Easy Pear & Nutella Millefeuille

STEP 1: CUT THE PASTRY FIRST
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan / 400°F). Unroll the puff pastry on its parchment sheet onto a baking tray. Using a sharp knife and a ruler, cut the sheet into 12 equal rectangles, roughly 10 × 5cm. Don't separate them - just cut through. Prick each rectangle thoroughly all over with a fork or a docker (this is called docking, and it stops the pastry puffing up like a balloon). Cutting before baking is the home cook's cheat code - slicing baked mille-feuille pastry without shattering it is what defeats most people on this dish.

STEP 2: BAKE FLAT UNDER A TRAY
Lay a second sheet of baking parchment on top of the pastry, then place a second flat baking tray directly on top to weigh it down. Bake for 18–22 minutes, until you can see deep golden colour around the edges. Lift the top tray and parchment off, dust the pastry generously with icing sugar, and return to the oven uncovered for a final 2–3 minutes to glaze. Slide onto a wire rack and cool completely. The rectangles will snap apart cleanly along your pre-cut lines once cool. The tray-on-top trick is what gives mille-feuille its crisp, flat, shatter-thin layers - without it you'll get a fluffy pillow.

STEP 3: PREPARE THE PEARS
Drain the tinned pear halves thoroughly and pat them dry on kitchen paper - any clinging syrup will make the cream slide. Slice each half lengthways into 4–5 thin wedges. Toss the wedges gently with the cinnamon and lemon juice and set aside on a plate lined with more kitchen paper. The lemon juice cuts the sweetness of the syrup; the cinnamon nods to the original spiced poaching liquor.

STEP 4: WHIP THE NUTELLA CREAM
Spoon the mascarpone into a large bowl and whisk briefly with a hand whisk until smooth. Add the double cream, icing sugar, and vanilla extract, and whip with an electric mixer to soft peaks - stop the moment the cream holds its shape. Add the Nutella and fold it through with a spatula. You're going for a marbled look with streaks of chocolate-hazelnut running through pale cream, not a uniform brown. The mixture should be thick enough to pipe or spoon and hold its shape. Don't whip the cream after adding the Nutella - it will go grainy. Fold gently, just until combined.

STEP 5: ASSEMBLE
Spoon the Nutella cream into a piping bag (or use a spoon - the mille-feuille will look more rustic but taste identical). For each serving, place one pastry rectangle on a plate. Pipe or spoon a generous layer of cream on top. Lay 4–5 pear wedges in a neat row. Place a second pastry rectangle on top, press very gently, then repeat with cream and pears. Finish with a third pastry rectangle on top. You will have three pastry layers and two cream-and-pear layers - a proper mille-feuille structure.

STEP 6: FINISH AND SERVE
Dust the top of each mille-feuille generously with icing sugar. If using them, scatter the chopped toasted hazelnuts around the plate and drizzle the warmed Nutella in a few decorative streaks across the plate (microwave it for 10 seconds to loosen). Serve immediately - assembled mille-feuilles soften within an hour, so this is a last-minute job. Make-ahead: the pastry can be baked the morning of and kept in an airtight tin; the cream can be made and chilled the day before. Assemble within 30 minutes of serving.