French Pâtissier's Secret Ingredient - 3 Recipes Using Feuilletine
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December 12th, 2014
Usually only seen in professional pastry kitchens, feuilletine is the secret weapon of many a French pâtissier. Feuilletine's full name is pailleté feuilletine, meaning leaf-like flakes, an apt name for these brittle crispy flakes with caramelized, praline flavours.
Here are our top three recipes using feuilletine.
Louis XV Chocolate Mousse Dessert
A classic use for feuilletine is in the iconic signature dish of Alain Ducasse’s three-star Michelin restaurant in Monte-Carlo, the Louis XV. A layer of feuilletine mixed with praline is spread on top of a hazelnut dacquois to form a base with an irresistible chewy crunch.
Feuilletine & Salted Caramel Macarons
Beyond its classic uses, feuilletine adds decorative interest to biscuits, in particular macarons. In our macaron recipe we sprinkle the feuilletine over the macaron shells just before baking. The caramelized, praline flavours work well with a salted caramel and vanilla buttercream filling.
Hazelnut & Feuilletine Christmas Yule Log
Last but not least, feuilletine adds an irresistible crunch to our chocolate and hazelnut yule log. In this recipe we make a praline/feuilletine layer which is spread onto a chocolate genoise sponge and rolled up with a hazelnut buttercream. The rich nuttiness of our hazelnut paste really complements the caramelized flavours of feuilletine.
Feuilletine is made from the same batter as crêpes dentelles, extremely thin layers of biscuit rolled up into wide cigar-like shapes. Feuilletine flakes have a light, crispy texture which works wonders in pâtisserie. In particular, feuilletine has an affinity with chocolate since the flakes can be coated in chocolate without going soggy. This means they can retain their texture adding contrast to layered cakes known as 'entremets.'
For more tips about how to master French patisserie, check out this article explaining the 5 common problems when making macarons & how to solve them!
