Nancy Zinmans Mille Feuille Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone sheet.
• Separate dough at the seams into 4 squares and place on prepared baking sheet. Score the dough all over with the tines of a fork to prevent it from rising too much when baking. Lightly sprinkle dough sheets with white granulated sugar.
• Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and 3 sheets of aluminum foil. Nest another baking sheet on top to apply some pressure to the dough while it bakes.
• Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes; remove top pan and foil and gently peel off the parchment paper. Return pan to oven and bake until pastry is beautifully browned, 10 to 15 minutes. (Optionally, you can bake about 7 minutes after uncovering, then flip sheets over and bake until brown on the other side, another 7 minutes.)
• Transfer to cooling rack and cool completely before cutting.
• Square the sheets by trimming uneven edges off sheets using a sharp serrated knife with light sawing motion to keep the pastry from breaking. Cut each rectangle crosswise into 3 equal smaller rectangles. Use 3 small rectangles per pastry.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1/3 of the puff pastry to measure approximately 12 inches by 18 inches. Gently lift the dough (it is easier if you drape it over a rolling pin when picking up) and lay it on a 12-by-18-inch baking sheet. Prick dough evenly with a fork. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until pastry is puffed and golden brown. Repeat procedure twice to make a total of three pastry sheets.
• When all the pastry sheets are cool, trim the edges with a serrated knife to form three equal rectangles. Reserve trimmings.
• Fold pastry cream with the whipped cream. Spread a thick layer over the bottom sheet. Place second pastry sheet over the cream mixture. Apply second layer of cream.
• Cover with top sheet of pastry. Dust the top with sifted powdered sugar. You may caramelize the sugar by heating a hot metal object such as a potato masher and pressing it over the sugar. Brush sides of the mille-feuilles with crumbled trimmings from the puff pastry sheets.