Napoleons
Napoleon
The classic Napoleon Dessert (mille-feuille) includes flaky puff pastry layered with creamy vanilla pastry cream.
It's one of those classic French pastries that showcases the simplicity of creating something spectacular from quality components.
Once you have the players in place with the flaky pastry, the smooth pastry cream and the fluffy whipped cream all you need is to assemble.
The traditional way is to create a slab, chill and slice but I take an easier route here with creating baked slices and then filling. I also like to lighten my pastry cream with the addition of whipped cream to create a crème légère. And finally, and not at all classic, I love pairing it with a strawberry jam layer as it’s something I grew up with.
Directions:
Roll out your pastry puff and slice approx. into a 2 x 4” rectangles. Bake at 400°F until golden brown. Cool.
Lay one rectangle of baked puff pastry on a serving dish and spread or pipe about a ½-inch thick layer of light pastry cream evenly over the top.
Layer another rectangle of pastry over the cream, repeat with another ½-inch thick layer of pastry cream and top with a third pastry rectangle. (Add preserves at this stage if using.) Press on the top of the Napoleon slightly just to evenly distribute the layers.
Dust the tops of each Napoleon with a layer of powdered sugar right before serving.
Plant-based Pastry cream
I simply love an egg-free pastry cream! The reason is that it’s so easy to overcook eggs in these emulsions and frankly I’ve never liked the eggy taste! This recipe is a breeze to whip up, with no risk of sugary scrambled eggs either. The mix when cold is quite firm & jello-like, but simply whisk with the addition of a little cold milk or cream to form a smooth spread to fill pastries or layer on flaky puff.
Ingredients:
2 cups milk (oat, soy, cashew, almond work well.) My favorites are oat & soy unsweetened milk
1 tsp vanilla paste
80 g (1/3 cup) sugar
30 g (1/4 cup) cornstarch
42 g (3 tbsp) butter
Directions:
Line a medium baking Pyrex/glass dish, or a baking tray with plastic
Add the milk to a medium saucepan, and simmer with the vanilla paste over low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes to infuse the vanilla & then bring to a boil.
Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and turmeric until completely smooth.
Slowly pour 1/3 of the boiling milk over the sugar mixture and whisk until lump free. Pour the sugar mixture back into the hot saucepan with the remaining warm milk.
Cook the mix for 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat, whisking constantly. Check the sides and bottom of your pan with a silicone spatula from time to time to stop scorching from happening.
When the pastry cream starts to thicken and large bubles begin appearing, remove the pan from the heat, still stiring.
While still hot, add the butter and incorporate it with the spatula or whisk until homogenous.
Transfer the cream onto the shallow dish and cover with plastic wrap so that it is in direct contact with the cream. Refrigerate until cold, at least an hour
Before using as a filling, put the pastry cream back in a bowl and whisk vigourously unil it becaumes creamy again and smooth. You may need to add a little milk or liquid cream. Fold the smooth pastry cream with some whipped cream and you’ve got crème légère (light cream) perfect so many pastry ideas.