Monday, July 23, 2012

Mille-Feuille

mille-feuille and tea photograph by Tim Irving
The sun came out yesterday in southern England and to celebrate its appearance a few of us had cream tea in the garden of a traditional English tea room at Clare in Suffolk. There was a good selection of cakes and scones, but I was seduced by the look of this cake, a strawberry mille-feuille. Unlike its common cousin the custard slice, the mille-feuille has more layers of puff pastry, the translation of mille-feuille is thousand sheets.

This is one of several cakes that are impossible to eat with any dignity. The moment I bite down on the pastry, the cream is squeezed sideways, smearing my face, hands and shirt and giving me the expression of a circus clown. This would be an excellent cake to serve should you ever want to humiliate a someone or to gain a psychological advantage.

You can use a fork to cut it up, but the pastry doesn't break up easily and you end up with an ugly mess. The best  way to enjoy this cake is in the privacy of your own home, wearing your oldest clothes, but if you are eating in a public place at least choose a table with some privacy.

2 comments:

  1. Dainty setting and a deceptively polite pastry. You were set up! Next time look around to make sure nobody is watching and flip the thing upside down so your fork pushes easily through the filling. Then take another glance for privacy before scooping the entire flap of iced phyllo into your mouth at once. And you could always get a second slice "to go." I love eating tasty, misbehaving goodies in an undignified fashion at home in front of a movie. But I would give up a lot of goodies to have that pink cup & saucer. Glad you got some sunshine and a good day out. Such a pretty photograph.

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  2. A lovely shot (and that cake looks fabulous - and deadly lol).

    I haven't visited in a while, but noticed the profile picture. Nice to put a face with a name. :-)

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