Feuillant of Fresh Berries with Mango-Raspberry Coulis
Imagine a well of puff pastry, filled with crème Chantilly and fresh berries, and you will understand the appeal of this dessert. Wedges of nectarine and three different sauces garnish each plate. The sauces may be simple, strained fruit purees, or puree cooked with simple syrup and cooled. In a pinch, do what one chef does: melt fine vanilla ice cream as a substitute for crème anglaise!
Ingredients
- Puff Pastry Squares
- Puff pastry dough - one, 6-by-9-inch sheet puff
- Flour - 3 tablespoons
- Chantilly Cream
- Milk - 2 cups
- Unsalted Butter - 1 tablespoon
- Sugar - 1/4 cup
- Eggs - 2
- Cornstarch - 1/4 cup
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1 cup
- Confectioner’s Sugar - 1 teaspoon, sifted
- Sauces and Berries
- Mango Sauce - 1 cup
- Raspberry sauce - 1 cup
- Crème Anglaise - 1 cup
- Fresh Raspberries - 2 cups
- Fresh Blueberries - 2 cups
- Fresh Blackberries - 2 cups
- Garnish
- Fresh Nectarines - 2
- Sifted confectioner’s sugar for dusting
- Fresh mint sprigs - 6
Instructions
To prepare the pastry: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it. Flour a pastry board and lightly roll out the dough. Trim the edges to make a square, then cut the dough into 3-inch squares. Place the squares on the prepared pan and let stand for 30 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Let cool, then split in half horizontally. Press down in the center of half of each pair, making a well. Set aside.
To make the Chantilly cream: In a medium saucepan, combine 1-1/2 cups of the milk, the butter, and sugar, and bring the mixture to a boil. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup milk, eggs, and cornstarch in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. When the milk is boiling, whisk some of the hot milk into the egg mixture, then return the egg mixture to the milk in the pan and whisk while cooking over medium heat until the mixture is thick, about 3 to 5 minutes. Pour into a shallow pan, press plastic wrap onto the top to cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
In a deep bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream and confectioner’s sugar into the cooled pastry cream and transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
To serve: Select large dessert plates. Place the mango sauce, raspberry sauce, and crème anglaise in individual squeeze bottles. Beginning on one side of each plate, make a 1-inch band of the raspberry sauce from the center to the outer edge. Repeat with the mango sauce, then the crème anglaise, then the raspberry sauce, and finally the mango sauce, making a design. Using a toothpick, pull through the sauces in alternating directions, making a feathered pattern. Repeat on each plate. Place a puff pastry bottom in the center of each plate, clear of the design. Pipe some of the Chantilly cream into the well in each.
Arrange the berries on top of the cream, beginning with the raspberries, then the blueberries, and finally the blackberries. Cut the nectarines into 18 wedges and place three wedges on one corner of each dessert. Pipe rosettes of Chantilly cream on the four corners of each pastry. Dust the pastry tops with confectioner’s sugar and gently set on top of the filled pastry bottoms, allowing the rosettes of cream to hold them in place. Place a sprig of mint on top of each.
