While inspired by the French pastry-case favorite, mille-feuille, this version is nowhere near as complex. We deconstructed all the key elements of the original to turn that beautiful, delicate dessert into a treat you can easily make at home. Store-bought puff pastry is baked between two baking sheets, preventing it from rising unpredictably, and yields jagged shards of crisp-tender pastry. Pseudo pastry cream, made from heavy cream and mascarpone and flavored with vanilla and lemon, whips into soft peaks in seconds. Tossing peak-season blackberries in a little lemon juice and salt tames their sweetness and draws out their juiciness. Combine all three components and they re-create the effect of eating a just-assembled mille-feuille, with a fraction of the effort. If you are using particularly tart berries, try starting with just half of the lemon juice.
Ingredients
4–6 servings
1
10
¾
16
⅔
1
½
3
Preparation
-
Step 1
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 400°. Place one sheet frozen puff pastry (one 14-oz. package or half of a 17.3-oz. package), thawed, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick several times at regular intervals with a fork and cover with another sheet of parchment paper, then another baking sheet. (This will act as a weight to prevent the pastry from rising.) Bake until golden brown all over, 45–50 minutes. Let cool, then break into 3″–4″ shards.
Step 2
Meanwhile, toss 10 oz. fresh blackberries, halved lengthwise, juice of 1 large lemon, and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl with a fork to coat, smashing a few berries to release their juices. Set aside.
Step 3
Combine 16 oz. mascarpone, ⅔ cup heavy cream, zest of 1 large lemon, and remaining ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl. Scrape in seeds from 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise (or add 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or 2 tsp. vanilla extract). Sift ½ cup (50 g) powdered sugar over and beat on low speed with an electric mixer until combined. Increase speed to high and beat until soft peaks form, about 1 minute.
Step 4
To assemble, divide vanilla cream and reserved berries among 4–6 bowls in alternating layers (be generous with the vanilla cream). Top with puff pastry shards and scatter 3 Tbsp. salted, roasted pistachios, finely chopped, over.
