Lemon Mille Feuille with Phyllo Dough
Lemon Mille Feuille made with Athens Phyllo Dough Pastry Sheets, subtle lemon pastry cream, lemon curd and fresh whipped cream.
These lemon mille feuilles are one of those recipes that’s been on my to do list for like two years. I mostly wanted to make them because I knew they would be pretty LOL. Not to say that they’re not absolutely delicious as well, because they are.
What is a mille feuille?
Mille Feuille is French for “a thousand layers”. It’s traditionally made with flattened puff pastry but if you ask me, nothing beats Athens phyllo dough.
They’re layers of crispy pastry stacked on top of pastry cream but we’re gonna have fun and add in some lemon curd and whipped cream.
Why you’ll love this recipe
This recipe is much easier to make than it looks. I used Athens phyllo dough sheets as the layers because I was obsessed when I used this method for my cinnamon sugar chips and I knew it would work perfect for this.
The pastry cream is super simple to make and if you want to use store bought lemon curd and whipped cream, no one will know the difference!
Ingredients
Phyllo Layers
- Athens Phyllo Dough Sheets: this is what makes the recipe so crispy, delicious and simple.
- Butter: the butter will help the phyllo layers stick together. You can use salted or unsalted, doesn’t make a huge difference here.
- Egg White (save the yolk!): The egg white will make the top of the phyllo dough nice and shiny.
Pastry Cream
- Egg yolks: egg yolks help thicken the pastry cream and give it a rich, silky texture.
- Sugar: please don’t cut the amount of sugar 🙂
- Cornstarch: this will help thicken the pastry cream so it sets well.
- Lemon: I only used half a medium lemon because I didn’t want it “too lemony” since there is also lemon curd in between the layers.
- Milk: I usually use 2% or whole milk and they both work fine. Dairy free milk should also work well here.
- Butter: Again you can use salted or unsalted butter. I like to use salted butter but if I use unsalted, I add in ⅛ tsp of salt as well.
- Vanilla: I like to use vanilla bean paste. Add this in after you remove the pastry cream from the heat.
Lemon Curd
- Egg & egg yolk: in my lemon curd recipe I like to use one whole and one egg yolk
- Sugar: please don’t cut the amount of sugar 🙂
- Lemon: I use one whole large lemon here for a strong lemon flavor. You can also use two small lemons that measure up to a ¼ cup of lemon juice.
- Butter: Again you can use salted or unsalted butter here. I like to use salted butter but if I use unsalted, I add in ⅛ tsp of salt as well.
- *you won’t need this whole recipe; you can also use a store bought lemon curd
Whipped Cream
- Sugar: I used to use powdered sugar in my whipped cream but I’ve been experimenting with granulated sugar and it works both ways. I find this to be a little silkier.
- Cream of Tartar: this will help stabilize the whipped cream so it sets better.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: make sure the heavy whipping cream is really cold when whipping.
- Vanilla: Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste works well.
- *can also use a store bought whipped cream
Step-by-Step Instructions
STEP 1: Make the Pastry Cream by combining the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and zest. Simmer the milk and butter and then slowly stream them over the egg mixture, while whisking continuously.
STEP 2: Return the whole mixture to the pot and whisk continuously for a few minutes until you see the first bubble pop. Then whisk for one more minute and remove the pastry cream from the heat. Pour through a sieve into a bowl and stir in the vanilla bean paste.
Cover the surface of the pastry cream with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30-60 minutes until it firms up.
STEP 3: Make the Lemon Curd by cooking all the ingredients while whisk continuously until it thickens, about 5 minutes. While it’s still hot, press the curd through a sieve into another bowl/jar, cover it and allow it to cool completely to room temperature.
STEP 4: Make the Phyllo Layers by buttering and layering 6 sheets of Athens phyllo dough on a cookie sheet. Egg wash the top layer and use a pizza cutter to cut into 16 rectangles. Bake for 7-8 minutes, until golden brown.
STEP 5: Make the Whipped Cream once everything has cooled. Beat the sugar, cream of tartar and heavy whipping cream in a large bowl until it’s fluffy and barely holds stiff peaks.
*If you over-whip the cream, add another tablespoon of heavy whipped cream and mix until combined.
STEP 6: Fill three piping bags with pastry cream, lemon curd and whipped cream. Pipe pastry cream and lemon curd onto the first and second layer of phyllo sheets and then pipe whipped cream and lemon curd on the top layer. *optional – add some gold foil or gold dust.
STEP 7: Repeat with the other layers. You should get 5 mille feuilles from this with one leftover layer of phyllo.
*If you triple the recipe, you’ll get 16 instead of 15 because each one will have a leftover phyllo layer.
STEP 8: Refrigerate for 1-2 hours until it’s set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! I like to provide the recipe I use for lemon curd but a store bought one would work well here and simplify the recipe more.
Absolutely! I like to provide the recipe I use for whipped cream but a store bought one would work well here and simplify the recipe more. The canned one might melt quicker, so I recommend the frozen, cool whip type.
I get mine from amazon, just make sure it says “edible” somewhere in the description or title.
You can use dairy free milk and butter in all the parts of this cream or use coconut cream instead of whipped cream for a dairy free option.
I get this question a lot. I don’t recommend making my recipes without eggs but if you have an eggless pastry cream and lemon curd recipe that pipes and sets well, you can use them here. You can also skip the egg white topping on the phyllo sheets and just do the butter if you are making it eggless.
How to store Lemon Mille Feuille
Make sure to store these covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. The phyllo dough won’t be quite as crispy anymore after it’s been refrigerated though.
I don’t recommend freezing this recipe.
Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below. Make sure to leave it in the comment section because I can’t answer in the rating section :).
If you make this lemon mille feuille I would love to see it so make sure to tag me @baranbakery and @athens_foods on instagram.
As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!
Love, B
