Mille-Feuille with Creme

You will need to roll out a sheet of puff pastry to 14"x10" and approximately 1/8" thick.

Use a ruler as a straight edge and have a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough in half so you have two pieces 14" long and 5" wide. Then mark off 1 1/2" strips across the top. It is important that the pieces are of equal size as you will be stacking them three high. You should have eighteen 1 1/2"x5" pieces of puff pastry.

Use a spatula to transfer each piece to a parchment covered baking sheet. Leave a 1/2" space between each piece.

Once you have all the pieces placed on the baking sheet, cover the pieces with a second piece of parchment paper.

Next, place a second baking sheet on top of the pieces of puff pastry. This acts as a weight to keep them from puffing up. The pieces will still be very flakey and tender, but the layers will just be more compact.

Place the pan in a preheated 375° oven for Convection and 400° for Standard Bake. These should bake to a rich golden brown in about 15 minutes. You can check by gently lifting a bit of the parchment, but don't remove the top baking sheet until they are done.

Once removed from the oven allow the pieces to cool. Even though you have cut them all the same size, there will be some slight differences. What I do is to find three pieces that are very similar and stack them, and those three will form each Mille-Fleuille.

Pour the milk and the sugar into a sauce pan. Heat until it starts to simmer and the sugar has dissolved. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, cornstarch and cream until the mixture is smooth and there are not lumps of cornstarch.

Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, stirring all the time. Be sure you skim the sides and the bottom of the pan while stirring to avoid any scorch spots. The mixture will start to thicken and become a bit lumpy. Don't worry, as it continues to cook and you continue to stir it will smooth out. After the mixture has smoothed, continue to stir and cook for one more minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in the Vanilla extract and the butter. Pour the custard into a bowl and cover with a piece of parchment or plastic wrap. This will keep the top layer from forming a crust. Allow to cool completely before using. This may be made a day or two in advance. NOTE: If for some reason there are a few lumps when you are finished cooking, pour the hot custard through a mesh strainer.

Sift the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl, add the cream, and whisk until it is smooth and creamy. It should be "spreadable" using a small spatula. If it appears to be too thin, add a small spoon of powdered sugar, if too thick add a teaspoon more of cream. Once it is smooth, and the proper consistency, stir in the vanilla extract.

Scoop out a couple of tablespoons of the glaze to a separate small bowl and add the Rosewater and the drop of red food coloring. Stir to combine.

Take the 6 top pieces of the puff pastry, and frost each with the plain glaze. Set them aside and allow the glaze to set for about 5 minutes. It will still be very soft, but not drip over the sides

Once the glaze gets to this point, pipe parallel lines of the pink Rosewater glaze, a bit less than 1/2 inch apart horizontally across the surface of the glazed pieces of pastry. Then, lightly drag a skewer, toothpick or the tip of a small knife through the pink lines in alternating direction. First up, then down and so on until you have created a chevron pattern across the entire top. Allow this to dry at least 20 minutes before handling, as you don't want the pattern to run or smudge.

Pipe dollops of the vanilla custard across the entire surface of the bottom piece of puff pastry, top with the second layer and repeat the process. Cover the second layer with the top glazed section of the pastry. Very gently place these on a platter, or individual dishes. Once assembled, the Mille-Fleuille should be served within 12 hours. After that time the custard will start to soften the puff pastry, and they will not be as crisp.