Kirsch Cherry Millefeuille

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / gas 6. Lay pastry rolls flat on lined baking sheets. Prick with a fork and place baking parchment on to prevent pastry rising too high. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove, cool completely then slice each sheet into 12 even rectangles, discarding any excess.
2. To make the crème pâtissière, heat 250ml of milk in a pan until almost boiling. Meanwhile cream 3 egg yolks, 50g caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of the hot milk in a medium bowl. Add 20g plain flour and 25g cornflour before slowly pouring in the remaining hot milk, beating as you go.
3. Slit the vanilla pod lengthways then return the mixture to the pan along with pod. Bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Remove from the heat, scrape out any remaining vanilla seeds from the pod then cover with cling film and leave to cool completely. Once chilled, beat until smooth.
4. Whip the cream until stiff then add to the custard. Place into a piping bag, snip a hole in the end then pipe in long lines across 16 of the pastry rectangles. Stack rectangles so you have 8 stacks of 2.
5. Set aside 2 tablespoons of icing sugar then mix the rest with a little reserved kirsch syrup until thick. Pour over 8 of the pastry rectangles, then mix the remaining icing sugar with water until thick then drizzle over thin straight lines. Use a cocktail stick to drag opposite lines through to create a pattern. Leave to set slightly then arrange some cherries on top of the stacks of crème-filled pastry before positioning the iced rectangle on top.
6. Chill to firm up slightly before serving.