Strawberry and Lemon Millefeuille

Last week I posted a recipe for a delicious and easy to make blackberry milkshake with a lemon curd whipped cream. I had some leftover lemon curd and wondered what to do with it. At first, I thought about making a lemon tart. But that was more work than I wanted to do. Then I remembered strawberry and lemon millefeuille, a classic French dessert I used to make long ago.For my more visual friends, I created this short video recipe.Millefeuille (pronounced meal foy), or thousand layers, is a rich dessert of several layers of crispy crunchy puff pastry layered with a pastry cream filling and/or fruit. In my version, I layered lemon curd, whipped cream, and ripe strawberries. If you do not have strawberries use other berries or even no berries. Give this dessert a try this weekend.

Strawberry and Lemon Mille Feuille

A quick and easy dessert for when you want to impress your friends and family

• 1 sheet puff pastry (cut into 2 inch by 4 inch rectangle, see notes)
• 1 large egg (beat)
• 1 cup lemon curd
• 1 cup whipped cream
• 1 pint ripe strawberries
• 1/4 cup confectioners sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Lay the semi-frozen puff pastry sheet out onto your counter. Using a sharp knife cut the puff pastry into 2" by 4" rectangles. Brush the tops with the egg and bake for 9 or 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. You can do this step the day before but it is much better prepared the same day.

3. Lay 3 pieces of puff pastry out in front of you. Brush 2 of the pieces each with 1 tablespoon of lemon curd and then 1 tablespoon of whipped cream. Cover the cream/curd layers with sliced strawberries and then top with the last piece of puff pastry. Dust with powdered sugar if you like

I know a lot of you are probably stressing about the puff pastry. Use a puff pastry made from 100 percent butter if you can. If not, Pepperidge Farms makes a decent puff pastry that you can find in the frozen aisle of every major grocery store nationwide. Cut rectangles that are 2 inches by four inches,  or make any other shape that you like. I have done squares, circles, and triangles before. 

Lemon Curd

A delicious lemon curd that tastes great on its own or made into a variety of different desserts

• 3 lemons (zest and juice)
• 4 large eggs
• 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 6 ounces unsalted butter

1. Combine zest, juice, eggs, and sugar in a stainless pot and whisk together over a low flame. Cook, whisking constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Cool.

Note:

If you accidentally scrambled the eggs simply put the whole mixture into a blender and puree for about 10 seconds.