Recipes : Strawberry basil mille feuille

For this hot season, why don’t we treat ourself a cold, easy and yummy dessert…for sure everyone will love it… Mille feuille means thousand leafs in French if I’m not wrong (correct me if I’m wrong) and sometimes people just call this napoleon. Oops..I remember one of my mom’s fav napoleon in Chinatown Sydney, it is made by Chinese Emperor Garden Cakes and Bakery. My mom always dream to go there and eat that again hahaha… cause their napoleon is just unique, different and I don’t know how to do it..(so sorry mom…)

It’s a recipe from Chef Gordon Ramsay, no need oven at all yeay :D and I did a lil bit twist on it…hope you like it hehe…

What you need :

• whipped cream
• filo pastry, in sheets
• Icing sugar 
• butter (prefer clarified butter)
• mixed summer berries e.g. raspberries, blueberries, redcurrants, wild strawberries
• vanilla pod/ vanilla essence
• fresh basil
• egg white

What you need to do:

1. To make the filling, tip the cream into a bowl with 3 tbsp of sugar, and the vanilla seeds. Lightly whisk until the cream just hold its shape. Finally shred the basil, then fold through the cream and lastly chill until needed

2. For the mille feuille, divide the pastry into three large sheets. Brush each one with egg white, lay the sheets on top of each other pressing together gently. Dust both sides with icing sugar and pat off the excess. Using a pastry cutter or chef’s ring cut the pastry into rounds. Fry the discs in clarified butter for 2 -3 minutes each side until they are brown and crispy, remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper

3. Cut the berries , here I only use strawberry…cut cut cut…

4. For assembly…place a little spoonful of the cream on the plate and place a pastry on top. Begin to create the layers by spreading more cream onto the first piece of pastry, scattering over a mixture of berries and another spoonful of cream. Top with another disc and repeat the process. Finish with the third disc, dust with icing sugar and garnish with any remaining fruit and voila….you did it…yummy yummy dessert…

For more details, watch this video for how to make the mille feuille hehe…(Remember I make a twist on this recipe which I combine two recipe become one – ahahha as usual I choose the easier way to do it hahaha… not time consuming and same super yummy hehe)

Tips from the chef :

The millefeuille can be assembled up to 2 hrs ahead and kept somewhere cool. You could also prepare the pastry rectangles, and cream mix the night before. However, don't add the basil to the cream until just before assembly, and keep the pastry well wrapped in cling film.

Do you know that…my cooking team make this mille feuille as our dessert on the blackboard challenge and all the jury (read: chefs) love it hehe…but they complain that they can’t taste the basil well haiz… (we make a square one at that time and using oven to make the pastry)

Got these pictures from Lynette’s facebook (the owner of Palate Sensation), thanks a lot hehe…cause seems like I forgot to take a shot for this dessert haizzz…