A chocoholic’s dream Hazelnut and chocolate mille feuille

ASLIGHTLY challenging recipe this week for those who want to impress at home. Mille feuille means “a thousand sheets” (or “leaves”) in French. It is a classic dessert made up of three layers of puff pastry with a cream filling. Here, I have a made a chocolate filling with hazelnuts – which is a chocoholic’s dream.

Ingredients: 4 servings

125ml double cream

125ml milk

25g egg yolks

10g sugar

60g dark chocolate

1 x gelatine sheet, softened in water Ready rolled puff pastry

Icing sugar

Hazelnuts, chopped

Ice cream (of your choice)

Method

Preheat oven Gas mark 7/ 220C/ fan 200C

To begin, bring the milk and cream to the boil in a medium sized pan. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale in a mixing bowl and pour over the boiling milk and cream mixture and whisk together. Melt the chocolate slightly in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water.

Return the milk and egg mixture to the pan and cook on a low heat, whisking continuously until the mixture begins to thicken. Strain through a fine sieve, add the softened gelatine sheet along with the melted chocolate.

Thoroughly whisk all this together and allow to cool then set in the fridge – around 2-3 hours.

For the puff pastry part you will need two baking trays similar in size. Line one tray with greaseproof paper.

If your pastry is ready rolled, sieve over a small amount of icing sugar and lay onto the baking tray so it fits to size. Next, cover with another sheet of greaseproof paper then place the other baking tray on top so the puff pastry is sandwiched between the trays. Cook this for around 12 minutes then check.

Continue to cook for five-minute intervals until the entire sheet is golden brown. Once cooked, allow to cool on a cooling rack.

When it comes to building the mille feuille, cut your pastry into even sizes approx 9cm x 3cm.

Whisk up the chocolate mix and place it into a piping bag.

Place a small dab of the chocolate onto the bottom of the plate to secure the first layer of pastry and then pipe on the chocolate, repeating the layers with a small amount of hazelnuts in between as you go.

Serve with your favourite ice cream.

Gary Townsend is head chef at One Devonshire Gardens by Hotel du Vin, Glasgow. See www.hotelduvin.com or phone 0141 378 0385 to book. Twitter @Chefgtownsend

Instagram- @chef.g.townsend

PHOTOGRAPH: ALAN DONALDSON