Napoleons

THE MOST DELICIOUS mille-feuille I ever ate was served to me by Jean and Pierre Troisgros when I had lunch with them many years ago in their three-star restaurant in Roanne. The pastry had just emerged from the oven and was served with a room-temperature pastry cream.

To serve a Napoleon warm requires the hands of a veteran chef. Pastry cream at room temperature is very soft and makes the cutting and serving of this layered pastry difficult. For this reason, most Napoleons are refri