Mille-feuille

Amille-feuille(French:[milfœj];lit.'thousand-sheets'),also known by the namesNapoleonin North America,vanilla slicein the United Kingdom, andcustard slice, is aFrenchdessertmade of puff pastry layered with pastry cream. Its modern form was influenced by improvements made byMarie-Antoine Carême.
Traditionally, amille-feuilleis made up of three layers ofpuff pastry(pâte feuilletée), alternating with two layers ofpastry cream(crème pâtissière). The top pastry layer is finished in various ways: sometimes it is topped with whipped cream, or it may be dusted with icing sugar, cocoa, pastry crumbs, or slicedalmonds. It may also be glazed withicingorfondantalone, or in alternating white (icing) andbrown (chocolate)or other colored icing stripes, andcombedto create a marbled effect.
According to theOxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets,mille-feuillerecipes from 17th century French and 18th century English cookbooks are a precursor tolayer cakes.
The earliest mention of the namemille-feuilleitself appears in 1733 in an English-language cookbook written by French chefVincent La Chapelle.The 18th centurymille-feuillewas served stuffed with jam and marmalade instead of cream.
In French, the first mentionof themille-feuilleappears a little later, in 1749, in a cookbook byMenon:
The word'mille-feuille'is not used again in the recipe books of the 18th century. However, under the reign ofNapoleon Bonaparte, several of the fanciest Parisian pastry shops appear to have sold the cake.During the 19th century, all recipes describe the cake as filled with jam, with the exception of the 1876 recipe byUrbain Dubois, where it is served withBavarian cream.
According toAlan Davidsonin theOxford Companion to Food, the invention of the form (but not of the pastry itself) is usually attributed toSzeged,Hungary, where a caramel-coatedmille-feuilleis called'Szegediner Torte'.
Traditionally, amille-feuilleis made up of three layers ofpuff pastryand two layers ofcrème pâtissière. The top layer is coated with a sprinkling of powdered sugar.In later variations, the top is glazed with icing, in alternating white (icing) and brown (chocolate) strips, and then combed.
It is often layered with fruits, most commonly strawberry and raspberry.
According to La Varenne, it was earlier calledgâteau de mille-feuilles(lit.'cake of a thousand sheets'), referring to the many layers of pastry. Using traditional puff pastry, made with six folds of three layers, it has 729 layers; with some modern recipes it may have as many as 2,048.
In France, the pastry called Napoleon is made with two joined layers ofpâte feuilletéefilled withfrangipane.
Rogel, a popular cake, the Argentine variant of the French pastrymille-feuille, consists of various layers of puff pastry alternating with layers of dulce de leche and a top glazed with meringue. Rogel is considered a classic, and a wedding cake favourite.
InAustralia, a variant of themille-feuilleisthe custard slice,usually known as thevanilla slice. It is made using agelatin-setcrème pâtissière, and in many cases,passionfruiticing. "French Vanilla slice" refers to a similar product without fondant icing. InNew Zealand, it is variously known as a custard slice, a custard square, a vanilla slice, or, with passion-fruit icing, a passion-fruit slice.
A similar local variety is calledkrempitainSerbiaandBosnia and Herzegovina,kremna rezinaorkremšnitainSloveniaandCroatia, andkrémešinSlovakia.
InBelgiumand theNetherlands, thetompouceortompoesis the equivalent pastry. Several variations exist in Belgium, but in the Netherlands it has achieved an almost iconic status, with very little variation seen in form, size, ingredients and colour (always two layers of pastry, nearly always pink glazing, but orange around national festivities). The cartoon characterTom PussbyMarten Toonderis named after thetompouce.
InCanada,mille-feuilleis often namedgâteau Napoléonamong French speakers, and "Napoleon slice" in English-speaking Canada. It is sold with either custard, whipped cream, or both between three layers of puff pastry;almond pasteis the most common filling. A French Canadian method of making amille-feuilleusesgraham crackersinstead of puff pastry, with pudding replacing the custard layer.
In the German-speaking part ofSwitzerlandand also inAustria, it is calledCremeschnitte. InIsraelit is known by a variation of that name,kremshnit(קרמשניט).
InGreece, the pastry is calledμιλφέιγ, a transcription of the wordmille-feuilleusing theGreek alphabet. The filling between the layers is creamwhereas whipped cream (a vanilla-infused French Chantilly) is used at the top of the pastry.
InHong Kong, the拿破侖(naa4 po3 leon4, "Napoleon") is layered withbuttercream,meringueand walnuts. InMainland China, a similar product also marketed as a Napoleon (拿破侖;Nápòlún, or more commonly,法式千層酥) varies between regions and individual bakeries, but usually features a top and bottom layer ofrough puff pastry, typically made with vegetableshorteningrather than butter, and asponge cakeand artificial buttercream filling.
InHungary, it is calledkrémes.One version, thefrancia krémes(French Napoleon), is topped with whipped cream and caramel fondant.
InItaly, themille-feuilleis known as themille foglieand contains similar fillings. Another important distinction of the Italian variety is that it often consists of a layer of puff pastry with layers of sponge cake as well (e.g. from bottom to top, puff pastry, sponge cake strawberries and cream and then puff pastry).
InIran, the pastry is calledشيرينى ناپلئونى(shirini-e Nâpel'oni, literally "Napoleonic sweet pastry"). It consists of thin puff pastry and often topped with powdered sugar.
InLithuanian tradition, Napoleon orNapoleonas. In Lithuanian recipe pastry has layers of fruit filling such as wild cranberries jam and crème pâtissière. Sometimes is associated with weddings or celebrations.
InMorocco,mille-feuilleare consumed regularly and are known by their French name.
In thePhilippines, they are callednapoleones(/næpɒˈljoʊnɛs/na-pol-YOH-nes,Tagalog pronunciation:[na.polˈjɔ.nɛs];napoleónin the singular), and are made of two to three layers, with pastry cream or white custard as filling, topped with sugar glaze. It is a popular specialty onNegros Island, especially inSilay City, and can be bought aspasalubongby many who visit the island.
InPoland, the local variant of the pastry is officially callednapoleonka, and less commonlykremówka. It consists of two layers of pastry separated by a thick cream layer. The whole pastry is then covered with powdered sugar.
Similar to other European countries, inPortugalthe French variation is known asmil-folhas(a direct translation of the French) in theLisbonregion, and asnapoleão(a transliteration of Napoleon's name) in the centre and north of Portugal. Conversely, in the north, the Russian variant is known asmil-folhas, which in the Lisbon region is usually calledrusso(with the meaning of 'Russian') or possiblyrusso folhado('Russian pastry'). Both types are common across coffee shops, tea houses, and patisseries in Portugal; the Frenchmille-feuilleis even found on some supermarket chains, produced industrially and either individually packaged or as a set.
While the recipe for the Portuguese variant is very consistent with the original French one, both in look, flavour, and size, there are two additional alternatives. The first is just a bigger version of themille-feuille, with additional layers and probably more cream, being commonly 5-7 cm in height. The second alternative (more common in the regular format) is to tint the white icing sugar with egg gems, thus making it yellow in appearance, but also with the traditional chocolate marble effect. Finally, some places can also offer under the same name a few minor changes, such as a glazed caramel top, slices of almonds, or replacing the puff cream with jam,chantilly cream, or evenmarmelada(quince cheese), although these are uncommon.
InRussianliterature, a cake named Napoleon (Russian:Наполеон) is first mentioned as early as in the first half of the 19th century.Alexander Bestuzhevexplained the emergence of such names by theromanticandhistoricistspirit of that time.The cake has enjoyed an especially great popularity since the centenary celebration of the Russian victory over Napoleon in thePatriotic War of 1812. During the celebrations in 1912, triangular-shape pastries were sold resembling thebicorne. The many layers of the cake symbolizedLa Grande Armée. In fact, the Russian "Napoleon" is an old recipe that was revisited in 1925 by the pastry chef Adrien Artigarrède. He added almonds fromCrimeaand icing sugar on the top (symbolizing thesnows of Russia, once so helpful to Russians in their defeat of Napoleon).
Later, the cake became a standard dessert inSoviet cuisine.Nowadays, the Napoleon remains one of the most popular cakes in Russia and other post-Soviet countries. It typically has more layers than the French archetype, but the same height.
InSouth AfricaandZimbabwe, it is called a 'custard slice'.
In theSpanishmilhojas, the puff pastry is thin and crunchy. They are often far deeper than solely three layers of pastry and can reach up to 6 inches (15 cm) tall. In the north of Spain,milhojasare usually filled withcreme patissiereand have three or four layers of puff pastry. In central Spain,milhojasusually have only two or three layers of puff pastry filled with very thick layers of whipped cream or Chantilly.
InSwedenas well as inFinland, theNapoleonbakelse(Napoleon pastry) is amille-feuillefilled with whipped cream, custard, and jam. The top of the pastry is glazed with icing and currant jelly. InDenmarkit is callednapoleonskageand inNorwaynapoleonskake, both meaning "Napoleon cake".
In theUnited Kingdom, the pastry is most often called a vanilla slice, cream slice, or a custard slice, but can, on occasion, be namedmille-feuilleor Napoleon on branded products. It is common in the UK to only use two slices of pastry with a single, thick layer of filling between them, and the filling may be pastry cream or sometimes whipped cream.
In theUnited States, the pastry is most often called a Napoleon. It typically includes three layers of pastry, is filled with pastry cream, and is glazed with icing sugar in a feathered or marbled pattern.
InLatin Americanmilhojas, various layers of puff pastry are layered with confectioner's sugar on top. A Colombian version ofmilhojahas various layers of puff pastry and pastry cream. It is topped witharequipe(dulce de leche).