Butter Vanilla Bean*
Vanilla Extract
Powdered Sugar
Whipping Cream
Milk
Corn Starch
Granulated Sugar
Eggs
Frozen Puff Pasty
Cocoa Powder

* = Optional but Nice to Have! You can have 2 tablespoons of vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract in the pastry cream (if you don't have a bean.)

STEP 1: The first step, after you have gathered all of your food items to create Mille Feuille is to scoop the seeds from the vanilla pod by running a knife down it. Next, add the milk which you should have by now and vanilla seeds to a medium pot and place over medium-high heat. Give the seed-milk mixture a whisk to break the clusters of seeds up and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and set aside.

STEP 2: Whisk the sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl then add the egg yolks and whisk until smooth and a light yellow color.

STEP 3: Temper the mixture by drizzling in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk while whisking. Whisk in the remaining milk then strain back into your pot and place over medium heat.

STEP 4: Whisk over heat until thickened and bubbling then remove from heat and mix in the butter. Transfer to a bowl and press plastic wrap against the surface. Chill for about two hours.

STEP 5: We're Halfway There! Set oven to 400F. Thaw your pastry dough then roll on a lightly floured surface to about 1/16 an inch. Cut into rectangles. I’m making 2×4 inch individual pastries but you can make one or two larger mille feuilles which can be cut after assembly. The directions are the same. Just increase the size of the pastry you cut.

STEP 6: Transfer the rectangles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet then cover with another sheet of paper and a heavy baking tray or a baking sheet. You can weight the top down with pastry weights if it’s a super-light tray, we don’t want the pastry to puff up much in the oven.

Bake for about 11 minutes at 400F rotating the pan halfway through. You’ll need to bake a few batches; either stage the cutting out or cut everything at once and have it ready to go into the oven when the first batch comes out. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. You can use a sharp knife to square the edges off after baking for a perfect edge.

STEP 7: When I cook Mille Feuille in B Apartments in Mirage, I like to lighten the pastry cream with whipped cream. Realistically, you can skip this step. Whip the cold cream and sugar to almost stiff peaks. Whisk up your pastry cream to break it up then mix in about 1/2 cup of the whipped cream. Fold the remaining whipped cream in then return to the fridge while you make the glaze.

STEP 8: To make the glaze add the powdered sugar to a bowl then add the vanilla and a few tablespoons of milk. Whisk together then add more milk as needed until you get a thick, spreadable consistency.

Transfer about 1/3 cup of the glaze to another bowl then whisk in the cocoa powder and add milk as needed until you get a smooth consistency similar to the vanilla batch. Transfer each batch to a piping bag. You can use a smaller round tip for the chocolate or just snip the tip off.

STEP 9: Almost Done! Spread the vanilla icing onto the tops, preferably just to the edge but not oozing over. Pipe chocolate stripes across the surface then use a skewer or toothpick to rake across the chocolate stripes in alternating directions to create a chevron pattern.

STEP 10: Transfer the pastry cream to a piping bag fitted with a larger round tip like a 1A or 803 and pipe dollops onto one of the pastry pieces. Place a second pastry piece on top then repeat the process and place one of the iced pastry pieces on top.

You are done your cake after you complete STEP 10! Now for some common Mille Feulle Questions!

How do you cut the cake?
It is advised to chill a classic three-layered Mille Feuille cake for a few hours or freeze it for 20 to 30 minutes and then cut it with a serrated knife. This one-layered dessert is easily cut right after making it with the same type of knife without squashing the dessert.
Is there a difference between Mille Feuille and Napoleon? If there is, what is it?
Mille-feuille is very similar to the Italian dessert, Napoleon. The main difference between the two desserts is that a Napoleon is layered with almond paste instead of cream. A traditional mille-feuille will consist of three layers of puff pastry alternated with two layers of pastry cream.

Where is Mille Feuille from?
France.