Napoleons are a popular sweet in Louisiana and especially New Orleans. Even the restaurant chain of La Madaleine features them daily as do other pastry shops.
This recipe is easy to make because of the purchased frozen puff pastry. All you do after baking is fill them with an easy white chocolate mousse mixture and top with fresh strawberries. Of course, the final garnish is a lovely drizzle of melted semi-sweet chocolate.
Strawberry White Chocolate Napoleons
Yield: 12 servings
From: Kraft Foods
Ingredients:
1 sheet frozen ready-to-bake puff pastry
1 package (6 squares) premium white baking chocolate
1 ½ cups heavy or whipping cream, divided
1 1/3 cups sliced strawberries
2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
Directions: Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature 30 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Unfold pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 strips along fold marks. Bake on cookie sheet 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire racks.
Microwave white chocolate and ¼ cup of the cream in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until white chocolate is almost melted, stirring halfway through heating time. Stir until white chocolate is completely melted. Cool 20 minutes or until room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Beat remaining 1 ¼ cups cream in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. DO NOT OVERBEAT. (It will separate and become useless.) Fold ½ of the whipped cream into white chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining whipped cream just until blended.
Split each pastry strip into 2 layers. Set aside 2 of the top layers. Spread remaining 4 layers each with ½ cup of the white chocolate mousse and 1/3 cup of the sliced strawberries. For each dessert assemble 2 layers and top with 1 of the reserved layers. Drizzle with melted chocolate.
Refrigerate up to 4 hours. Makes 12 servings.