Cherry Blossom and Vanilla Mille-Feuille

Ingredients

• all-butter puff pastry (store-bought or homemade)500g
• powdered sugar80g
• whole milk300g
• heavy cream (35% fat)200g
• vanilla bean2 count
• egg yolks4 count
• caster sugar90g
• cornstarch30g
• butter (cold, cubed)40g
• sakura (cherry blossom) extract5g
• salt-preserved sakura blossoms, rinsed and dried20 count
• white fondant200g
• pink food coloring1g
• dark chocolate (for feathering)30g

Method

1. 1.Roll puff pastry to 3mm thick. Rest in the fridge 30 minutes.
2. 2.Cut into three 12×30cm rectangles. Dock all over with a fork.
3. 3.Place on parchment-lined trays, top with another sheet of parchment and a heavy tray. Bake at 190°C for 20 minutes.
4. 4.Remove top tray and parchment. Dust evenly with powdered sugar and return to oven at 220°C for 4–5 minutes until deeply caramelized. Cool completely.
5. 5.Heat milk, cream, and split vanilla beans to a simmer. Remove beans, scrape seeds back into the liquid.
6. 6.Whisk yolks, caster sugar, and cornstarch until pale. Stream in hot milk, whisking constantly.
7. 7.Return to the pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring vigorously, until the pastry cream (crème pâtissière) thickens and boils for 1 minute.
8. 8.Off the heat, add cold butter and sakura extract. Whisk until smooth. Press cling film to the surface and chill 2 hours.
9. 9.Whip chilled pastry cream briefly until smooth and pipeable. Transfer to a piping bag with a plain 12mm tip.
10. 10.Lay one pastry sheet on a board. Pipe even rows of cream across the surface. Press dried sakura blossoms gently into the cream.
11. 11.Set the second pastry sheet on top, press lightly. Pipe another cream layer, add more blossoms.
12. 12.Place the third sheet on top, caramelized side up. Refrigerate the assembled mille-feuille 30 minutes to firm up.
13. 13.Warm fondant to 38°C until fluid but not thin. Tint a small portion pink. Pour white fondant over the top sheet and spread quickly with a palette knife.
14. 14.Immediately pipe thin lines of pink fondant across the width. Drag a skewer through at even intervals to feather (peigne). Repeat with melted dark chocolate lines if desired.
15. 15.Chill 20 minutes until fondant sets. Slice with a serrated knife using a light sawing motion. Serve the same day.