With puff pastry, I think the sky is the limit when you think of recipes. Remember my story about my fridge overload. One of the things I always stock up on is puff pastry. I stopped making my own a couple of years ago. It is not difficult to make at all but time consuming. With two little boys on tow, I would never remember to take the dough out on time after it had rested between the different stages of rolling. When I would remember, it would be too hard to roll. I would leave it on the counter and forget again. But now that I keep the rolled sheets at home, I find it really helpful to make sweet and savory food in a jiffy.
Mille feuilles are a great way of using puff pastry. Layers of pastry cream or even whipped cream and fruit sandwiched between crumbly layers of pastry. Visually, they are beautiful in their little rustic stacks and the perfect marraige of contrasting textures. Here I’ve use whipped cream cheese between the layers for a no-bake cheesecake kind of dessert. So basically it is a fusion of two desserts that come together in minutes. I’ve infused the cheesecake with rose water and tiny bit of cardamom powder and sprinkled them with with ground pistachios. You could go with vanilla, orange or even lemon if you do not have rose water at home.
Piping the cheesecake certainly makes them look pretty but if you are not comfortable with piping, you could spread the cheesecake mixture on the layers. I would insist though that you give piping a try. A plain round tip will work nicely too or if you do not have nozzles and piping bags at home, just cut a tiny opening at one corner of a zip-lock bag and use that to pipe on the pastry layers. These mille feuilles can be stored in the fridge but is best assembled just before serving.
Rose And Cardamom Cheesecake Mille-feuille
Makes 4
1 sheet (25 x 25 cm) frozen ready-rolled butter puff pastry, just thawed
250 g cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
1/2 cup cold whipping cream or heavy cream
1 tbsp rose water (or 1 tsp rose essence)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 handful pistachios, skinned and finely chopped
Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the pastry sheet vertically and horizontally. You will have four squares. Cut each square equally to get 8 rectangles.
Place the pastry rectangles on the lined tray. Top them with another sheet of baking paper and another baking tray. Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes. Turn the trays over and bake for a further 5-10 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the cheesecake filling. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Gradually add the heavy cream, rose water and cardamom powder and whip until the frosting is thick enough to pipe. In case you are using a brand of heavy cream that does not whip easily, then whip the cream separately to stiff peaks and fold it gradually into the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate till needed.
To assemble, pipe the cheesecake filling onto one pastry rectangle. Sandwich with another pastry rectangle. Pipe filling again. Sprinkle with pistachios. Decorate with edible rosebuds.
Incredibly recipe, styling & photography. LOVE love love everything about this post Sonali!
Thank you so much Thalia:-)
Exquisite fine art and baking/cooking, always. Thank you for sharing both your gifts. Cheers, Ardith
Awww Ardith! What a lovely thing to say! You are too sweet. Thank you so much:-)
You are right, puff pastry is not worth making at home when there are a few great brands out there. These look so so good, well done! I love your food props, so beautiful!
I love making things from scratch Oana but sometimes short cuts are welcome! Glad you liked them. Thanks my dear:-)
I made something like this once, Sonali…and unlike your magnificent creation, I filled mine with plain ole chocolate pudding! : ) I love your creativity. The cheesecake filling, with rose and cardamom, is such a beautiful idea. Of course, it’s wonderfully executed!
I love your delicious idea of the chocolate pudding…YUMM! What better than chocolate, isn’t it? Thanks so much:-)
Sonali, I don’t know what I like better your dramatic artistic photos or that mile high dreamy rose and cardamon cheesecake filling. It is always a pleasure to come and visit you here or on instagram as you always have something fun and delicious ready to be shared. Did your boys like this dessert? Sharing of course!!!
You are just so lovely and generous with your comments! Both kids loved this one which is a big plus because only one of them is a sweet lover. Thank you so much my friend:-)
Everything you make is beyond stunning Sonali! I love it, the colours and the immaculate presentation… particularly the rose petals (obsessed!). The rose and cardamom together sound delicious xxx
Awwww…so glad you stopped by Laura! You are the sweetest:-)
Cheesecake meets mille-feuilles, I LOVE it! I tried making puff pastry twice, both a disaster. The pipping is beautiful. Gorgeous pics too.
Thank so much my dear:-)
Oh my goodness! Is it okay if I move in with you? You’re family must love seeing these beautiful creations you whip up in your kitchen. I can imagine the flakiness of this pastry and the lovely flavor of cardamon with each and every bite. Sigh! It’s so sad that I don’t have one in my hand right now.
How gorgeous!!!! I think it’s the most beautiful mille feuille that I have ever seen. The other great things about it, it’s easy to prepare and looks quite delicious.