Millefrolle with Cream, Strawberry, and Hazelnut

The Millefrolle with cream, strawberry, and hazelnut is an elegant and delicious dessert. It consists of a composition of crunchy shortcrust pastry, flavored pastry cream, fresh strawberries, and hazelnut crumble. Here’s how you can make it.

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry:

• 300 g of 00 flour
• 150 g of cold butter, cubed
• 120 g of powdered sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• A pinch of salt
• The grated zest of 1 lemon (organic, if possible)

For the pastry cream:

• 500 ml of whole milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 100 g of sugar
• 40 g of 00 flour or cornstarch
• 1 vanilla pod or vanilla extract

For the garnish:

• Fresh strawberries (as desired)
• Toasted hazelnut crumble (as desired)
• Powdered sugar (for decorating)

Preparation

1. Start by preparing the shortcrust pastry: in a bowl, mix the flour with the powdered sugar and salt. Add the cold butter and work with your fingertips until you get a sandy mixture.
2. Add the whole egg, the yolk, and the lemon zest, then knead quickly until a ball forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the pastry cream: heat the milk with the scored vanilla pod to release the seeds. In another bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar until you get a light and frothy mixture, then add the sifted flour and mix well.
4. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and pour the hot liquid in a thin stream over the yolk mixture, stirring continuously.
5. Transfer everything to a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the cream thickens. Transfer it to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface, and let it cool completely.
6. Roll out the shortcrust pastry into a thin sheet and use a cookie cutter or glass to cut out discs. Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 15 minutes or until golden.
7. Once the pastry discs are cool, proceed to assemble the dessert: spread a spoonful of pastry cream on a pastry disc, add a few slices of strawberry, and cover with another pastry disc. Repeat to create as many layers as desired.
8. Finish with a final garnish of cream, strawberries, and sprinkle with hazelnut crumble.
9. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Trivia

The Millefrolle draws inspiration from the classic millefoglie cake, but here it plays with the crumbliness of shortcrust pastry instead of puff pastry. It is a dessert that allows for a lot of creativity in presentation, and the contrasts in texture between the soft cream, the crunchy pastry, and the freshness of the strawberries make it an applause-worthy end to a meal.