These French treats get their name from the many layers of puff pastry that form the base of the confection, and they can be found gracing the windows of Parisian patisseries and bakeries the world over. I wanted to try my hand at this incredibly beautiful dessert—with a holiday twist. I turned to my very favorite Christmas treat, the candy cane, for inspiration and infused this mille-feuille with peppermint flavor and decorated it with festive red-and-white stripes. It’s all about making the components separately and then assembling them in an attractive way. If you can turn on an oven and crank a stand mixer up to high speed, you can make these mille-feuille—I promise!

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INGREDIENTS

To assemble: 
2 sheets puff pastry
peppermint meringues
peppermint whipped cream
chocolate pastry cream
royal icing
sprinkles, optional

For the peppermint meringues:
2 egg whites
1/2 cup fine sugar
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
red gel food coloring

For the peppermint whipped cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
peppermint extract, to taste
red gel food coloring

For the chocolate pastry cream:
3 egg yolks
4 1/2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 Tbsp flour
3/4 Tbsp corn starch
1 1/3 cup milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup dark chocolate

For the royal icing: 
2 egg whites
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
red gel food coloring

DIRECTIONS

Start by making the meringues. Preheat the oven to 200°F.

Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat, starting on low speed and gradually building to high, until you have soft peaks. Add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, making sure it’s fully incorporated before you add the next bit.

Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on high speed for an additional 5 minutes, until the mixture is smooth, stiff and super glossy. Beat in the peppermint extract.

Turn a pastry bag inside out and use a paintbrush to paint four stripes of red food coloring inside the bag. Carefully turn it right-side out and use a spatula to add the egg white mixture to the piping bag.

Pipe little kisses of the mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 45 minutes or until one of the meringues can be easily removed from the parchment paper without breaking on the bottom. Turn off the oven, leaving the meringues in with the door cracked until they’ve cooled.

Thaw the frozen sheets of puff pastry, then unfold and place one on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Poke all over with a fork then brush with an egg wash. Top with the other sheet of puff pastry and an empty baking sheet—we want the weight of the top pan to keep the pastry from puffing too much. Bake according to package directions.

After the puff pastry is cooked and cooled, use a ruler and a sharp, serrated knife to carefully trim it into 2″ x 4″ rectangles.

To make the chocolate pastry cream, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, flour and cornstarch in a medium bowl.

In a saucepan, heat the milk and cream until they simmer, then mix 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture into the bowl of egg yolks. Tempering the mixture in this way will prevent your eggs from scrambling.

Pour the tempered mixture from the bowl into your hot milk, whisking as you go. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the dark chocolate.

Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until cool. Add it to a pastry bag with a wide tip when you’re ready to use it.

Whip together the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, a few drops of peppermint extract and a teensy bit of red food coloring to create a pale pink whipped cream. Add it to a pastry bag with a wide tip.

Last but not least, make a batch of royal icing. Add the powdered sugar, cream of tartar, egg whites and vanilla to the bowl of a mixer and beat on high for 7 to 10 minutes, until it's the consistency of honey. Separate into two bowls and add red food coloring to one.

Now comes the easy part: assembling it all! Start with a layer of puff pastry and top it with alternating piped dollops of peppermint whipped cream and chocolate pastry cream. Then, carefully stack another layer of puff pastry and top with another round of whipped cream and pastry cream.

Before adding the third layer of puff pastry, cover it with a layer of white royal icing. While the white icing is still wet, use your red icing in a pasty bag fitted with a superfine tip to draw stripes about 1/2″ inch apart going across the short length of the puff pastry.

Drag a tooth pick lengthwise across the stripes, alternating directions to create the heathered pattern. Let the icing dry then stack the decorated puff pastry atop the other two layers.

Arrange a few peppermint meringues on top and frame those with tiny dollops of whipped cream topped with sprinkles.