Not everything I make has to be super complex or difficult. With this dessert, I tried my best to edit it down to just three things: crispy caramelized phyllo dough, Bismarck cream, and balsamic macerated strawberries. What? It’s simple by my standards. I mean, look at it! No mirror glaze, tempered chocolate, none of those bells and whistles!

While the dessert might look simple, there still is a decent amount of work that goes into it. Making phyllo dough from scratch requires a lot of patience, while making Bismarck cream requires some technical know-how. The key here is to make sure that once you make your phyllo dough, not to move or touch it too much. That will warp the shape and prevent you from almost ever getting a perfect round of dough. Additionally, make sure to weigh it down when you are baking it. Otherwise, it might puff up, and once it puffs, the phyllo dough will never flatten without flaking apart.

For the phyllo dough:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter; melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Combine flour, vanilla, salt, and water together and form a dough. Divide the dough into four even parts. Roll each one out on a floured surface to 6 inch circles. Brush the tops of three of the circles with the butter and sprinkle in the sugar. Press each one together, with the unbrushed layer on top. Roll out to about 1/16th an inch thickness. Transfer to a lined sheet tray and punch out as many 2 inch rounds as physically possible. Place on another parchment sheet over the pastries and place on another baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cool completely before removing.

For the Bismarck cream:
1 cup heavy cream; in 4 parts
1 1/4 teaspoons gelatin powder + 1 tablespoon water
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt bloomed gelatin into 1 part of the heavy cream and whip the remaining 3 parts to stiff peaks with salt and vanilla. Whisk egg yolks with sugar and temper with the heated cream mixture. Whisk over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon before straining and allowing to cool to room temperature. Fold in the whipped cream and transfer to a piping bag. Set in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes so that it will be firm and pipeable.

For the balsamic-macerated strawberries
1 cup strawberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons white balsamic
1 teaspoon orange liquor
a pinch of salt

Dice up the majority of your strawberries and quart about 3-4. Toss in the other ingredients. Allow them to sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.

For assembly:
Pipe dollops of cream onto the first layer of phyllo, then place some diced berries in the center. Repeat with the second layer. For the third, do the dollops, but this time, place a quartered berry on top. It’s not rocket science, unless you’re a moron.