The technique that will change the way you look at puff pastry forever

Yasmin Newman shows you how you can caramelise puff pastry at home. It's dead simple.

Matcha mille-feuille with caramelised puff pastry and pandan sponge. Source: Yasmin Newman

I first came across caramelised puff pastry five years ago at Pierre Hermé in Paris. I ordered the pastry god’s signature millefeuille (dubbed the ‘2000 Feuilles’) and quite literally went weak at the knees. It was a transcendent food moment.

Hermé builds in flavour from every angle – praline (caramelised nut paste) is folded into a buttercream and pastry cream, as well as a layer of melted chocolate and shatteringly crisp crêpe dentelle. But it was the inclusion of caramelised puff pastry that beguiled me and I have since learned that it's a ludicrously easy way to add show-stopping finesse to your own millefeuilles.

What

The notion is simple: a thin layer of sugar scattered over puff pastry caramelises as it bakes, leaving a thin, crisp, sweet layer on top (think crème brûlée).

But it was the inclusion of caramelised puff pastry that beguiled me and I have since learned that it's a ludicrously easy way to add show-stopping finesse to your own millefeuilles.

Other French pastries, such as the palmier and its lesser-known cousin arlette, similarly incorporate sugar (scattered between layers, as well as on top) for an extra-sweet, crunchy finish.

How

Hermé starts by making a reverse puff pastry (butter surrounds the dough instead of dough around butter), but you can get impressive results from the pre-made stuff. In fact, I’ve found caramelising store-bought puff improves it to a point almost unrecognisable from its packet beginnings.

Caramelising can be as simple as a scattering your top with sugar just before baking your pastry, but the best results come from going the extra mile.

There are different roads to the same end, but in all my experiments, I’ve found this Hermé-inspired approach on the money.

• Dust both sides of the puff in caster sugar – a base coating ensures an extra-crisp, flaky finish throughout.

• Prick the pastry with a fork – allowing the air to escape prevents bubbles and uneven layers.

• Carefully cut the pastry into pieces with a sharp knife – I prefer to do it now rather than at the end (as sometimes called for) as the pastry can break and shatter.

• Par-cook in a 180˚C oven for 15 minutes – the puff layers rise, separate and cook slightly, producing crisper, more marked layers.

• Weigh down with a second oven tray and bake for a further 25 minutes – this ensures dead-flat pastry that’s cooked throughout instead of just the top and bottom. You’ll notice how golden brown and distinct each layer is.

• Remove the second pan, evenly scatter the top with icing sugar, then crank up the oven to 200˚C and bake for 2-3 minutes – this is your shiny brûlée finish. The trick is to never take your eye off it; the sugar burns almost instantaneously.

Try

At Sydney patisserie-slash-florist, Petal Met Sugar, the filling and flourishes change each season. “Think a dark chocolate Callebaut crème pâtissière with candied kumquat, or a matcha crème pâtissière with candied lemon and pandan microwave sponge,” says pastry chef Elsa Li.

Caramelised puff pastry, as spotted in Paris’ best patisseries

The 2000 Feuilles’ sister creation from Pierre Hermé, Millefeuille Infiniment Vanille (Infinitely Vanilla), likewise stars caramelised puff pastry.

Without having tried it, I’d still wager it’s sheer perfection.

In this column, Dessert Date, I scour bakeries, patisseries and dessert joints from around the world for the hottest sweet trends, up-and-coming ingredients and game-changing pastry techniques. 

Don’t miss the next Dessert Date. Keep in touch with me via Facebook @Yasmin Newman or Instagram @yasmin_newman.