A Dessert for Mother's Day, or Any Day

SCRAPS #9: a foolproof mille-feuille with vanilla strawberry jam

Two weeks of being MIA, and I’m back to share my favorite recipe I developed all spring. I’m so excited for you to make this!!!

My plan was to make a delicious, foolproof dessert recipe for Mother’s Day, a simple, approachable recipe that would be a success for anyone, even for someone that hasn’t baked anything in their life.

I laugh at this looking back, but my initial idea was to create a soft and light Pavlova roll, which, I don’t know if you’ve ever made a Pavlova before, but they’re not the most foolproof dessert one can make. It’s such a fussy dessert, so often a major fail for a first time baker, and that’s not what you want for Mother’s Day.

After two weeks of testing, I decided to postpone sharing my Pavlova recipe, and share this *actual* foolproof recipe instead: a homemade mille-feuille paired with a strawberry vanilla sauce, a flaky, creamy, vibrant dessert to celebrate the special women in your life. I know the name might sound intimidating, but I promise you, this version is very easy to make.

To be fair, this is not your classic mille-feuille, we’re definitely not making puff pastry at home. We’ll be using store-bough phyllo pastry, smeared in butter and sugar, baked until golden and crisp, to replicate all the layers in a classic mille-feuille. Sandwich a dollop of floral, orange-blossomy whipped cream in between delicate layers of crisp phyllo, and top it all off with a jammy, strawberry vanilla sauce.

RECIPE

Servings: 5 to 6

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

PASTRY

• 0.5 lb (225 g) store-bought phyllo pastry, thawed overnight in the fridge

• 1 1/2 sticks (170 g) butter, melted, plus more as needed

• Granulated sugar

FILLING

• 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese 

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 2 teaspoons orange blossom or rose water

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

STRAWBERRY VANILLA SAUCE

• 350 g (12 oz) fresh or frozen strawberries 

• 1/2 vanilla pod, beans scraped or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

• 1/4 cup water, plus more as needed

• 2 tablespoons sugar, plus more as needed

SUBSTITUTES FOR

• butter: vegan butter, any neutral oil (grape seed, avocado, etc.), extra-virgin olive oil (you will be able to taste this one post-baking);

• cream cheese: vegan cream cheese or silken tofu (you will need to adjust the sweetness level);

• heavy cream: full-fat coconut cream;

• orange blossom or rose water: vanilla extract;

• strawberries: raspberries, blueberries, or any other fruit of choice.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. For the sauce, combine the strawberries, vanilla, water, and sugar in a saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat to medium low, and cook the sauce until it reaches the consistency of a loose jam, for 8 to 10 minutes. Set it aside to cool, then store it in a jar, in the fridge. This can be made a week ahead of serving.

2. Heat the oven to 350°F or 175°C. Line a large baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper.

3. Run a clean kitchen towel under water and squeeze out the excess.

4. Pull out a thin phyllo sheet and place it on your work surface. Cover the remaining stack of phyllo with the damp towel, this will prevent the pastry from drying out.

5. For the pastry:

   • lightly butter the phyllo sheet using a brush (or your hands) and sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of sugar on top;

   • stack a new phyllo sheet over of the buttered one and press them together;

   • brush with melted butter and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar;

   • repeat the previous two steps with one last pastry sheet.

6. Now that you have a stack of three pastry sheets glued together with butter and sugar, it’s time to cut them. Divide the sheet into smaller rectangles or squares, free-handing it using a knife, or into 10 cm diameter circles, using a cookie cutter. If any, arrange the cutouts (and pastry scraps) on the baking sheet, leaving a 1 cm space between each.

7. Repeat steps 4, 5, and 6, until you have used all the phyllo pastry.

8. Bake the pastry cutouts and pastry scraps for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown and crispy, checking on them after 5 minutes. They can burn very easily, so always keep an eye on them. Our ovens are different, mine might take 10 minutes to brown them, yours might need 7.

9. Pull them out and let them rest on a cooling rack. Bake the remaining cutouts and scraps. I like to serve the scraps on the side, they’re usually gone in 5 minutes. The pastry can be prepared up to a week ahead of serving, simply bake it, and store it in an air-tight container or ziplock bag, in a cool, dry place.

10. For the filling, combine sugar, cream cheese, and orange blossom water in a mixing bowl. Mix until the cream cheese looks fluffy and most of the sugar has dissolved. Pour in the heavy cream and whip to stiff peaks. This can be done by hand, or using an electric mixer. The filling can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, stored in the fridge.

11. To assemble the dessert:

    • layer 3 to 4 pieces of baked phyllo on the serving dish;

    • add a dollop of the filling on top;

    • top the filling with 3 to 4 pieces of baked phyllo;

    • pour the strawberry vanilla sauce on top.

Click here for the video