Apple Napoleons Recipes

NAPOLEON DESSERT | MILLE FEUILLE CREAM PASTRY

Steps:

• Thaw the puff pastry according to the package directions.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204.4 degrees C) and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Unfold both sheets of pastry and divide each into thirds by cutting along the fold lines, giving you 6 rectangles of pastry. Lay the rectangles on the parchment covered baking sheet, spacing them about 1/4-inch apart.
• Cover the pastry with another sheet of parchment paper and lay another baking sheet on top. This will prevent the puff pastry from rising too much and give the pastry nice, flaky layers.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove the top baking sheet and the top layer of parchment and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. (*Please read the note below abotu preventing your puff pastry from burning.)
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely before assembly.
• Lay one sheet of baked puff pastry on a serving dish and spread about a 1/2-inch thick layer of pastry cream evenly over the top. Layer another rectangle of pastry over the cream, repeat with another 1/2-inch thick layer of pastry cream and top with a third pastry rectangle. Press on the top of the Napoleon slightly just to evenly distribute the layers.
• Repeat with the remaining pastry rectangles and pastry cream. Cover the Napoleons with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (*See note below.)
• Dust the tops of each Napoleon with a thick layer of powdered sugar right before serving.
• Slice each Napoleon into 6 slices, using a serrated knife.

APPLE HASH NAPOLEON

Steps:

• Preheat convection oven to 275 degrees F.
• Cover a sheet pan with a silpat mat or parchment paper. Using a Japanese mandoline, julienne the apple into thin sticks, like potato sticks. Make little nests or haystacks of the sticks on the silpat, about 3 inches in diameter.
• Spatter the haystacks with melted clarified butter and douse with powdered sugar from a shaker. Bake in a convection oven until dry and crisp, about 60 to 75 minutes. Or use a fruit dehydrator to dry them out. Store them in an airtight container until ready to serve.
• To make the sauce, place the cider in a small saucepan, and bring it to a simmer. Continue cooking until it becomes a thick golden syrup, about 1 hour. Let cool until ready to serve. You can refrigerate it if made the day before.
• To serve the dessert, place one apple hash on a dessert plate, top it with a scoop of ice cream, then carefully place another piece of hash on top as a lid. Press down gently. Spoon a "swoosh" of cider reduction on the plate and sprinkle the whole thing with powdered sugar.
• Put a large mixing bowl in the freezer to chill.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the half-and-half, cream, vanilla bean, and star anise to a simmer, stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture doesn?t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.
• In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. When the cream mixture reaches a fast simmer turn it off, do not let it boil!
• In a thin stream, whisk half of it into the egg yolk mixture. Then pour the egg-cream mixture into the saucepan containing the rest of the cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. At 160 degrees F, the mixture will give off a puff of steam. When the mixture reaches 180 degrees, it will be thickened and creamy, like eggnog. If you don?t have a thermometer, test it by dipping a wooden spoon into the mixture. Run your finger down the back of the spoon. If the stripe remains clear, the mixture is ready, if the edges blur, it is not quite thick enough yet. When it is ready, quickly remove from the heat.
• Meanwhile, remove the bowl from the freezer, put 4 handfuls of ice cubes in the bottom, and add cold water to cover. Rest a smaller bowl in the ice water.
• Strain the cream mixture through a fine sieve to remove the vanilla bean pieces and star anise, into a smaller bowl. Stir in the homemade applesauce and chill 3 hours, then freeze according to the directions for your ice cream maker.
• Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, "American Brasserie? by Gale Gand, Rick Tramonto, Julia Moskin, MacMillian, Publishers, 1997

APPLE PIE NAPOLEON

Steps:

• Bake apple pie per package instructions. Let cool. Once cooled, break up pie with a fork.
• Thaw puff pastry sheet at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Unfold puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 strips along the fold marks. Place strips 2-inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.
• In a small bowl combine whipped topping and cinnamon sugar. Set aside.
• In a small mixing bowl, beat on low speed with an electric mixer the cream cheese and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add caramel creme liqueur and beat until smooth.
• Place one baked puff pastry sheet on a platter. With the back of a fork, gently push down center of the pastry creating a trough for filling. Spoon in some broken-up apple pie, and then layer with 1 cup of whipped topping mixture. Repeat with next layer. Top with baked pastry sheet. Drizzle with glaze and serve.

APPLE-AND-FIG NAPOLEONS WITH RED-WINE SAUCE AND SOUR-CREAM ICE CREAM

Steps:

• To make the ice cream, place the milk and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring just to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Whisking rapidly, pour the milk into the yolk mixture. Pour the mixture back in the saucepan, place over low heat and stir constantly until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; do not let mixture simmer. Pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until cold. Remove the vanilla bean and whisk in the sour cream. Freeze in an ice cream machine. Store in freezer until shortly before serving.
• To make the phyllo, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo on a work surface, brush lightly with butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Top with another sheet of phyllo, brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Repeat once more. Trim the edges to make a 10-by-14-inch rectangle. Cut into 8 3 1/2-by-5-inch rectangles. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining phyllo, butter and sugar. Bake until lightly browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and simmer until reduced to 1 1/3 cups, about 40 minutes. Strain and set aside.
• To make the apples, combine the apples, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, covered, for 8 minutes, stirring once. Uncover and simmer until apples are soft but not mushy and some liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes more. Remove the lemon zest and vanilla bean. Stir in lemon juice and set aside.
• To make the fig paste, puree the figs in a food processor. Add the cream, Armagnac and lemon juice and puree until smooth. Set aside.
• To assemble, place 1 piece of phyllo on each of 8 plates and spread with some of the fig paste. Spoon the apple mixture over it. Spoon a pool of the sauce beside the pastry on each plate. Lean 1 piece of remaining phyllo over the sauce and against one of the longer edges of the plated phyllo. Repeat with all the plates. Place a scoop of ice cream beside the napoleons and sprinkle with a few strands of lemon zest. Serve immediately.

SPICED APPLE NAPOLEONS WITH POMEGRANATE CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl. Place 1 phyllo sheet on work surface. Brush with half of melted butter. Sprinkle with half of cinnamon sugar. Top with second phyllo sheet. Brush with remaining butter. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar. Cut phyllo lengthwise in half; place 1 half atop other. Cut phyllo crosswise into 3 squares. Cut each square into 4 triangles for a total of 12 triangles. Place triangles on large baking sheet. Bake until deep golden, about 8 minutes. Cool on sheet.
• Stir 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 cup water and allspice in large saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to boil. Add apples; reduce heat and simmer until tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Mix in bourbon. Mix cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water in small bowl; add to apple mixture and stir until liquid thickens slightly and mixture boils, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. (Phyllo triangles and apple mixture can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover separately. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm apple mixture over low heat before using.)
• Stir 1/2 cup water and brown sugar in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until slightly reduced, about 6 minutes. Add pomegranate molasses and boil until syrupy, about 4 minutes. Cool. Place 1 phyllo triangle on each of 6 plates. Top each with warm apple mixture. Top each with another phyllo triangle. Drizzle pomegranate sauce over.

MILLE FEUILLE (NAPOLEON PASTRY SHEETS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone sheet.
• Separate dough at the seams into 4 squares and place on prepared baking sheet. Score the dough all over with the tines of a fork to prevent it from rising too much when baking. Lightly sprinkle dough sheets with white granulated sugar.
• Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and 3 sheets of aluminum foil. Nest another baking sheet on top to apply some pressure to the dough while it bakes.
• Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes; remove top pan and foil and gently peel off the parchment paper. Return pan to oven and bake until pastry is beautifully browned, 10 to 15 minutes. (Optionally, you can bake about 7 minutes after uncovering, then flip sheets over and bake until brown on the other side, another 7 minutes.)
• Transfer to cooling rack and cool completely before cutting.
• Square the sheets by trimming uneven edges off sheets using a sharp serrated knife with light sawing motion to keep the pastry from breaking. Cut each rectangle crosswise into 3 equal smaller rectangles. Use 3 small rectangles per pastry.

APPLE JALOUSIE TART

Steps:

• Filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together apples, sugar, vanilla seeds, cognac, lemon zest and juice, salt, and flour. Transfer to a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and dot with butter. Bake until apples are tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Pastry: Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Roll out pastry to a 16 1/2-by-12 1/2-inch rectangle on a piece of parchment. Using the tip of a paring knife, lightly score pastry into thirds, being careful not to cut all the way through. Cut 3/4-inch-wide strips along the two outer thirds, reserving center third for the filling. Be careful not to cut into the scored lines. Transfer to a baking sheet (if pastry becomes too soft, freeze until firm).
• Arrange filling evenly in center third of pastry. Freeze 20 minutes. Combine egg with 1 teaspoon water; lightly brush strips with egg wash. Alternating from one side to the other, fold strips evenly over filling in an overlapping pattern.
• Transfer to a parchment-lined room-temperature baking sheet. Lightly brush top with egg wash and generously sprinkle with sugar. Bake 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake 20 minutes more. Switch oven to broiler setting; broil until sugar is caramelized, 2 to 3 minutes (watch carefully to prevent burning). Let cool to room temperature. Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.