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IMPRESS YOUR GUESTS WITH THESE DAZZLING SWEET TREATS

STRAWBERRY & CUSTARD MILLE-FEUILLE

SERVES 12. PREP 40MINS. COOK 1HR 25MINS

INGREDIENTS

• 410ml (1⅔ cup) milk

• 750ml (3 cups) thickened cream

• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste

• 80g caster sugar

• 60g cornflour

• 2 egg yolks

• 50g unsalted butter, chopped

• 3 sheets frozen puff pastry, just thawed

• 150g (1 cup) pure icing sugar

• 500g fresh strawberries, hulled, halved

• 155g (½ cup) raspberry jam, warmed, strained

METHOD

1 Bring 250ml (1 cup) milk, 250ml (1 cup) cream and 2 tsp vanilla to the boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Whisk the sugar, cornflour, yolks and remaining milk in a heatproof bowl until pale and creamy. Slowly pour hot milk mixture into yolk mixture, whisking constantly, until smooth. Return to pan. Whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter. Transfer to a bowl. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Chill custard in fridge for 3 hours or overnight.

2 Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan forced. Place 1 pastry sheet on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover with another sheet of baking paper. Top with another baking tray. Weigh down with a heavy baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until pastry is golden and crisp. Lift off dish and tray. Set aside to cool completely. Use a sharp knife to trim the pastry to a 20 x 22cm rectangle. Repeat with the remaining pastry.

3 Use electric beaters to beat remaining cream, vanilla and 80g (½ cup) icing sugar in a bowl until firm peaks form. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with plain nozzle. 4 In a separate bowl, use clean electric beaters, to beat custard for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Spoon custard into a separate piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Combine remaining icing sugar and 2 tsp water in a bowl. Stir until smooth. Spoon into a sealable bag. Seal.

5 To assemble, pipe a little cream mixture in the centre of a serving plate. Top with a pastry sheet. Place strawberries upright, cutside facing out, around the edge of pastry sheet, then remaining strawberries, cut-side down, over the rest of the base. Use a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle to pipe the cream mixture over top, filling gaps. Top with a pastry sheet. Use a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle to pipe peaks of custard over the pastry. Top with the final pastry sheet. Spread jam over the top. Snip 1 corner from the bag of icing. Pipe lines across the jam. Use a toothpick to drag icing through jam, at intervals lengthways and in alternate directions, to create a feathered pattern. Slice and serve.