The
Mille-feuille ,
Napoleon (U.S.),
vanilla slice,
cream slice or
custard slice (Commonwealth countries) is a
pastryPastry is the name given to various kinds of baked goods made from ingredients such as flour, butter, shortening, baking powder or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked goods are called "pastries"....
made of several layers of
puff pastryIn baking, a puff pastry is a light, flaky, unleavened pastry containing several layers of fat which is in solid state at 20°C .-History:...
alternating with a sweet filling, typically pastry cream, but sometimes
whipped creamThe term "whipped cream" refers to cream that has been beaten until it is light and fluffy, as by whipping with a mixer, whisk, or fork.Cream containing 30% or more fat can be mixed with air, and the resulting colloid is roughly double the volume of the original cream as air bubbles are captured...
, or jam. It is usually glazed with
icingIcing, also called frosting, is a sweet glaze made of sugar that often also contains butter, water, egg whites, milk, or flavorings and is used to cover or decorate baked goods, such as cakes or cookies....
or
fondantPoured fondant is a cream confection used as a filling or coating for cakes, pastries, and candies or sweets. In its simplest form, it is sugar and water cooked to the soft-ball stage, cooled slightly, and stirred or beaten until it is an opaque mass of creamy consistency. Sometimes lemon is added...
in alternating white and brown (chocolate) strips, and
combedPaper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns similar to marble or other stone, hence the name. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution known as size, and then carefully transferred to a sheet of paper...
. The name is also written as "millefeuille" and "mille feuille".
There are also savory mille-feuilles with cheese and spinach or other fillings.
In
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, it is called a "vanilla slice" and is filled with vanilla custard.
The
Mille-feuille ,
Napoleon (U.S.),
vanilla slice,
cream slice or
custard slice (Commonwealth countries) is a
pastryPastry is the name given to various kinds of baked goods made from ingredients such as flour, butter, shortening, baking powder or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked goods are called "pastries"....
made of several layers of
puff pastryIn baking, a puff pastry is a light, flaky, unleavened pastry containing several layers of fat which is in solid state at 20°C .-History:...
alternating with a sweet filling, typically pastry cream, but sometimes
whipped creamThe term "whipped cream" refers to cream that has been beaten until it is light and fluffy, as by whipping with a mixer, whisk, or fork.Cream containing 30% or more fat can be mixed with air, and the resulting colloid is roughly double the volume of the original cream as air bubbles are captured...
, or jam. It is usually glazed with
icingIcing, also called frosting, is a sweet glaze made of sugar that often also contains butter, water, egg whites, milk, or flavorings and is used to cover or decorate baked goods, such as cakes or cookies....
or
fondantPoured fondant is a cream confection used as a filling or coating for cakes, pastries, and candies or sweets. In its simplest form, it is sugar and water cooked to the soft-ball stage, cooled slightly, and stirred or beaten until it is an opaque mass of creamy consistency. Sometimes lemon is added...
in alternating white and brown (chocolate) strips, and
combedPaper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns similar to marble or other stone, hence the name. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution known as size, and then carefully transferred to a sheet of paper...
. The name is also written as "millefeuille" and "mille feuille".
There are also savory mille-feuilles with cheese and spinach or other fillings.
Variant names and forms
In
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, it is called a "vanilla slice" and is filled with vanilla custard. It usually has only a top and bottom pastry layer. The sweet is almost invariably iced with passionfruit icing.
In
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, it is called
mille foglie and contains similar fillings. A savory Italian version consists of puff pastry filled with
spinachSpinach is an edible flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant , which grows to a height of up to 30 cm. Spinach may survive over winter in temperate regions...
,
cheeseCheese is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulation of the milk protein casein. Typically, the milk is acidified and addition of the enzyme rennet causes coagulation. The solids are separated and pressed into...
or
pestoPesto is a sauce originating in Genoa in the Liguria region of northern Italy . The name is the contracted past participle of pestâ , in reference to the sauce's crushed herbs and garlic.-History:The ancient Romans ate a cheese spread called moretum which may sometimes...
, among other things.
In the
CommonwealthThe Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...
(
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
excepted), mille-feuille is known as ‘vanilla slice’, ‘cream slice’ or "snot block" and usually has only a top and bottom pastry layer. The filling is often flavored with
chocolateChocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America, with its earliest documented use around 1100 BC...
. Other popular icings include
vanillaVanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. Etymologically, vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod. Originally cultivated by Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both the spice and...
,
chocolateChocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America, with its earliest documented use around 1100 BC...
,
strawberryFragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. There are more than 20 described species and many hybrids and cultivars. The most common strawberries grown commercially are cultivars of the Garden strawberry...
,
raspberryThe raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the subgenus Idaeobatus of the genus Rubus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
, and passionfruit. In
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
, it is usually called a ‘custard square.’ In Canada, mille-feuille is the more common name, as well as "Napoleon", due to the country's long French history. In
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
it is called a "custard slice".
In
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
as well as in Finland the
Napoleonbakelse (Napoleon pastry) is a mille-feuille filled with whipped cream, custard, and jam. The top of the pastry is glazed with icing and currant jelly. In
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
and
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
it is simply called
Napoleon-cake.
The Netherlands and
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
eat the tompoes or tompouce. Several variations exist in Belgium, but in the Netherlands, it is iconic and the market allows preciously little variation in form, size, ingredients and colour. See tompouce.
In
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
the puff pastry is thin and crunchy and the filling is only
creme fraicheCrème fraîche is a soured cream containing about 28% butterfat and with a pH of around 4.5. It is soured with bacterial culture, but is less sour and thicker than sour cream.Originally a French product, it is available in many countries...
. It separates the puff pastry layers several times. They can reach up to half foot tall and can be found in most pastries. They are called milhojas.
History
The origin of the mille-feuille is unknown. It would be created by François Pierre de La Varenne, who described it in his book "Cuisinier françois" in 1651. And would be impoved later by Marie-Antoine Carême. Carême (writing at the end of the 18th century) considered it of 'ancient origin'. It was earlier called "gâteau de mille-feuilles" 'cake of a thousand leaves'. The Hungarian city of
SzegedSzeged is the fourth largest city of Hungary, the regional centre of South-Eastern Hungary and the capital of the county of Csongrád.- Name :...
or the Italian city of Napoli may have something to do with its origins.
Origin of the name 'Napoleon'
The name appears to come from
napolitain, the French adjective for the Italian city of
NaplesNaples in Italy, is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old...
, but altered by association with the name of Emperor
Napoleon I of FranceNapoleon Bonaparte later known as Napoleon I, and previously Napoleone di Buonaparte, was a military and political leader of France whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century.Born in Corsica and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France, Bonaparte rose to prominence...
. There is no evidence to connect the pastry to the emperor himself.
In France, a
Napoléon is a kind of mille-feuille filled with almond paste.
Competitions
An annual competition for the best vanilla slice baker is the
Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph held in
OuyenOuyen is a town in Victoria, Australia, located at the junction of the Calder Highway and Mallee Highway, south of Mildura, north-west of Melbourne, in the Rural City of Mildura. At the 2006 census the town had a population of 1383.-History:...
in western
Victoria (Australia)Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...
. Judging criteria include "when tasted, should reveal a custard with a creamy smooth texture and a balance of vanilla taste with a crisp, crunchy pastry topped with a smooth and shiny glaze/fondant".
Popular culture
- In the popular Disney release of Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a computer-animated film produced by Pixar and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was the eighth movie produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005...
, Emile is seen jumping out of a mille feuille pastry in the beginning scene of the movie.
- The time-travel card game Early American Chrononauts
Chrononauts is a card game that simulates popular fictional ideas about how time travellers might alter history, drawing on sources like Back to the Future and the short stories collection Travels Through Time. The game was designed by Andrew Looney in 2000 and is published by Looney Labs...
includes a tongue-in-cheek card called Napoleon's Napoleon which players can symbolically acquire from the year 1815.
- On the cd
A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982...
label for the 1998 Sonic YouthSonic Youth is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Mark Ibold and Steve Shelley ....
album A Thousand LeavesA Thousand Leaves is an album by Sonic Youth. It was the group's first major album to be recorded in their private Manhattan studio, dubbed Echo Canyon....
the phrase "mille feuille" is crossed out and "a thousand leaves" is written under it.
- Milfeulle Sakuraba is a character in the anime
is animation originating in Japan. The world outside Japan regards anime as "Japanese animation". Anime originated about 1917.Anime, like manga , has a large audience in Japan and high recognition throughout the world...
Galaxy Angelis a bishōjo sci-fi/comedy anime, manga and dating sim series by BROCCOLI. It was created in July 2000, when Broccoli launched the multi-platformed project called Project G.A. The anime and Galaxy Angel Party manga comprise a comedy story in an alternate universe, while the games and the regular...
. She is highly skilled in cooking, but especially enjoys making pastries and other desserts.
- In the Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, comedian, writer, musician, and playwright....
film Love and DeathLove and Death is a 1975 comedy film by Woody Allen. Starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, Love and Death is a satirical take on Russian epic novels. Coming in between Sleeper and Annie Hall, Love and Death is in many respects an artistic transition between the two...
, Napoleon berated his chefs for a pastry attempt at a Napoleon (they'd included raisins, among other things). Napoleon declared himself in competition with WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
, who was "inventing" Beef WellingtonBeef Wellington is a preparation of beef tenderloin coated with pâté and duxelles, which is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked...
.
- In the Brian De Palma
Brian De Palma is an American film director. In a career spanning over forty years, he is probably best known for his suspense and thriller films, including such box office successes as Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, Carlito's Way, The Untouchables, and Mission: Impossible.Throughout the 1970s...
film Dressed To Kill, Angie DickinsonAngie Dickinson is a Golden Globe-winning American actress who has appeared in more than 50 films and starred on television as Sergeant Leann "Pepper" Anderson in the successful 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:...
's character explains to her son (played by Keith GordonKeith Gordon is an American actor and film director.-Biography:Gordon was born in New York City, the son of Barbara, an actress, and Mark Gordon, an actor and stage director. He grew up in an atheist Jewish family and was inspired to become an actor at the age of twelve, after seeing James Earl...
) the (apocryphal) origin of the Napoleon pastry's name—that Napoleon baked as a hobby when he wasn't fighting and named the pastry he invented after himself.
- In the video game Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, known in Japan as , is an action video game developed and published by Konami. The game was released on November 16, 2006 in Japan, and in the US on December 5, 2006 for the Nintendo DS handheld game console...
, the cake is the most expensive one when found in the hidden bakery of the City of Haze, at $50 per single payment. It will reappear on sale once the player consumes it, but is also found again in another hidden bakery later on in 13th Street.
- In the video game For the Frog the Bell Tolls, The Princess Tiramisu
Tiramisù is one of the most popular Italian cakes. It is made of savoiardi dipped in espresso or strong coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks, mascarpone, and sugar, and topped with cocoa....
lives in the Mille-Feuille kingdom.
- In the Korean drama My Lovely Sam Soon
My Lovely Sam Soon or My Name is Kim Sam Soon is a South Korean drama series which was aired on MBC from June 1 2005 to July 21 2005...
, the main character Kim Sam Soon makes a Mille-Feuille pastry with raspberries in Episode 8.
- In Azumanga Daioh
is a Japanese comedy manga by Kiyohiko Azuma. It was serialized by MediaWorks in the shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh from 1999 to 2002 and collected in four bound volumes...
Episode 25, Chiyo serves millefeuille to her classmates who are in the main cast.
- In the Dead or Alive video game series, Kasumi's favorite food is listed as Strawberry Mille-Feuille.
Alternative names
Names for the mille-feuille pastry in other languages:
- In Arabic
Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
"ميل فى" [mīlfī]
- In Bulgarian
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian demonstrates several linguistic innovations that set it apart from all other Slavic languages except the Macedonian language, such as the elimination of case declension, the development of a suffixed definite...
"Наполеон" ('Napoleon')
- In Chinese
Chinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of languages mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
"拿破侖" ('Napoleon')
- In Dutch
Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
"tompoes", (or En:Tompouce) and in BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
, near the French-Dutch language boundary also "mille-feuille", pronounced .
- In Danish
Danish is one of the North Germanic languages , a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. It is spoken by around 6 million people, mainly in Denmark; the language is also used by the 50,000 Danes in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany where it holds the...
Napoleonsterte ('Napoleons Cake')
- In New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
"Custard square"
- In English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
(AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
) "Vanilla slice"
- In English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
(AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n SlangSlang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. It is often used as a way to say words that are not appropriate, and is not often found in the standard dictionary for the language...
) "Snot Block"
- In English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
(U.K.) "Vanilla slice" or "Cream slice"
- In English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
(U.S.) "Napoleon"
- In Estonian
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
"Napoleoni kook" or "napoleonikook" ('Napoleon's cake')
- In Filipino "Napoleones" is a similar pastry made in the western Visayas region of the country
- In Finnish
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a Finnish dialect, are spoken...
"Napoleonin leivos"
- In French
French is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
"Mille-feuille" ('Thousand sheets')
- In German
German is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
"Cremeschnitte" ('cream slice'); the dough is "Blätterteig" ('sheet dough'); also "Napoleonschnitte"
- In Yiddish
Yiddish is a non-territorial High German language of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world...
"קרם שניט" [kremʃnitte]
- In Hungarian
Hungarian is a Uralic language unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries...
"Francia krémes"
- In Italian
Italian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
"Millefoglie" ('Thousand sheets')
- In Japanese
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...
"ミルフィーユ" [mirɯfījɯ]
- In Norwegian
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants ...
"Napoleonskake" ('Napoleon's cake')
- In Polish
Polish is a West Slavic language and the official language of Poland. Its written standard is the Polish alphabet which corresponds basically to the Latin alphabet with a few additions...
"Napoleonka"
- In Portuguese
Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
"Mil-folhas" ('Thousand-sheets')
- In Russian
Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
"Наполеон" ('Napoleon').
- In Spanish
Spanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
"Milhojas"
- In Swedish
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the coast and on the Åland islands. It is to a considerable extent mutually intelligible with Norwegian and to a lesser extent with Danish...
"Napoleonbakelse" ('Napoleon pastry')
- In Turkish
Turkish is spoken as a first language by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other...
"Milföy"
Sources