Milk chocolate and pear mille-feuille
- Dessert
- Medium
- 10
- 1 hour 30 minutes
PT1H30M
A honeyed pear is served alongside a crisp milk chocolate mille-feuille in this stunning dessert from Graham Hornigold. With crunchy clusters of oat granola and caramelised shards of puff pastry, it's a dish that will satisfy even the sweetest of teeth – and looks pretty fantastic to boot!
Ingredients
Millefeuille
- 1 packet of puff pastry, weighing 500g, top quality
- 50g of icing sugar
Milk chocolate crémeux
- 280g of milk chocolate , 41% cocoa solids, chopped
- 60g of dark chocolate , 64% cocoa solids, chopped
- 40g of caster sugar
- 130g of whole milk
- 200g of whipping cream
- 70g of egg yolk
- 100g of unsalted butter , softened
Oat granola
- 40g of whole milk
- 70g of unsalted butter
- 50g of honey
- 120g of caster sugar
- 250g of jumbo oats
Roasted pear
- 5 pears , ideally Bosc pears
- 300g of apple juice
- 50g of honey
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
To garnish
- milk chocolate buttons , optional
Equipment
- Cooking thermometer
Method
1
Begin by making the crémeux the day before you plan to serve the dish. Place both chocolates into a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Bring the milk and whipping cream to the boil in a small saucepan
- 280g of milk chocolate , 41% cocoa solids, chopped
- 60g of dark chocolate , 64% cocoa solids, chopped
- 70g of egg yolk
- 40g of caster sugar
- 130g of whole milk
- 200g of whipping cream
2
Pour the hot milk mixture over the eggs, whisking vigorously, then return the entire mixture to the pan. Cook over a gently heat, whisking continuously, until it begins to thicken and reaches 83°C. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture over the chocolate, whisking until smooth. Allow to cool to 45°C
3
Add the butter to the warm chocolate mixture and blend or whisk well until fully incorporated, then transfer to the fridge and allow to set overnight
- 100g of unsalted butter , softened
4
The next day, transfer the crémeux to a piping bag and reserve in the fridge until needed
5
For the granola, preheat an oven to 160°C/gas mark 3. Place the milk, butter, caster sugar and honey in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Once boiling, stir in the oats and remove from the heat, then spread out onto a baking tray lined with baking paper
- 40g of whole milk
- 70g of unsalted butter
- 50g of honey
- 120g of caster sugar
- 250g of jumbo oats
6
Bake the granola mixture for 12-15 minutes until golden brown, then allow to cool and break up into large clusters. Place in an airtight container until ready to plate
7
For the millefeuille, turn the temperature of the oven up to 180°C/gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with baking paper, then roll the puff pastry out until it is 3mm thick. Place on the lined baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just set but not coloured. Use 2 baking trays if the pastry doesn’t fit on a single tray
- 1 packet of puff pastry, weighing 500g, top quality
8
Place another sheet of baking paper on top of the pastry, then another baking tray to keep it weighted down. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes until lightly coloured, then remove from the oven. Whilst still warm, cut the pastry into rectangles approx. 10x4cm using a sharp knife – you ideally want a total of 30 rectangles
9
Dust the pastry rectangles with icing sugar and turn the oven up to 200°C/gas mark 6. Return the pastry to the oven and cook until the sugar begins to caramelise and turn golden, then leave to cool and reserve until ready (keep the oven on for the pears)
- 50g of icing sugar
10
For the pears, place the honey, apple juice and cinnamon stick in a pan and bring to the boil, then set aside
- 50g of honey
- 300g of apple juice
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
11
Peel and core the pears, then cut in half lengthways. Line a shallow baking tray with baking paper and place the pears cut-side down on top. Pour over the poaching syrup, cover the tray with tinfoil and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just tender
- 5 pears , ideally Bosc pears
12
Strain the poaching liquid from the pears into a saucepan, then bring to the boil and reduce until syrupy
13
To assemble the dish, take 3 rectangles of pastry per portion and pipe the crémeux between each layer, to create a millefeuille. Place standing up on the plate, with a pear half resting alongside it. Drizzle the dish with the reduced syrup, pipe a little more crémeux on top of the pastry and then place clusters of granola around the dish. Garnish with a few chocolate buttons (if using) and serve
- milk chocolate buttons , optional
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Milk chocolate and pear mille-feuille
