Rustic mille feuille with poached dried pears and mascarpone

When I came to work for Maggie in the early 1990s, this sweet trinity of fruit, cream and handmade puff pastry was a year-long constant only changing the fruit as the season shifted – figs, quinces, pears, apricots. In the in-between we used dried fruit – a staple of the Barossa Valley, bringing them back to plump life with soft spices and tangy syrups.

Rustic mille feuille with poached dried pears and mascarpone Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  4

• prep

  1 hour

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

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Ingredients

• 500 g mascarpone
• icing sugar, for dusting

Poached dried pears

• 150 g dried pear halves
• 300 ml boiling water
• ½ vanilla bean
• 1 piece orange or lemon peel
• 3 whole cardamom pods, smashed
• 50 g caster sugar
• 20 ml verjuice or orange juice

Yoghurt rough puff pastry

• 200 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 3 g fine sea salt
• 150 g unsalted butter, frozen
• 130 g full-fat yoghurt
• 20 g caster sugar, for dusting

Chilling time: 1 hour

Instructions

1. For the poached dried pears, place the dried pears in a heatproof bowl or container, then pour over the boiling water to cover. Swiftly cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a close-fitting lid and set aside at room temperature for at least 1 hour. You can do this step the night before.
2.  Meanwhile, for the rough puff pastry, place the flour and salt into a wide mixing bowl. Grate the frozen butter on the coarse side of a box grater into the bowl, teasing out the butter into the bowl as it accumulates inside the grater.
3. Rub the butter into the flour to evenly disperse the grated butter and break it into pieces half their original size. The flour will just be starting to take on a yellow hue. If the dough starts to feel warm and the butter is smearing, pop the bowl into the freezer for 15 minutes to chill it out before continuing.
4. Add the yoghurt and squeeze and press the dough together lightly but with intent. Place on lightly floured work surface and shape into a rough rectangle. Because the ingredients are super cold, dust the top with flour and begin to roll straight away into a larger rectangle approximately 30 cm x 15 cm. Push the rolling pin against the side of the dough to neaten up the cracked edges. The dough will look crumbly at the start, but the rolling and folding will cohere the dough as you go.
5. With the short side facing you, fold into thirds like a letter, using a bench scraper to help lift the dough if it's crumbly. Wrap loosely in plastic wrap and chill for 10 minutes. Repeat the rectangle roll, letter fold and 10 minutes rest another two times, then chill the dough for its final 10 minutes.
6. Heat an oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Drain the soaked pears and place them in a non-reactive saucepan with a close-fitting lid. Split the vanilla bean and add to the pan along with the citrus peel, cardamom, sugar and verjuice and give it a gentle toss. Cover with a piece of baking paper pressed onto the surface of the fruit, then cover with a lid (or tightly crimped foil). Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until they look soft and tender to the push of a spoon. Remove from the oven, then take the lid off but leave the paper on while they cool, to prevent the fruit from drying on top. Cool and keep in the syrup.
7. While the pears cooling, line 1 large heavy – based baking tray (about 40 cm x 30 cm) with baking paper. We are going to bake the puff under pressure, so you will need another heavy based baking tray that fits heavily and snugly on top. A lighter tray or cake tin half filled with baking beads can be substituted for the top sheet.
8. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the chilled puff into a rectangle 40 cm x 30 cm and 4 - 5mm thick. Shimmy the pastry onto the lined baking tray and rim to fit the flat area of the baking sheet - it shouldn't curve up at the sides. With the long edge facing you, cut lengthways into two even strips. With a fork, prick it deeply and enthusiastically all over. Place a second sheet of baking paper on top and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
9. When ready to bake the puff pastry, preheat an oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Remove the top paper from the pastry and sprinkle the puff liberally with the caster sugar. Replace the paper, then place the second heavy tray on top and slide the puff sandwich into the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the puff is starting to brown at the edges. Carefully remove the top tray and paper, reduce the oven temperature to 160°C and continue baking for another 25-35 minutes until the puff pastry is a fully realised brown colour. This means all the internal layers are beautifully crisp and brown and not pallid and chewy. The initial compression controls the puff from rising erratically at the start. Rotate the tray during baking if the strips look like they are colouring unevenly.
10. Cool the puff to lukewarm, then cut each strip into 6 even rectangular tiles. Set aside.
11. When ready to assemble, check the mascarpone consistency. If it is soft, lightly whip with a hand-whisk. If it is super firm, drizzle in a little milk to temper it. Scrape into a piping bag and snip the end (no nozzle needed). Cut the pear halves into quarters.
12. Place one piece of puff pastry on a plate and holding one end with your fingers, pipe a row of mascarpone over the top, then place four pear pieces on top. Place a second puff tile on top, more mascarpone and more pears. Drizzle a spoonful of the pear syrup over the pears to make the fruit glisten. Place the third and final puff tile on top and dredge generously with icing sugar. Repeat until all the tiles are used up.
13. To eat, sharply tap the end of the mille feuille with a knife to crack the end off. Don't be wearing your best shirt...this is crumb central!

Note

• Yoghurt pastry can be substituted for a good store-bought pastry.

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Memory Lane

Watch The Full Episode Here

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Watch The Full Episode Here

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