Poached Pear Millefeuille
Sebastian created this dish for MasterChef UK Professionals Season 18. A classic French patisserie skills test set by demo chef Matthew Ryle, this mille-feuille calls for crisp flat puff pastry baked under a weighted rack, Sauternes-poached pears with warm spices, and a mascarpone praline cream enriched with blitzed hazelnut caramel. Sebastian openly admitted unfamiliarity with mille-feuille before starting — a candid admission that shaped everything that followed. He began with the pears rather than the pastry, placed the pastry in the oven without a weighted rack, and most critically assembled the dish with warm pears that melted the cream on contact, producing what the judges described as a sandwich rather than a layered tower. The benchmark was Gareth's version, which Marcus Wareing declared absolutely flawless. This recipe addresses every error, turning Seb's struggle into a precise, step-by-step guide to getting mille-feuille right.
- Time: 150 min
Source: Relaxed Recipes
Ingredients
- STEP 1: BAKE THE PUFF PASTRY FIRST
- Preheat the oven to 200°C . Roll the puff pastry to approximately 3mm thick on a
- STEP 2: POACH THE PEARS
- While the pastry bakes, combine the Sauternes, caster sugar, cinnamon stick, sta
- STEP 3: MAKE THE HAZELNUT PRALINE
- Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat, stirring frequently, f
- STEP 4: MAKE THE MASCARPONE PRALINE CREAM
- In a large bowl, whisk the mascarpone until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip the
- STEP 5: CONFIRM ALL COMPONENTS ARE COLD
- Before assembly, confirm that the pastry is completely cool and crisp, the pears
- STEP 6: ASSEMBLE
- Using a sharp serrated knife, carefully cut the cooled pastry sheet into neat re