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Mille-feuille of black cherries and Kirsch liqueur

It is important not to put too much cream on the pastry as it will run over the sides and look messy. Rather serve extra cream on the side if you feel the need.

MILLE FUEILE

The pastry:
300 g/10.5 oz puff pastry
icing sugar for dredging

The filling:
2 cups/500 ml full cream
2 tablespoons/30 ml Kirsch liqueur
icing sugar, to sweeten
1 x 425 g/15 oz can pitted black cherries
1 tablespoon caster sugar (optional)

The syrup:
the reserved syrup from the can of cherries
sugar to taste
1 tablespoon/15 ml Kirsch liqueur

For variation, use other berries, mashed bananas or mixtures of fruit and chopped nuts.

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/428°F.
Roll the pastry out onto a floured surface to a 3 mm/⅛ in thickness. Place the rolled out pastry on to a lined baking tray, then cut 12 x 13 x 8 cm (4.7 x 5.1 x 3 in) rectangles. Prick with a fork, dredge generously with icing sugar and chill in the freezer for five minutes.  Then remove from the freezer and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the pastry begins to brown on top. Cover the pastry rectangles with a piece of greaseproof paper and place another baking tray on top. Return to the oven and bake for a further 7-10 minutes then set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks, fold in 2 tablespoons/30 ml of the Kirsch liqueur and add icing sugar to taste. Drain the cherries and reserve the liquid. Cut the cherries in half and set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the reserved syrup from the cherries, add the sugar (if you wish) and reduce until it becomes syrupy. Add the rest of the liqueur and set aside to cool.

When ready to serve, spread the cream over 1 of the 4 rectangles, leaving about 1 cm/0.4 in then fill the surface with the half cherries, pressing it down into the cream. Place another rectangle on top of each of the first ones, and repeat with the cream and cherries. Top with the final rectangle, sprinkle over the grated chocolate and drizzle the syrup around. Serve immediately.

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By STELLA

I have had no formal chef’s training. Classical piano was my parents’ choice, and that took care of the first 20 years of my life. Journalism and radio followed (my own choices, this time), and these opened many doors for me into different countries, people, cultures — and, of course, foods. In a six week series on radio I used it as a platform for my love of food and shared lots of interesting recipes and food news with listeners.
My earliest memories of food come from the family kitchen at home; I can still remember the wonderful smells of the dishes my mother prepared. I became aware of the flavors of her creations at an early age. Some I enjoyed and preferred, while others depressed me with their lack of interesting flavors. My mother was a good cook, but not a gourmet, and sadly this often showed. What I did appreciate was that she always involved me in the preparation, sharing her knowledge of nutrition, flavor, color, and the harmonies of each plate she dished up. She was also a genius with leftovers and quick meals when unexpected guests arrived. This is one of the things that stands out in my mind, and it inspired me to create wonderful dishes from leftover foods myself.

I carried on with the tradition of carefully planning meals to combine nutrition, color and flavor, while at the same time offering variety and elegant presentation. In the process, I developed a passion for seeking out the best available products, adhering to each season’s offerings, and treating it with the respect it deserves, which eventually became part of my daily culinary life and travels. I did these things not because I wanted to become a chef, but to satisfy myself, family and friends with creations of gorgeous food and exciting flavors. All of which, I hope, is reflected in this blog.

2 replies on “Mille-feuille of black cherries and Kirsch liqueur”

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