Lemon and Summer Berries Mille Feuille

Last year somewhere during the holidays, I bought a packet of frozen puff pastry. It was already pre-rolled and has 7 sheets inside. I know I know, I should have made my own puff pastry because it's actually pretty easy, but just a little more time consuming blah blah blah... Ummm, I don't really think it's easy? It may be fun, but I'm not ready to make a pastry dough that I deem challenging. Plus, given the weather here in Singapore, where the sun scorches like nobody's business during this time of the year, I doubt that I can make a puff pastry dough without any problems. Yea, there had been some rainy days... but honestly speaking, I'm pretty lazy. Well, yes, I am lazy. Haha. But it doesn't hurt, does it? It may give one more satisfaction to make everything by scratch, but sometimes I just want to be lazy and use pre-made stuff. And actually, the pastry's not that bad at all! (:

I made this on Sunday actually, when I decided to make something simple, fast and yummy after baking the cheesecakes on Saturday. It consisted of a lemon mousse made with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, eggs and cream. I have no idea how many holes to poke, into the puff pastry, to prevent it from puffing up, some of them still manage to puff up, so instead of using 3 puff pastry, I split one of the puff pastry in half and use it. I got this recipe from Tartelette, one of my all-time favourites food blogger. She is extremely talented and charming. Go visit her site if you have the chance! You'll be hooked, just like me. (;

It sure doesn't feel fattening after eating it, you can never exactly feel how much butter is used in the pastry itself. But well, indulgence once in a while is definitely okay, I'm sure! (;

Lemon and Summer Berries Mille Feuilles (makes ~5)
adapted from Tartelette's Lemon Raspberry Mille Feuilles

2 sheets of pre-rolled puff pastry (24x24 cm)

Lemon mousse
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 cup lemon juice (250 ml)
½ cup sugar (100 g)
2 eggs
1 cup heavy cream (250ml)

Fresh blueberries washed and dried
Fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and dried

Remove the puff pastry from the freezer. Mark and cut the puff pastry into 12x6 cm rectangles. This will yield 8 small puff pastries per sheet. Thaw the puff pastry and dock the dough with a fork to prevent it from puffing up. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes (or just follow the instructions that you have on the package). Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

If you are rolling it, simply rolling it to 3mm thick, and cut 16 12x6cm rectangles. Do the same as mentioned above. (:

To make the lemon mousse, combine the lemon zest, juice and sugar in a saucepan. Bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, beat the eggs until light. While beating, pour in a little lemon mixture, to bring up the temperature of the eggs, you will not, defnitely, want to cook the eggs. After tempering the eggs, scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly until it thickens, about 5 minutes.

You will know that it's done when the custard coats the back of the metal spoon. metal spoon evenly. If you want to be 100% sure, pull your fingertip through the coating on the back of the spoon - if it leaves a clean path, it's done. If not... continue cooking! Strain the mixture and let it cool to room temperature, if not using immediately, cover with a clingfilm until ready to use.

Whip the cream until medium stiff peaks form, fold in the whipped cream into the lemon mixture in 3 portions.

To assemble, place a puff pastry rectangle on a serving plate, spoon or pipe (I choose to pipe as it is neater) a layer of lemon mousse on top of the puff pastry. Top with strawberries (normally 3 strawberries will be needed per rectangle). Pipe a little mousse on top of the strawberries (I use it as a glue) and place the second puff pastry rectangle on top. Pipe another layer of mousse and top with a generous amount of blueberries. Top with a little mousse-glue and then end with the last puff pastry rectangle.

Serve immediately, dusted with icing sugar and more fresh fruits.

P.S. You can always use a combination of other fruits!

Enjoy!