Millefoglie cake with custard

Although millefoglie cake is originally from France (mille-feuille its name), this dessert has been adopted in Italian cuisine for many years.
3 layers of puff pastry alternated with 2 layers of custard cream, although we can make it in different variations: with ricotta and chocolate cream, with whipped cream, or with jam.

In this version I used black cherries in syrup but you can substitute them with other seasonal fruit.

Ingredients for 3 persons
1 rectangular puff pastry roll
1 whole egg
300 ml fresh whole milk
2  and 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
130 g sugar
one organic lemon (grated)
1 pinch of vanilla powder
1 pinch salt
qb black cherries in syrup (or fresh fruit in season)
qb powdered sugar

Time: 30 minutes + time to rest

Let’s cook!

Open the puff pastry, unroll it on a surface, and cut it  into 10 rectangles, without removing it from its paper. Prick the surface and sprinkle with sugar. Cover it with another sheet of parchment paper (it will avoid the puff pastry to rise) and bake at 200 degrees C for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, prepare the custard.
In a steel saucepan, pour the sugar, flour, egg and salt. Mix the ingredients well with a whisk until you have a delicate, lump-free cream. 
Then add the cold milk and the vanilla.

Over medium-low heat, heat the cream to a gentle boil, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon to prevent it from sticking to the bottom and burning. Once it reaches a boil, cook the cream for another 5 minutes, stirring and letting it thicken. When is ready, remove the saucepan from the stove and add the grated lemon zest, mixing well in the cream. Transfer the cream to a ceramic container. Let it cool in the fridge, with some plastic foil completely in contact with the surface of the cream.

Prepare the millefoglie (you can make it with 2 or 3 layers), alternating the puff pastry with the cream. Dust the last layer only with powdered sugar and decorate with fresh fruit or black cherries in syrup.

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