Ingredients:
(serves four to six)
Egg yolk: Two
Caster sugar and corn flour: 50 gm each
Milk: 300 ml
For filling:
Frozen puff pastry, thawed: 225 gm
Whipping cream: 150ml
Plain coveting chocolate: 450 gm
Icing sugar to finish: 15 ml
Walnut: 50 gm
Red cherry: 250 gm
Method:
Mix the egg yolk and sugar corn flour. Stir well in a bowl. Scald the milk in heavy pan and pour it gradually in the egg yolk mixture. Keep stirring. Now put back this mixture into the rinsed out pan and bring slowly to boil, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Simmer until thick and then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Meanwhile, roll out the pastry very thinly on a floured surface, used to cover wetted large baking sheet. Prick all over the pastry with the prongs of fork and the bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and very carefully ease the pastry away from the baking sheet. Turn the pastry and put it back in the oven and bake for another five minutes till it turns golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and leave it to cool.
Whip the cream until it just holds its shape. Next, add the cold pastry cream slowly and continue whipping until thick and smooth.
Cut 30 small plain covering chocolate in half for topping and set aside. Mash the remaining plain covering chocolate, walnuts roughly, then fold them into the cream mixture. Cut the pastry length wise into three strips and cut neat the edges.
Place one strip on a serving plate then spread with half the red cherry and cream mixture. Place another strip of pastry in top spread with the remaining mixture and cover with the remaining pastries.
Sift the icing sugar evenly over the pastry. Then arrange the halved chocolate along the top of the mille fille just before serving.
Chef Unnikrishnanhas been associated with Hotel Fortune Pandiyan, Madurai, for the past 17 years and is currently designated as CDP in Bakery & Confectionary.
