Cherry Blossom and Vanilla Mille-Feuille

Ingredients

• All-butter puff pastry (store-bought or homemade)500g
• Powdered sugar, for dusting60g
• Whole milk400g
• Heavy cream (35% fat)200g
• Vanilla bean2 count
• Egg yolks6 count
• Caster sugar100g
• Cornstarch35g
• Unsalted butter, cold, cubed40g
• Sakura extract (cherry blossom)5g
• Salted butter, for enriching cream20g
• White chocolate, finely chopped80g
• Pink food coloring (gel)1g
• Freeze-dried cherry blossom petals5g
• Fleur de sel2g

Method

1. 1.Roll puff pastry to 3mm thick. Chill 30 minutes, then cut into three equal 12×30cm rectangles.
2. 2.Dock the pastry all over with a fork. Chill again for 20 minutes.
3. 3.Bake at 190°C between two parchment-lined trays for 20 minutes until deep golden. Remove top tray.
4. 4.Dust generously with powdered sugar and return to oven at 230°C for 3–4 minutes until caramelized. Cool completely on a rack.
5. 5.Bring milk, cream, and split vanilla beans to a simmer. Whisk yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl until pale.
6. 6.Stream hot milk into yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return to pan and cook over medium heat, stirring until thick and glossy.
7. 7.Off the heat, stir in cold butter, salted butter, and sakura extract. Press plastic wrap directly on surface and chill until cold.
8. 8.Melt white chocolate gently. Stir in pink food coloring. Spread thinly onto parchment and let set at room temperature.
9. 9.Whip the chilled pastry cream (crème pâtissière) briefly until smooth and pipeable. Transfer to a piping bag with a round tip.
10. 10.Place one pastry sheet on a serving board. Pipe even rows of cream across the surface.
11. 11.Layer a second pastry sheet, press gently, and repeat with cream. Top with the final pastry sheet, caramelized side up.
12. 12.Break white chocolate into irregular shards. Press shards into the top cream layer along the edges.
13. 13.Scatter freeze-dried cherry blossom petals and a pinch of fleur de sel over the top. Refrigerate 1 hour before slicing with a serrated knife.