French Chestnut Mille-Feuille

Name: French Chestnut Mille-Feuille
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Ingredients: 500 g candied chestnuts; 250 ml heavy cream; 45 g powdered sugar (add more if desired); 250 g flour (for puff pastry); 250 g unsalted butter (for puff pastry); 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp lemon juice; 125 ml water (add more if desired); 375 ml fresh milk (for rum custard); 4 egg yolks; 60 g granulated sugar (for rum custard); 3 tbsp flour (for rum custard); 2 tbsp dark rum (add more if desired)

A dessert featuring three layers of puff pastry filled with French candied chestnuts, served with cream.

1h 35m

Easy

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Ingredients

candied chestnuts 500 g

heavy cream 250 ml

powdered sugar (add more if desired) 45 g

flour (for puff pastry) 250 g

unsalted butter (for puff pastry) 250 g

salt 1 tsp

lemon juice 1 tsp

water (add more if desired) 125 ml

fresh milk (for rum custard) 375 ml

egg yolks 4

granulated sugar (for rum custard) 60 g

flour (for rum custard) 3 tbsp

dark rum (add more if desired) 2 tbsp

Instructions

Prepare puff pastry dough and rum custard

Make puff pastry dough, wrap it and freeze. Heat fresh milk until just boiling; beat egg yolks and granulated sugar for 2–3 minutes until pale and thick, add flour and continue stirring. Gradually add the hot milk while stirring. Pour the custard mixture into a pot and cook over low heat until thickened, then reduce to low heat after boiling and continue stirring for about 2 minutes until smooth. Remove from heat to cool, add dark rum, pour into a bowl and freeze for at least 1 hour.

Roll out and bake

Preheat oven to 200°C. Sprinkle ice water on the baking tray, roll the frozen puff pastry dough into a rectangle about 3 mm thick. Place on the baking tray and freeze for 15 minutes. Prick small holes in the pastry with a fork, line with parchment paper and place on a wire rack to bake for 15–20 minutes until light golden. Flip and bake for another 10+ minutes until both sides are golden. Trim the edges while hot, cut into 3 rectangular pieces, and set aside to cool.

Assemble and decorate

Crush the candied chestnuts by hand. Whip the heavy cream in a chilled bowl until thick. Mix the whipped cream into the rum custard until well combined. Place one puff pastry rectangle on a piece of stiff paper, spread half of the pastry cream evenly on top with a wide spatula, then scatter the crushed candied chestnuts over it. Cover with another puff pastry rectangle, spread the remaining cream and press more candied chestnuts on top. Place the last puff pastry rectangle on top and press lightly to adhere, then sift powdered sugar over the surface. Stick pastry scraps thinly along the four side edges.