This delicious recipe is a variation on the Napoleon Slice or as they call it n France Mille-feuille which means a thousand layers in English. If you make it with three layers of puff pastry, then it will feel like a million layers fresh flaky and decadent. You can make your own puff pastry and here is a good recipe Easy Puff Pastry but if you are not into making pastry then the shop bought sheets of puff pastry will work just fine. This makes a beautiful brunch treat or a delicious desert. You can also make this with confectioners’ cream or custard. I choose fresh cream for mine because well I love it! This is best eaten on the day you make it, or the fresh cream version will stay fresh for 24 hours in the fridge.
Recipe
Makes 4 pastries
- 2, 12×12 sheets of puff pastry whether you buy of make it
- Fresh thinly sliced strawberries
- Fresh whipping cream
Frosting
- Icing sugar, water and cocoa (how much you need will depend on how many pastries you are making.
- Raspberries and a sprig of mint to garnish
Method
- Heat the oven to 400F. Place the pastry sheets on a baking sheet and prick the sheets all over with a fork. This will prevent the pastry from rising too much. Bake for 10 minutes then turn over carefully. Cook for a further 15 mins or so until golden brown.
- Allow the pastry to cool completely on a wire rack. Trim the edges carefully with a serrated bread knife. Do not saw through it move the knife very gently or you risk breaking the sheet. Now slice the pastry into even sized slices you will get 6 slices per sheet.
- Make your top layer and allow to set. Add the water to the icing sugar until you have a nice smooth not too runny but not too stiff frosting. Spoon some white frosting onto the top layer and spread evenly. Add a large spoon of cocoa to the remaining frosting and put into a piping bag with a plain piping tip (the ones you use for writing or straight lines). Run lines of the chocolate piping across the pastry slice horizontally. Now take a toothpick and run 3 vertical lines in one direction then back in the other direction. This will create the zig zag frosting and chocolate pattern. If you do not want to use frosting, you can wait until you build the pastry then put two straws across the pasty and dust with sugar. You can see both versions in my pictures. You could also add more chopped strawberries to the top and pipe some fresh cream florets for decoration.
- Now you can build your pastry. Place the first layer and add a layer of fresh cream and a layer of the sliced strawberries, add second layer of pastry and do the same. Now add your pre-decorated top slice. You can add a raspberry to the top for garnish. Serve with some sliced strawberries and to make it look pretty a sprig of mint.
Hint: You can also vary this recipe using mandarin oranges adding a little orange zest to the cream and a tiny dash of orange flavoring. I am not a big fan of artificial flavoring but if you use it sparingly it works. Use mandarin orange slices between the slices of pastry. You can then make your frosting with orange juice instead of water and decorate with mandarin oranges. Ensure your oranges are dry or you could get a big of a soggy pastry. In fact, once you figure out the pastry you can make almost any combination with fresh fruit or jelly.
