Ingredients for 4 Servings
For the puff pastry
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g butter
- 120 ml lukewarm water
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 7 g salt
- 200 g butter for butter layers (approximately 10 mm thick and square-shaped)
For the vanilla cream
- 100 g milk
- seeds from ½ vanilla bean
- 20 g honey
- 90 g softened white chocolate
- 100 g heavy cream
- 200 g mascarpone cheese
- 10 g STROH 40
For the nougat crisp
- 50 g milk chocolate
- 50 g nougat
- 50 g broken wafers (or cornflakes)
- a pinch of salt
- zest of ½ lime
For the strawberry sauce
- 250 g strawberries
- some icing sugar
- a dash of STROH 80
- lemon juice
Preparation
For the puff pastry
- Combine flour, softened butter, water, vinegar, and salt in a bowl and knead slowly. Once the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl, knead faster until it becomes silky and smooth.
- Roll out the dough into a square, about 10 mm thick, and place the butter layer in the center.
- Fold the dough like an envelope and gently roll it out into a rectangle using a rolling pin.
- Chill for about 60 minutes to allow the dough to relax and prevent the butter from becoming too soft.
- After resting, roll out the dough into a thinner rectangle.
- Now, make alternating turns: two single turns followed by two double turns. For a single turn, fold the dough twice, reducing the surface area to one-third. For a double turn, fold the dough from both sides towards the center and then fold it again like a book. Chill the dough between each turn to allow it to rest.
- Next, roll out the dough to a thickness of 5 mm and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Dust some powdered sugar on top and bake in the oven at 200 °C until it turns a beautiful brown color.
- Allow to cool and store in a dry place.
For the vanilla cream
- Briefly bring milk with vanilla and honey to a boil, then mix with the softened chocolate.
- Stir in the liquid heavy cream and emulsify with an immersion blender.
- Then incorporate the mascarpone and STROH with the immersion blender.
- Let it mature overnight in the refrigerator, then whip it up like whipped cream the next day.
For the nougat crisp
- Melt the milk chocolate and nougat.
- Mix the fine broken wafers with the other ingredients and roll out thinly between two sheets of parchment paper.
- Allow it to firm up in the refrigerator, then pack it in airtight containers.
For the strawberry sauce
- Puree the strawberries and season with sugar, STROH, and lemon juice.
- Pass it through a fine sieve. If needed, thicken it slightly with a little cornstarch.
For arranging on plates
- Break or cut the puff pastry sheets into pieces and alternate with dollops of whipped vanilla cream. Place the nougat crisp and strawberries in between.
