like I did.
You can make one big rectangular cake, like I did. Or make it round or small, individual portion pastries (rectangular or square).
As I always say, let your imagination and taste guide you when making this delicious puff pastry cake!
You can use my recipe for vanilla custard cream or your favorite. Think zabaione, mascarpone cream, chocolate custard ....
You can dress up this cake with berries or other fruit. In each layers or just on top!
You can top with more cream or whipped cream, a sprinkle of chopped almonds or hazelnuts. OR some simple powdered sugar like I did.
You can make one big rectangular cake, like I did. Or make it round or small, individual portion pastries (rectangular or square).
As I always say, let your imagination and taste guide you when making this delicious puff pastry cake!
Here are some things to keep in mind when baking this dessert:
To make the puff pastry sheets:
To make this dessert I use pre-rolled, refrigerated store-bought puff pastry.
Mine came already pre-rolled (10 x15 inches rectangle) on a piece of parchment paper. All I have to do, is to unroll from the package into a baking sheet, and it's ready to be used.
Make sure to prick the puff pastry throughly with a fork.For this recipe we don't want the puff pastry to puff too much when baking. When poking the dough with a fork, we make little holes that will let the pastry "breath" when in the oven so it puffs up but doesn't rise too much.
If you like to make sure the puff pastry will grow more evenly when in the oven (and not too much), cover the puff pastry with another sheet of parchment paper and one more empty baking sheet to weight it down when baking.
Remember : if you like, sprinkle the puff pastry with sugar (as much or as little as you wish- or not at all) and bake in the preheated oven at 375 for about 20 to 25 minutes. I removed the empty baking sheet and parchment paper from the top of the pastry after 20 minutes, and baked uncovered for 5 more minutes until nice and golden on top.
Remember : if you like, sprinkle the puff pastry with sugar (as much or as little as you wish- or not at all) and bake in the preheated oven at 375 for about 20 to 25 minutes. I removed the empty baking sheet and parchment paper from the top of the pastry after 20 minutes, and baked uncovered for 5 more minutes until nice and golden on top.
For custard cream:
To make it a little creamier I added some whipped cream to the custard.To whip the whipping cream, make sure it's cold form the fridge when whipping. If you like (especially if summer and hot in the room) you can place in the refrigerator the bowl that you will use to whip the cream before using.
Also, make sure to refrigerate the cream after adding the whipping cream, so it harden a little and keep its shape better when piped.
This recipes will give enough cream to make two generous layers. If you have left over cream, you can always enjoy it all by itself or some fresh berries.
Ready to try this recipe too?!?
Other Italian dessert recipes you might like:
PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD:
How to Make Millefoglie with Crema Pasticciera - Italian Vanilla Custard and Puff Pastry Cake
Yield: 6 large, 12 small
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 25 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 45 M
A thousand layers of crispy and delicate puff pasty with rich and velvety vanilla custard (Italian Crema pasticciera)
Ingredients
- 1 puff pastry sheet (357gr) rolled out to 9x15 inches
- 2 cups ( 470 ml) whole milk, hot
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup (65 gr) sugar, plus about 2 tablespoons for the puff pastry .
- 1/4 cup (30 gr) corn starch (or all-purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup (300 ml) whipping cream
- powdered sugar to dust
Instructions
- For the pastry sheets: Unroll the prepared puff pastry onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Prick the puff pastry with a fork, all over to the edges. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and top with an empty baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven 375F for 20 minutes. Remove the baking sheet and paper from the top, and bake for 5 more minutes or until light golden on top. Let the pastry cool down.
- For the custard cream: warm up the milk until hot, but not boiling. You can warm up in the microwave or in a small pan on the stove. In a medium sauce pan, add the egg yolks, sugar and corn starch. Whisk well until light and fluffy. Add a little bit of the hot milk and whisk some more. Incorporate the rest of the milk, while whisking. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a slow boil, while stirring continuously. The cream will thicken so make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom. Add the vanilla extract, lower the flame when it starts to bubble and cook for one or two more minutes while stirring, until it reaches the desired thickness. Transfer the cream in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap. The plastic should touch the cream, so it won't create a "skin. Let it cool down to room temperature and refrigerate.
- Whip the whipping cream to stiff peaks. Fold in the cold custard cream, until smooth. Divide the cream into two piping bags and refrigerate for at least half hour or until ready to assemble the cake.
- To assemble: Cut the prepared pastry sheets into three equal parts (about 5x9 inches each). Cut a 1/4 inch opening from the end of the piping bags. Pipe half of the custard cream onto one of the puff pastry sheet (small dots or one layer). Top with the second puff pastry sheet and repeat with one more layer of custard and the last pastry sheet on top. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To serve, cut using a serrate knife into 6 big pastries (about 5 x1.5 inches each) or cut in half into 12 smaller pastries. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for this beautifully written recipe. It was wonderful to follow. I added a splash of rum to the custard and we loved it.
ReplyDelete