If there was one recipe in this book that I wrestled with for a long time it was this one! I knew it was going to be difficult, but even I was surprised when my attempts were more ‘brick-like’ than delicate leaves of millefeuille pastry. After weeks of trying I finally found a recipe that worked – more by chance than by any scientific process. It is not made in the same way as traditional puff pastry so the process may seem a little strange but it is the best method I have found for thin leaves of pastry and I’m delighted to be able to share it with you here!
2 large baking sheets, greased and lined
a piping bag fitted, with a large star nozzle/tip
Makes 8 slices (about 400 g/14 oz puff pastry dough)
Cut half of the butter into small cubes and mix into the flour using a free-standing mixer or whisk. Add 80–100 ml/¼–⅓ cup cold water, together with the xanthan gum, orange juice and almond extract. You may not need all the water so add gradually. Mix until you have a soft (but not sticky) dough.
Coarsely grate the remaining butter and keep it chilled until required. Lay a large piece of baking parchment on a clean work surface and dust liberally with flour. Using a flour-dusted rolling pin, roll out the pastry to a 50 x 18-cm/20 x 7-in rectangle. Sprinkle half of the grated butter over the pastry and dust liberally with flour. Fold one of the short ends of the pastry up into the middle of the pastry at third intervals. Next take the other thin end of the pastry and fold that down over the already folded pastry so that your pastry is folded into about a third of the size that it was originally and you have a 20 x 18-cm/8 x 7-in rectangle. Dust the surface and rolling pin with more flour, turn the pastry over and roll out into a 50 x 18-cm/20 x 7-in rectangle again, with the folds in the same direction as they were originally rolled (and not rotated as you would with traditional puff pastry). Sprinkle the rolled out pastry with the remaining grated butter, dust again with flour and repeat the folding steps. Dust the surface and rolling pin again and repeat the rolling out stages twice more (without adding any butter but still dusting with flour), each time ensuring that the folds and the direction you are rolling out are the same. This helps to ensure that the layers rise. For best results, use the pastry straightaway.
Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F) Gas 4. Trim any rough edges and then cut out 16 rectangles, each about 8 x 5 cm/3¼ x 2 in and 2.5–5 mm/1⁄8–¼ in thickness. It is important to use a downward cutting motion with the knife rather than dragging it through the pastry as this may compress the pastry leaves, resulting in less rising of the pastry. Transfer to the baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 10–15 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and risen. Let cool on a wire rack. Spread 8 of the slices with a few spoonfuls of preserve. Spoon the cream into the piping bag and pipe large stars on top of the cream. Dust with icing/confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately or refrigerate until needed. These slices are best eaten on the day they are made as they contain fresh cream.