When a renowned chef like Giancarlo Perbellini prepares a traditional dessert, his reinterpretation of tradition can only be described as “elegant.” Here’s how he reimagines the mille-feuille.

Puff Pastry

525 g butter
250 g water
15 g salt
500 g 00 flour

Cream

1 vanilla bean
1 g cornstarch
30 g butter
120 g sugar
120 g egg whites
60 g egg yolk
Saronno amaretti, to taste
Powdered sugar, to taste

Instructions

To make the puff pastry, mix the flour with the water, salt, and 75 g of butter. Form a smooth dough and let it rest for 15 minutes. With the remaining butter, form a block about 1 cm thick.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough ball into a rectangle 4–5 mm thick. Place the block of butter in the center and cover it with the sides of the dough. Tap the dough lightly with the rolling pin, then roll it out.

From this point on, proceed with the folding process to achieve the final thickness of the baked pastry: fold the dough into three overlapping layers, then roll it out, repeating this process three times and letting it rest for 10 minutes in the refrigerator between each fold. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 2–3 mm. Cut out discs with a diameter of about 8 cm and bake them at 200°C for 10 minutes.

For the cream, cook the egg yolks in a double boiler with 90 g of sugar, the butter, cornstarch, and the vanilla bean, bringing the mixture to 82°C. Then let it cool. Meanwhile, prepare a meringue by beating the egg whites with 30 g of sugar, then fold the two mixtures together.

Fill the mille-feuille with the cream and top it with the chopped amaretti. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish the plate with a ring of Saronno amaretti.