Vanilla custard and raspberry mille-feuille

Separate the thawed puff pastry at the seams onto a silpat-lined baking sheet.

Dock all over with a fork so it does not rise too much, then dust lightly with granulated sugar.

Cover with parchment, three or four layers of folded foil and a second sheet pan to press it flat.

Bake in the centre of a 400F oven 15 minutes; remove the paper, foil and top pan.

Bake uncovered at 400F another 10 to 15 minutes until beautifully browned and crisp, flipping the pieces halfway (7 or 8 minutes each side).

Cool completely on a rack before cutting.

Square off with a long serrated knife using a light sawing motion and cut three uniform rectangles. (Rolling the pastry before baking makes it thinner.)

Cover the top piece with plain white icing; stripe with icing mixed with a little chocolate, then drag a toothpick through three times one way and between those lines the other way.

Pipe a generous layer of pastry cream on a pastry piece, repeat for two layers, and top with the iced piece.

Variation, fruit napoleon: set six raspberries on each layer with pastry cream piped between, two layers; lay two chopsticks on top, dust with powdered sugar and lift them off to leave stripes.