If you like tropical flavors, you should really try this recipe. Layers of golden crispy puff pastry filled with mango, passionfruit and coconut creams, all topped with fresh fruits. Just try it!
Tropical Mille Feuille
For the dough:
- 500 grams puff pastry
- A little bit of powdered sugar
For the mango cream:
- 2 grams gelatin powder
- 5 ml. water
- 3 large eggs
- 125 grams sugar
- 125 grams mango puree
- Juice of 1/4 lemon
- 200 grams soft butter
For coconut mousse:
- 3 grams gelatin powder
- 15 ml. water
- 100 grams white chocolate
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 100 grams coconut cream
- 200 ml. whipping cream (very cold)
For passion fruit piping gel:
- 200 grams passionfruit puree
- 2 grams agar-agar
- 60 grams sugar
Decoration:
- 1 *1 cm mango cubes
- 1 *1 cm pineapple cubes
- Finely grated lemon peel
- Sugar powder
- Puff pastry layers: preheat oven to 180c degrees.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and roll out each portion into a thickness of 2-3 mm.
- Place the puff pastry pieces on a paper-lined baking tray. Pierce the dough with a fork.
- Place a baking paper on top of each layer of dough, then place another baking tray over the dough (the dough should be sandwiched between two paper-lined oven trays).
- Bake for about 20-25 or until the dough is evenly golden.
- Increase the oven temperature to 200c degrees.
- Remove the baking paper and top oven tray and sprinkle a thin layer of powdered sugar over the baked dough.
- Bake it in the oven on the top rack for about 4-7 minutes or until powdered sugar is completely melted and begins to caramelize on top of dough.
- Cool the caramelized layers of dough completely.
- Using a knife and a ruler, cut the layers of dough into rectangles sized 4*10 cm. There should be a total of 21 rectangles.
- Arrange into threes (3 rectangles will form one dessert) and store in a sealed box until assembling the Mille-feuille.
- Mango cream: mix gelatin and water with a small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes at room temperature, or until the gelatin absorbs all the liquid.
- In a medium saucepan put eggs, sugar, mango puree, and lemon juice and beat well.
- Cook the cream over medium heat while whisking until you get a uniform and thick cream.
- Remove from heat and add the gelatin. Beat the mixture until it melts.
- Cool the mixture slightly at room temperature and add the butter. Beat well until melted, creamy and slightly thinner texture (it will set in the refrigerator).
- Transfer the cream into a piping bag with a round 1 cm piping tip and refrigerate for at least two hours before assembling the Mille-feuille.
- Coconut mousse: in a small bowl stir gelatin and water and set aside for 10 minutes at room temperature until the gelatin absorbs all the liquid.
- Chop the chocolate and put in a medium bowl.
- Add coconut cream and solvents together in the microwave or on a double-boiler, until everything is melted and mixture is smooth.
- Add vanilla and stir until it is absorbed into the mixture.
- Melt the gelatin and add in. Mix well and strain.
- Cool the mixture slightly to a temperature of 30-35c degrees.
- Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold into the coconut mixture. The mixture will be a little sparse, but it will thicken while cooling in the refrigerator before piping.
- Transfer the mixture into a piping bag with a1 cm round piping tip or St. Honore tip (according to the desired finish of the Mille-feuille) and refrigerate for at least an hour before assembling.
- Passion Fruit Gel: in a small saucepan put passionfruit puree, agar-agar and sugar and heat until mixture boils.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a small container. Refrigerate for an hour or until the mixture is completely thickened and set.
- Grind the gel formed with a stick blender. Spoon into a small piping bag without a tip.
- Mille-feuille assembly – Modern finish: place a layer of puff pastry and drizzle three long thin strips of mango cream.
- Place another layer of puff pastry on top and repeat by drizzling long and thin strips of mango cream.
- Close with the third layer.
- Pipe the coconut mousse (in a pastry bag with a St. Honore opening tip). Decorate with a bit of passion fruit gel and grated lime peel.
- Mille-feuille assembly – Classic finish: place a layer of puff pastry and drizzle it with small mounds of mango cream. Among the mounds drip a few drops of passion fruit gel.
- Place another layer of puff pastry on top and pipe more small mounds of mango cream. Among the mounds drip a few drops of passion fruit gel.
- Close with the third layer.
- Pipe uneven sized mounds and in small increments (using a piping bag with a round 1 cm piping tip).
- Among the mounds, arrange mango and pineapple cubes and drizzle a few drops of passion fruit gel.
- Garnish with grated lime peel and powdered sugar.
- Mille-feuille is best the day of preparation.
- You can make the puff pastry layers about 3-4 days in advance and keep in a sealed box at room temperature.