I don’t think I have had these in a while, and seeing I had a batch of Crème Patissière in the fridge, I wanted to try my hand at Mille-Feuille or ‘Tompouce’. A tompoes or tompouce is a quite popular pastry in the Netherlands and Belgium, and available at our local bakery stores or bakery section at the supermarket. It is the local version of the Mille-feuille, introduced by a Dutch pastry baker and named after Admiral Tom Pouce (or ‘little thumb’, a nickname that his siblings gave him as he never grew taller than 71cm), the stage name of Jan Hannema, a Frisian actor.

if you already have the Crème Patissière ready and chilled, this pastry is very easy and quick to make. If not, you can find the recipe for Crème Patissière by clicking on the link.

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of defrosted puff pastry (the mille-feuille)
• 1/2 Litre of Crème Patissière, chilled
• 250gr. fresh strawberries, hulled and washed.
• 25gr. chocolate

Method:

First wash your strawberries thoroughly, and remove the top green crown from the fruit.  Gently slice the strawberries in even but thin slices, and set aside.

Preheat your oven as per instructions on the defrosted puff pastry package, and roll out the puff pastry on baking paper, on a baking tray.  Add on another sheet of baking paper, and place a second baking tray on top of this.  The reason for this, is that the puff pastry will remain flat and compressed whilst baking, and will not curl or raise, which we don’t want it do to.  Bake as per instructions on the package until cooked.  If you feel the second baking tray is not sufficient, you can always weigh the second tray down with e.g. baking beads or beans for added weight.  Once out of the oven, please leave the trays as are, on the side until the pastry is fully cooled.

Once the pastry is cooled, carefully cut an even number of rectangles out.  Usually this works quite well by using the tip of a sharp kitchen knife.  You will end up with some extra cutoffs, which you can munch on for time being.

For the assembly of the Tompouce; Take a teaspoon of Crème Patissière and spread this over one side of the puff pastry.  Add a layer of strawberries on top of the pastry cream.  Take a half teaspoon of cream and spread this over the matching piece of puff pastry.  Now place on top of the strawberries.  The pastry cream will act as a tasty glue to keep the puff pastry together.

Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or in the microwave oven, and drizzle it over the mille-feuille with a fine brush, as a finishing touch.