Strawberry Meringue Napoleons Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle work surface with some of granulated sugar. Unfold dough on top and sprinkle with more granulated sugar. If necessary, roll out to a 9 1/2-by-12 1/2-inch rectangle, slightly more than 1/8 inch thick. Using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, cut into a 9-by-12-inch rectangle. Transfer to a baking sheet; freeze 20 minutes. Cut into twelve 4-by-2 1/4-inch rectangles. Transfer to two baking sheets and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Prick rectangles all over with a fork. Coat two wire racks with cooking spray and place one over each set of rectangles (if you only have one cooling rack, work in batches). Bake until pastry just reaches tops of racks, about 15 minutes (do not let it bake into racks and stick). Remove racks; continue to bake until golden and evenly browned, about 15 minutes more. Let cool completely on racks, about 30 minutes.
• With a mixer, whisk cream, creme fraiche, vanilla seeds, and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Fit a pastry bag with a large star tip (such as Ateco #825). Split pastry rectangles horizontally (to create 24 pieces total). Choose 8 nice tops; set aside. Arrange a single layer of strawberries over 8 bottom rectangles. Pipe about 2 tablespoons cream over berries. Top with a second layer of berries. Pipe 2 tablespoons cream onto 8 more rectangles. Top with a layer of strawberries. Pipe a dollop of cream onto bottom and place on top of first layer, pressing very gently to help stick. Pipe a dollop of cream on bottom of reserved rectangles and place on top, sugared-sides up. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Unfold thawed puff pastry on cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut pastry into nine squares. Place on baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to wire rack to cool completely. , In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, sugar and vanilla; set aside. In another bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for two minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft set. Stir in whipped topping and until thoroughly blended. Cover and refrigerate. , To assemble, split puff pastry squares horizontally for a total of 18 squares. Set aside six tops. Place six of the remaining puff pastry pieces on individual serving plates. Spread about 1/4 cup pudding mixture over each pastry square. Top with a spoonful of strawberries and another piece of puff pastry. Spread remaining pudding mixture over pastry pieces. Top with remaining strawberries and reserved pastry tops. , In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Transfer chocolate to a small, heavy-duty plastic bag. Cut a tiny corner from bag; squeeze chocolate over napoleons.

Steps:

• Because the pastry cream needs to be removed from the saucepan immediately, prepare a medium sized bowl, a fine mesh strainer or a food mill, and a heat resistant rubber spatula near the stove.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour with 1 cup of the sugar as well as the eggs until incorporated. The mixture will be very thick.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, the remaining cup of sugar and the salt. With a pairing knife, scrape the inside of the vanilla bean and place contents into the saucepan. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally to prevent scalding. Remove from heat when the milk just begins to simmer. While whisking constantly, slowly pour about half of the milk in a thin stream into the flour mixture. Once the 2 mixtures are combined, continue whisking the combined flour and milk and return the contents to the saucepan with the remaining milk. Place the saucepan on medium heat while whisking constantly. Cook the mixture until it thickens, approximately 2 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from the heat as soon as the first bubble breaks the surface of the pastry cream.
• Pour the hot pastry cream into the strainer or food mill over a medium sized bowl. With a spatula, push the cream through the strainer or food mill. To prevent a skin from forming, place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours, or overnight.
• Have packaged puff pastry unrolled on cutting board. Bake the puff pastry according to package directions. Spread layers of pastry cream between the baked puff pastry alternating optional flavors. Garnish with fruit or nuts and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Combine pudding mix and cold milk; fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Unfold pastry on a cool, lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 strips along fold marks, then cut each strip into four equal pieces. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
• Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet, and cool.
• Split pastries into 2 layers, setting the 8 best looking tops aside. Spread 8 bottom layers with dollops of the pudding mixture. Top each with a layer of strawberries, a small amount of pudding, and another pastry layer. (A small amount of the pudding mix on top of the berries will help keep the layers together.) Spread with remaining pudding mixture and strawberries, and top with remaining pastry layers (the best looking ones). Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch nonstick springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• In an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the sugar slowly, then the vanilla, baking powder, and salt while beating, about 2 more minutes. Turn the power off and fold in the walnuts and Maria crackers. Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.
• For the frosting: In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form and the mixture is smooth.
• To assemble: Remove the cake from the oven. Let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the springform. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting all over the cake. Garnish with the strawberries and serve.

Steps:

• Line up 6 butter lace cookies. Top with a few berry slices each, then whipped cream, more berries and another lace cookie on top. Drizzle with zigzags of chocolate sauce. Transfer lace cookie Napoleons to dessert plates and serve immediately.

Steps:

• A day before you plan to serve the dessert, heat the oven to 300 degrees for at least 15 minutes, then turn it off and leave the door closed. Whip the egg whites until foamy in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add the granulated sugar and whip until stiff and glossy, about 3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar and whip very briefly (I count to 10), just to incorporate.
• Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag with a medium plain tip and pipe small hearts with 2 teardrop shaped strokes onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place the pan in the turned-off oven, close the door, and leave overnight to dry until crisp. (The recipe can be made up to this point and stored at room temperature in an airtight container up to 5 days in advance.)
• When ready to serve, whip the cream and place in a pastry bag with a star tip. Place 1 meringue heart on a plate then pipe on cream. Top with raspberries and a final meringue. Tuck a mint leaf into each, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until the mixture holds soft peaks, about 1 minute. With the machine running on medium-high speed, add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture is thick and holds stiff peaks, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the vanilla extract. Using a spatula, fold in the strawberries and lemon zest, taking care not to deflate the batter.
• Using a 1/4-cup-size ice cream scoop, scoop heaped mounds of batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing each about 2 inches apart. Bake for 2 hours. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool completely while still in the oven, about 2 hours.
• The meringues can be stored in an airtight plastic container for up to 4 days.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 175°F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Make a template for meringues. First, trace a 5-inch square from cardboard and cut to size. Then trace a 3-inch square in center, and cut out with X-Acto or utility knife.
• Beat whites with salt in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until they just hold soft peaks. Gradually add half of sugar, beating at high speed, and continue to beat until whites hold stiff, glossy peaks. Fold in remaining sugar gently but thoroughly.
• Spread about 1 teaspoon meringue onto corners of each piece of parchment and turn paper over, pressing on corners to adhere parchment to baking sheets.
• Starting in 1 corner, place template flat against 1 baking sheet and spoon a heaping tablespoon meringue into center. Holding template down firmly, spread meringue evenly with offset spatula to fill opening, then gently lift template straight up from sheet to make a clean edge. Form 17 more meringues in same manner (9 per sheet), scraping excess meringue from template as necessary. Discard any leftover meringue.
• Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven until dry to the touch, very pale, and crisp, about 1 1/4 hours. Cool meringues on sheets 5 minutes, then carefully peel meringues from parchment and transfer to racks to cool.
• Purée berries with sugar (to taste) in a blender or food processor, then force through a fine sieve into a bowl to remove seeds.
• Sprinkle 6 meringue squares with confectioners sugar. Put 1 unsugared meringue square on each of 6 plates and top with small scoops of ice cream and berries, then cover with a sugared meringue square. Spoon a dollop of whipped cream onto each napoleon and grate a bit of lime zest over top. Divide sauce among plates.

Steps:

• Make puff pastry strips: Lightly flour a clean work surface. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out dough into a 16-by-18-inch rectangle about 1/8 inch thick, being careful not to press too hard around the edges. Using a pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut rectangle crosswise into thirds, with each strip 6 by 16 inches. Transfer to a baking sheet; dock, or pierce, the dough all over with a fork. Cover with plastic wrap; place in refrigerator 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Transfer to oven; bake until strips are puffed and golden all over, about 14 minutes. Set a baking sheet directly on pastry strips, and continue baking until pastry is cooked through and well browned, about 6 minutes. Remove top baking sheet; bake 4 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a serrated knife, trim each to 4 1/4 by 12 inches.
• Make the glaze: In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream just to a boil. Place dark chocolate in a bowl, and pour hot cream over chocolate; whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is combined. Whisk in corn syrup. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
• Place white chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until chocolate is melted, and remove from heat. Let cool.
• Using an offset spatula, spread dark chocolate glaze over one side of the flattest puff pastry strip, making sure to coat entire surface. Place white chocolate in a piping cone; pipe thin lines 3/4 inch apart across width of chocolate-coated strip. To create the distinctive flourish, gently drag the tip of a paring knife or a skewer lengthwise through both coatings, in lines perpendicular to the white chocolate lines. Begin at one of the short ends, and make each line 3/4 inch apart. Alternate the direction each time.
• Place one of the unglazed puff pastry strips on a serving tray. Spread half the pastry cream over the top, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Top with remaining unglazed pastry strip; press down gently, and repeat with remaining pastry cream. Top with glazed pastry strip. Transfer to refrigerator, and chill 30 minutes uncovered. Using a long serrated knife, cut into six pieces, and serve.