Choco Vanilla Layer Cake

Cut 5 squares of parchment paper. Melt 5 oz of dark chocolate and trace oval tuiles with a spoon. Draw streaks with a comb on the chocolate and draw the leaves with your fingertips. Place the squares of parchment paper on 2 rolling pins of different sizes to give them a curved shape then set aside in the fridge.

Roll out the puff pastry pieces to obtain 2 rectangles and place 1 sheet of parchment paper on each one. Cut off the excess and place each puff pustry on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Prick the puff pastry with the comb. Cover the rectangles with 1 sheet of parchment paper and cover each pastry with a second baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F. Remove the trays 5 minutes before the end of cooking and preheat the oven to 480°F. Sprinkle the puff pastry with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and bake for 5 minutes to caramelize the sugar.

Blanch the egg yolks with 1/2 cup of sugar, add the vanilla seeds to the yolks and the vanilla beans to the milk to infuse it. Add the cornstarch to the eggs. Bring the milk to a boil and pour a little milk into the eggs. Pour everything into the milk. Cook until the cream is thick, pour the cream on a cling wrap-covered plate and place in the fridge for 4 hours.

Bring 1/4 cup of liquid cream to a boil and pour over the rest of the chocolate. Divide the cream into two containers. Cut the pastry cream in half with one piece cut in ⅔, add the smaller part to one bowl and the other to another bowl. Pour the chocolate into the bowl with the smallest amount of cream. Beat with an electric mixer to have a vanilla cream and a chocolate cream. Fill 2 ziplock bags with 1 cream in each. Place a large sheet of parchment paper on the work surface. Cut 1 corner of the bags to draw a large spiral with the vanilla pastry cream around the entire circumference of the sheet of parchment paper. Fill the spaces with the chocolate cream. Cover the sheet of parchment paper with another sheet and press to remove the air then place in the freezer for 45 minutes.

Cut the puff pastry into strips lengthwise, cut the same strips in the sheet of pastry cream with a serrated knife so as not to break the puff pastry. Whip the rest of the powdered sugar, the mascarpone and the rest of the heavy cream in an electric mixer and fill the ziplock bag ¾ full. Cut 1 bottom corner of the bag to make a piping bag. Assemble the mille-feuille by placing the dish vertically, then alternate 11 rows of puff pastry with the whipped cream and 1 strip of pastry cream.

Prepare the caramel by adding the rest of the sugar to a saucepan with a little water, when it has a nice color, stop the cooking by placing the saucepan in a bowl of cold water. Use a fork to drizzle caramel like angel hair over the mille-feuille. Place in the freezer for 1 hour. Turn the dish over to unmold the mille-feuille and trim the edges with a knife so that the contours of the cake are clean. Decorate the plate with the rest of the whipped cream then place the chocolate leaves on the cake. Serve in portions and enjoy!