Preface: There is one thing I learned from this SHF it is that I really need to use my calendar to keep not only my real life appointments but the virtual ones too. I planned, made my sweet two weeks before the event, wrote the post below in advance and nonetheless I forgot to post on the right day. Hope it's still in time.
Having skipped for a series of reason every Sugar High Friday event I promised myself to take part to this edition. I love baking,bread, cakes, anything, how could I not take part to such an event? After reading the theme Clement picked I was even more convinced: puff pastry is one of those ingredients I love but never use as often as I would like. Great chance to make a simple dessertwhich has been one of my favorites for years: millefoglie con panna allo zabaione, mille-feuille with zabaione whipped cream.
As much as I would have liked to make puff pastry myself I chickened out. My single experience with this was rather depressing, big puffs in places but none in others and so on. I'm sure I will someday muster the courage to try again, maybe picking Pierre Hermè's inside-out puff pastry. Just not now. So pre-made puff pastry it had to be. Instead of doing one single cake I decided to go for smaller individual ones. My puff pastry was about 30x20 cm, which I cut into 10x20cm strips, 3 for each millefoglie.
The cream is a very simple whipped cream and zabaglione mixture. It is something I could eat by the spoonful and great with Panettone or Pandoro but rather "soft", as zabaglione tends to remain quite runny. To make it a little stiffer I whipped the cream as stiff as I could and added some gelatin (half a sheet for half of this zabaglione recipe) into the zabaglione and cooled it quickly over an ice-filled bowl so to avoid loosing the whipped consistency. Once both whipped cream and zabaglione were cold I carefully mixed them together 1:1 and used this as filling for the millefoglie. I kept a few so while some recieved a little spread of the filling on their sides followed by a sprinkling of toasted and chopped hazelnuts as you can see in the picture. To finish I just sprinkled with confectioner's sugar and made parallel caramel stripes by using a red hot skewer.
Buon appetito!
Wow! This looks and sounds fabulous!
Posted by: Sue | February 13, 2005 at 01:04 PM
Oh my god, that looks divine!!!! My stomach just yelped out in hunger.
Posted by: Northwest Appalachian | February 13, 2005 at 04:05 PM
Oh dear! I just had to gulp.
Posted by: Karen | February 13, 2005 at 05:37 PM
I want some, right now!
Posted by: Sue | February 14, 2005 at 03:13 AM
Thank you everyone, happy you liked it. Do try this at home, it is really simple (apart the caramel stripes maybe).
Posted by: Alberto | February 14, 2005 at 09:50 AM
Alberto - Looks delicious! We still have some puff pastry left over from our SHF endeavors. The zabaglione cream will be a great way to finish it off!
Posted by: Alan | February 14, 2005 at 09:12 PM
Alberto! This looks just heavenly! Arrgh, another to add to my list...;-)
Posted by: Moira | February 14, 2005 at 11:31 PM
Is the recipe available?
Posted by: lisa | February 15, 2005 at 04:05 AM
Sorry--I read a little closer and saw that you did provide a recipe of sorts. Thanks!
Posted by: lisa | February 15, 2005 at 07:56 AM
Alberto this looks and sounds absolutely fabulous! I am so happy to see you out at this month's SHF (FINALLY! hee), and with such a stellar recipe, too!
I too have some difficulty remembering when IMBB's, WBW's and SHF's are happening - I have them all marked in my daytimer and reminders in my computer calendar...and I still sometimes forget!
Posted by: Jennifer | February 15, 2005 at 07:52 PM
Alan and Moira, thank you! These blogging events are extremely dangerous for recipe collections: mine keeps getting bigger and bigger!
Lisa, you're right, it's a recipe of sort because I did not really do this using a scale or measuring anything. The cream is something my family has been making and eating for at least three generations; we call it "cremina del nonno", grandpa's cream, since my grandfather was the one who alwasy used to make it. As you can immagine, once you do things again and again an exact recipe becomes less and less important.
Jennifer, yes I made it and as you say FINALLY! I started inserting all the events in my calendar too; let#s see if it works ;-))
Posted by: Alberto | February 16, 2005 at 10:15 AM
Hi Alberto - Your millefoglie looks and sounds heavenly! I love your site, it's really beautiful.
Posted by: keiko | February 24, 2005 at 01:02 PM
Keiko, thank you for the nice words. Coming from someone running such a fantastic blog as yours makes them even nicer ;-).
Posted by: Alberto | February 24, 2005 at 10:24 PM