10 Nov Cheats Mille Feuille

I know these Cheat’s Mille Feuille look incredibly fancy, but trust me they are sooo easy to make! I used phyllo pastry (instead of the traditional puff pastry) then filled them with a simple but delicious cream cheese filling and added some fresh fruit. The result is a stunning but surprisingly light dessert!

Sprinkling a little sugar on the buttered phyllo pastry not only adds a delicious crunch but also helps to weigh down the delicate sheets of pastry as they bake so that they hold their shape. The creamy filling (made with Lancewood Medium Fat cream cheese and just a few other ingredients) is lovely as it’s not too sweet. It looks especially beautiful if piped onto the pastry – if you don’t have a piping bag, you could even use a ziplock back and just cut a 1 cm hole in one corner and use that to pipe the little “kisses” of filling. I’ve used sliced plums, strawberries and nectarines but you could of course use any fresh fruit in season.

For a more traditional Mille Feuille, try this Raspberry Mille Feuille.

This post was sponsored by Lancewood. All text and opinions are 100% my own.

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)

For the pastry:
4 sheets of phyllo pastry
60g butter, melted
4 tbsp sugar

For the filling:
2 x 230g Lancewood Medium Fat Plain Cream Cheese, at room temperature
125ml icing sugar (½ cup)
125ml cream (½ cup)
10ml vanilla essence (2 tsp)
2 plums
2 nectarines
1 cup strawberries
Icing sugar, for dusting

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
• Defrost the phyllo pastry in the fridge overnight.
• Lay 1 sheet of phyllo pastry onto your counter (keep the remaining pastry covered with a clean, damp tea towel while you work so it doesn’t dry out). Brush with melted butter.
• Lay a second sheet on top of the first and brush with melted butter. Repeat twice more so that you have  a “stack” of 4 sheets of buttered phyllo pastry.
• Mark out 2 lines vertically and 3 lines horizontally, so that you have 12 identical rectangles. Use scissors to cut the pastry and place onto the baking tray. Sprinkle each rectangle with about 1 tsp of sugar.
• Bake for 8 minutes, or until the pastry is just turning golden. Cool completely on a cooling rack. 
• To make the filling, beat the cream cheese and icing sugar together until smooth. Add the cream and vanilla, and mix well. Place into piping bag fitted with a plain round nozzle, or a ziplock bag. Refrigerate until needed.
• Just before serving, slice the plums, nectarines and strawberries into thin slices. Lay one rectangle of pastry onto a serving plate. Snip the end of the piping/ziplock bag and pipe “kisses” of the cream cheese filling all over the surface. 
• Add a layer of fruit then top with another rectangle of pastry. Repeat the process so you have a stack of 3 rectangles.
• Assemble the remaining 3 plates in the same way. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately!
  

TIP: The pastry can be baked up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container.