Pistachio & Cherry Mille-Feuille

⏱ 90 min · Serves 6

Shatteringly crisp caramelised puff pastry layered with silky pistachio crème pâtissière and glossy roasted cherries. It looks like a patisserie window centrepiece but leans on shop-bought all-butter puff, so it's far more achievable than it looks.

Per serving: 625 kcal · 10.5g protein · 52.0g carbs · 42.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1 x 320g sheet all-butter puff pastry
• 3 tbsp icing sugar, plus extra to dust
• 300ml whole milk
• 100ml double cream (for the crème)
• 4 egg yolks
• 60g caster sugar
• 25g cornflour
• 70g pistachio paste (or 70g finely ground pistachios blitzed with 1 tbsp neutral oil)
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• Pinch of fine salt
• 350g cherries, pitted and halved
• 2 tbsp caster sugar (for the cherries)
• 1 tbsp kirsch or lemon juice
• 200ml double cream, well chilled (to fold/pipe)
• 40g shelled pistachios, chopped, to finish

Method

1. Make the crème pâtissière first: heat the milk and 100ml double cream in a pan until steaming. Whisk the yolks, 60g caster sugar, cornflour and salt in a bowl until pale.
2. Pour the hot milk over the yolks whisking constantly, return to the pan and cook over medium heat, whisking hard, for 2–3 minutes until thick and glossy. Off the heat, beat in the pistachio paste and almond extract. Scrape into a tray, cover with cling film touching the surface and chill at least 1 hour.
3. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Unroll the pastry onto a lined baking tray, prick all over with a fork, cover with a second sheet of baking paper and a second heavy tray to weigh it down. Bake 20 minutes.
4. Remove the top tray and paper, dust the pastry generously with the 3 tbsp icing sugar and bake a further 8–10 minutes until deep golden and caramelised. Cool completely, then trim with a serrated knife into 18 neat rectangles (about 4 x 10cm).
5. Toss the cherries with 2 tbsp sugar and the kirsch in a small roasting dish. Roast 12–15 minutes until juicy, then cool. Drain off and reserve the syrup.
6. Whip the 200ml chilled cream to soft peaks. Beat the cold pistachio crème smooth, then fold in the cream in two additions. Transfer to a piping bag with a 1cm plain nozzle.
7. Assemble: pipe blobs of pistachio cream over 6 pastry rectangles, tuck in roasted cherries, top with a second pastry layer and repeat. Finish with the last pastry sheets.
8. Dust with icing sugar, scatter with chopped pistachios and spoon the cherry syrup around. Serve within an hour so the pastry stays crisp.