Caramel & mango millefeuille 

• Puff pastry consists of two components. The beurrage which is the butter and the détrempe which is the dough. Let’s start with the beurrage. 

The beurrage

• Transfer the butter into a mixing bowl and also add the flour. Now mix this on a low speed until it’s a smooth and even mixture. You don’t want any air in the butter, so this will only take a couple of seconds.
• Then transfer it on some parchment paper and shape it into a square that 20 centimeters by 20 centimeters. Now wrap it completely and let it set in your fridge for 3 to 4 hours.

The détrempe

• Transfer the flour in the mixing bowl and also add the sugar, the salt, the ice cold water and the white wine vinegar. Now mix this on a low speed for a minute so all the ingredients can come together.
• Then add the butter and mix it for another 4 minutes. Once it’s a nice dough transfer it onto your worktop and press or roll it into a square that’s also 20 centimeters.
• Wrap it tight in parchment paper and let it rest in your fridge for 2 hours. 

How to layer the puff pastry

• Dust some flour on your worktop and lay the beurrage, so that’s the butter on there. Now roll it into a long rectangle that’s 45 centimeters. Then use a brush to remove any excess flour and place the détrempe in the middle. Now fold the butter around the dough. Then let it set in your fridge for 30 minutes. Temperature is key when making puff pastry.
• After that roll it into a long rectangle, remove any excess flour and then fold it in three. Then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the process that we just did. So, roll, dust, and fold. After that wrap it and write down the amount of fold that you did. Then let it cool down in your fridge for at least 3 hours.
• After that take the dough out of the foil and turn it 90 degrees again. Roll it into a long rectangle, dust the flour off and fold it in three. Then turn it 90 degrees and repeat the process once more. Then wrap it again, write down the number of folds and let it cool down for at least 3 hours.
• Once it’s chilled again, we just do one more fold and then let it cool down for 3 hours. So, in total we fold it 5 times.

Baking the puff pastry

• After that roll your puff pastry on a floured worktop into a big sheet. Then cut it to the desired size. Don’t slice it because then the sides would puff up like the middle.
• Now we can bake the dough. This time I’ll bake it between 2 wave molds for a nice effect. Click here for more info on the mold. You could also bake it between some silicon sheets. Then place a baking tray on top and bake it at 180 °C for around 30 minutes till golden. While that’s baking, we can make our caramel powder that we’ll dust on top after baking. 

The caramel powder

• Mix the sugar with the water and caramelize this on a medium heat till it’s a golden brown caramel.
• Once it’s a nice caramel pour it out on a silicon sheet and level it. Let it cool down completely.
• Then transfer it into a blender and blend it into a fine powder. Keep it dry and covered for later.
• Once the puff pastry is golden brown dust the top with a thin layer of the caramel powder and caramelize this for another 5 minutes at 180 °C.
• Once it’s caramelized and still hot gently portion it to the desired size. Now let it cool down completely and keep it dry and covered.

• Peel the mango and cut the mango of the seed. Now cut it in even cubes and weigh 400 grams into a pan.
• Then cut the lime in half and squeeze it for 40 grams of lime juice. Now cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Add both the seeds and pot to the pan and also add the cardamom pods and the ginger syrup. Then cover the pan with a lid and simmer it on a low heat till the mango is fully cooked and the spices have infused. This takes about an hour.
• Once it’s cooked remove the spices and blend it till smooth. Now we need to know how much the puree weighs. For all my pans I know exactly how much they weigh, and I’ve engraved it on the bottom of the handle. This makes weighing reductions and other things very easy. Once you know the weight, add a gram of agar powder for every 100 grams of mixture.
• Then mix it well and bring it to a boil for at least 30 seconds. After that pour it into a bowl and let it cool down in your fridge.
• When it’s cold transfer it into a blender and blend it till smooth.
• Now I always vacuum my gels. By doing this you will remove the air bubbles and that will leave you with a lovely clear and intense gel.

• Mix the sugar with the water and bring this to a boil. Once it’s boiling add the peanuts and boil them on a low heat for 5 minutes. Then transfer them on an tray and let them cool down completely.
• When that’s done heat up some frying oil till it’s 160 degrees Celsius and add the peanuts. Now while mixing caramelize the peanuts till golden brown.
• Then take them out of the oil and season them with salt.

• Mix the sugar with the water and caramelize this on a medium heat till it’s a golden brown caramel. Once a golden caramel starts to form turn down the heat for more control.
• Now while mixing add the hot espresso, the cream, the white chocolate and the flaky salt. Then mix it well till it’s fully emulsified. It’s best to use a hand blender, but with a small recipe like this the blender won’t take and you can use a whisk.
• Now pour it into a bowl and let it set in your fridge for at least 3 hours. Then transfer it into a piping bag that’s fitted with a round nozzle and keep it in your fridge.

• Start by soaking the gelatin in cold water. Then mix the cream with the cardamom pods and cover the pan with a lid. Bring this to a simmer on a medium heat.
• Once it’s simmering turn off the heat and let it infuse for at least 1 hour. Meanwhile mix the white chocolate with the mascarpone.
• Then bring the cream to a simmer once more. Now turn off the heat, remove the lid and dissolve the gelatin. Mix it well. After that pour the hot cream through a fine sieve into the jar and blend it till smooth. This takes 1 to 2 minutes.
• Now while covered let it set in your fridge for at least 8 hours. I always leave it overnight.
• After that transfer the ganache into a stand mixer bowl and beat it till medium stiff peaks start to form. This takes around 2 to 3 minutes. Don’t over whisk it otherwise the ganache will split. Then transfer it into a piping bag fitted with a flat nozzle and keep it in your fridge for later.

• First place the puff pastry next to each other and pipe the whipped ganache on the first 3 sheets. Make sure it’s an even layer.
• Now pipe some of the ganache in the middle. Also pipe some mango gel on both sides. Then gently place the first three sheets on top of each other and press some of the caramelized peanuts on the final sheet.
• Gently place that one on the millefeuille as well. Now if preferent you can pipe some more of the fillings on top, but for me this is already the perfect balance!