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Hazelnut, Coffee and Fennel Seed Mille Feuille
Recipe by Bella Di Conza
Try Bella Di Conza's Hazelnut, Coffee and Fennel Seed Mille Feuille from Season 18 of MasterChef Australia today!
- Steps
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Rough Puff
Fennel Hazelnut Tuile
Hazelnut Praline Paste
Hazelnut Coffee Mousseline
Fennel Seed Chantilly
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Steps
- Preheat oven to 200°C fan forced.
- For the Rough Puff, chill the flour and butter in the freezer for 5 minutes. In the bowl of a food processor, add flour, butter, salt, sugar and vinegar. Whilst pulsing, gradually pour in water until the butter is broken down into slightly smaller chunks. Tip out onto benchtop, press the dough together and shape into a rectangle. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and rest in the freezer for approximately 10 minutes. Roll dough out to approximately 1cm thick, with length approximately double its width. Fold into thirds, then turn 90 degrees. Repeat rolling and folding 5 times, chilling the dough in the freezer for 5 minutes between each turn and fold. Roll out to approximately 2-3mm thick, transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes. Cover with baking paper, then place another baking tray of the same size over the top to weigh it down. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is a deep golden brown and evenly coloured the whole way through. Set aside to cool.
- For the Fennel Hazelnut Tuile, place the hazelnuts on small baking tray lined with baking paper and roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes until golden. Set aside. In a medium fry pan over medium high heat, dry toast the fennel seeds until fragrant and set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, glucose and water. Once caramelised, remove from heat and whisk in the butter to combine. Stir in roasted hazelnuts, toasted fennel seeds and salt. Pour onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Set aside to cool. Once cool, blitz the praline in a food processor until it becomes a fine crumb. Spread an even 1-2mm layer of the crumb onto a baking tray lined with a silicone mat. Bake for 3-6 minutes until just melted. Cut or score at least 2 triangle shapes measuring approximately 4cm x 12cm out of the tuile whilst still warm. Set aside to cool.
- For the Hazelnut Praline Paste, place the hazelnuts on a small baking tray lined with baking paper and roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes until golden. Place the caster sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until caramelised and an even golden colour. Carefully pour the caramel over the roasted hazelnuts and set aside to cool. Once completely cooled, break up into smaller pieces and transfer to a blender and blitz into a paste with the salt. Set aside.
- For the Hazelnut Coffee Mousseline, in a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks and caster sugar. Whisk in cornflour until smooth and incorporated. Gradually incorporate milk, coffee powder and vanilla. Place over medium heat and stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture thickens and reaches 82°C on a kitchen thermometer. Remove from the heat and pour onto a tray. Cover the surface with cling wrap to prevent a skin forming. Transfer the coffee crème pâtissiere to the fridge to cool completely.
- For the Hazelnut Coffee Mousseline, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, place 300g of Coffee Crème Pâtissiere with the unsalted butter and Hazelnut Praline Paste. Beat until smooth and combined. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle and place in the fridge until ready to assemble.
- For the Fennel Seed Chantilly, combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until medium peaks form. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a rose petal shaped nozzle.
- To assemble, using a serrated knife, cut 3 evenly sized rectangles of puff pastry to 4cm x 12cm. Pipe hazelnut coffee mousseline in dots to cover the surface of two of the puff pastry rectangles. Stack one on top of the other. Pipe fennel seed chantilly in a neat zigzag pattern onto the remaining puff pastry rectangle and place this on top of the stack. Place a triangle of fennel hazelnut tuile on top of the chantilly to finish the mille feuille. Repeat this process to make a second mille feuille. Serve immediately.
