Easy mille-feuille with strawberries and cream

For a girl who grew up with no appreciation for berries whatsoever, I'm amazed by the amount of strawberries I'm consuming and absolutely loving these days.  Strawberries are at their seasonal peak between mid-May and mid-June in New Jersey and I've been taking advantage of this.  How many pounds do you think you've eaten in the last few weeks?  I can't count...

The fresh strawberries are so good, they quickly vanish as I simply eat them.  As much inspiration as I've encountered, despite all the beautiful berry-filled desserts I've admired, I can't seem to muster the motivation to make a fruit tart or even whip up a cake with them.  I'm just gorging on them straight-up while my husband likes a little chocolate or Nutella with it.  

I could only manage to assemble this simple strawberry dessert, and all it takes is assembly.  It's a loose interpretation of a mille-feuille or Napoleon dessert.  I adapted the "recipe" from Gavottes, the original maker of crispy crepe dentelle - amazing wafer cookies that I simply love to eat as is or break up to mimic feuilletine in chocolate crunch bars.  Very sadly, my local World Market stores seem to have stopped carrying Gavottes biscuits so I settled for similar ones available at Whole Foods.  They are good but if you can get the Gavottes brand of crepe wafers, I highly recommend it because they are even better.

The last time I made mille-feuille or Napoleon was back in May 2011 when I followed a somewhat more traditional route using puff pastry to form the crispy layers.  This easy dessert takes that similar idea but instead of puff pastry, the crispy, buttery crepe wafers act as the flaky layers.  To make it, simply lay down a few of these wafers (I used ones coated in dark chocolate but you can find plain or ones coated in milk chocolate), top with some lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream, strawberries, and repeat.  It takes very little time to put together.

I'll be honest with you; this is a messy thing to eat!  Your best bet is to take a fork/spoon and whack it to break the wafers down. It's going to disintegrate and look a mess on your plate but just scoop it up and you're rewarded with mouthfuls of strawberries and cream together with crispy caramelized shards of wafers coated with chocolate. 

For the most part, I'm going to continue just snacking on these seasonal fresh strawberries while they're available but it was fun to do a little something different with my hoard!


The three components to this easy dessert are the crispy wafers, strawberries, and a little homemade whipped cream.  Since I couldn't find the Gavottes, I opted for the crispy crepes available at Whole Foods.  You'll find it in the cookie aisle.  I went with the ones coated in dark chocolate.

Lay 3 of these small wafers down on a plate.  Add some lightly sweetened whipped cream (use as much or be as minimal as you want), then place some sliced strawberries on top, adding another dollop of cream to hold the next layer in place. Repeat again, ending with a third layer of the wafers.  

Dust the top with a little confectioners' sugar and you're ready to go.  Place a few extra strawberries on the side of the plate since there isn't a tremendous amount in the layered dessert. 

Then prepare for a bit of a mess as you break down/crack into those wafers and dig in.  A big wide plate with a rim is probably a good idea.

Recipe:

Easy Mille-Feiulle with Strawberries and Cream
Adapted from Gavottes

- Makes one - 

9 crispy crepe wafers (plain or chocolate-coated; Gavottes are best if you can find it; otherwise, Natural Nectar brand available at Whole Foods is a good option)
Freshly whipped cream (3-4 tablespoons heavy cream lightly sweetened with sugar and vanilla extract and whipped to soft peaks)
Fresh strawberries, about 4-5 washed, hulled, and sliced
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

To assemble mille-feulle, set 3 wafers side-by-side on a rimmed dessert plate. Smooth a dollop of whipped cream over the wafers and place a couple of slices of strawberries on top. Smooth another dollop of whipped cream on top of the strawberries.  Repeat with a second layer.  Top with final 3 wafers and dust the top with confectioners' sugar.  Serve any remaining strawberries, and cream, on the side.

These are best assembled near serving time though the chocolate coating on the wafers will keep them from getting too soft, too fast.  Expect a bit of a mess as you break into the wafers and dig in!