Banana Napoleon Recipes

BANANA NAPOLEON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Boil water. Drop the wonton wrappers in one at a time and bring water back to a boil. Boil for about a minute and a half then drain carefully and return wrappers to pot. Fill pot with cold water.
• Brush a cookie sheet with oil. Carefully lift wrappers from water shake off as much water as you can and arrange on sheet. (NOW you know why we used cold water don't you?).
• Place 1 1/4 tbsp of sugar into sieve and top wrappers.
• Cook for 16 to 18 minutes. They should be nicely browned, crisp and glazed. Now remove wrappers from sheet to a cooling rack carefully with thin spatula.
• Mix the lemon rind, lemon juice, peach preserves, and rum in a bowl large enough to hold the bananas.
• Peel the bananas, first cut them in half crosswise, then into 1/3-inch lengthwise slices.
• Add them to the bowl, and mix gently to coat the banana slices with the sauce.
• When you go to serve place a wonton crisp on each of the four dessert plates then divide the banana mixture among the plates, spoon on top of the crisps.
• Place the remaining wonton crisps on top of the bananas, sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of sugar on top.
• Serve immediately.

BANANA-CARAMEL NAPOLEONS

Steps:

• Combine 1 cup sugar, 6 tablespoons water and lemon juice in heavy small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Carefully add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir until mixture is smooth. Transfer caramel to small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until thick, about 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper, roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 15x12-inch rectangle. Cut crosswise into three 12x5-inch strips. Transfer pastry strips to prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Chill 10 minutes.
• Pierce pastry with fork. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to racks; cool. (Caramel and pastry can be made 2 days ahead. Keep caramel refrigerated. Wrap pastry in foil; store at room temperature.)
• Set aside 1/2 cup caramel for decoration. Using electric mixer, beat mascarpone and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until smooth. Add remaining caramel and beat until caramel cream is well blended, about 1 minute.
• Trim pastry layers so that they are flat and even. Place 1 pastry strip on work surface. Spread with 1/4 of caramel cream. Arrange half of banana slices in single layer over caramel cream. Spread second pastry strip with 1/4 of caramel cream; place pastry, caramel cream side down, atop bananas. Spread top of second pastry strip with 1/4 of caramel cream. Arrange remaining bananas in single layer over. Spread remaining pastry strip with remaining caramel cream. Place pastry, caramel cream side down, atop bananas. Using serrated knife, cut pastry crosswise into 8 equal pieces. Sift powdered sugar over. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Tent with foil; refrigerate.)
• Place napoleons on plates. Drizzle reserved caramel around napoleons.

ESPRESSO-BANANA NAPOLEONS

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 1 phyllo sheet on work surface (cover remaining sheets with plastic wrap and damp towel). Brush phyllo sheet with butter. Sift 2 teaspoons powdered sugar over. Top with second phyllo sheet. Brush with butter; sift 2 teaspoons powdered sugar over. Repeat with remaining phyllo, butter and 2 teaspoons powdered sugar. Cut phyllo stack into eighteen 3-inch squares.
• Transfer half of phyllo squares to prepared baking sheet. Cover remaining phyllo squares with plastic.
• Cover phyllo squares on baking sheet with large parchment sheet, then top with another baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 14 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool. Repeat with remaining phyllo squares. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)
• For each napoleon, place 1 phyllo square in center of plate. Spread 1 tablespoon pastry cream over. Arrange 3 banana slices over cream. Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons walnuts over. Spread 1 tablespoon pastry cream atop second phyllo square. Place phyllo square, cream side down, atop bananas, offsetting corners of phyllo squares. Repeat with second layer of pastry cream, bananas and nuts. Spread 1 tablespoon pastry cream atop third phyllo square. Place phyllo square, cream side down, atop bananas, offsetting corners of phyllo squares. Sprinkle with remaining nuts. Sift powdered sugar over and serve napoleons immediately.

BANANA NAPOLEON WITH RUM CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the puff pastry on parchment lined baking sheets, 1/2-inch apart. Place parchment on top of the dough and then on a wire rack or baking sheet on top. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. (If you are using a baking sheet on top, you will have to remove the baking sheet to see if the puff is done.) Cool to room temperature. Slice each piece of puff pastry in 1/2 horizontally along the 4-inch side.
• Whisk the cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and rum in a large bowl until soft peaks form.
• Slice the bananas 1/2-inch thick on a bias. Place them in a bowl and mix in the lime and orange juices.
• Place some bananas and a little rum cream on each of 6 plates. Place a piece of puff pastry on top. Place the remaining bananas and rum cream on the puff. Drizzle warm caramel sauce over and around the bananas. Top with a second piece of puff. Serve immediately.

BANANA BREAD NAPOLEON

Steps:

• For the banana bread: Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line an 18-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, allowing for a 1-inch overhang at each long end. Spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mash the bananas on medium speed until soft. Turn the speed to medium-low and add the granulated sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs and mix until the bananas are pureed and the mixture is smooth. Turn the speed to low and add the flour mixture to the banana mixture in 2 additions, mixing well between them. Mix until just combined.
• Spread the batter out in an even layer in the prepared baking sheet using a spatula, and tap the pan against the countertop once to remove air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the bread is golden and pulls away from the pan, 22 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan 15 minutes. Remove the bread using the parchment overhang to a baking rack to cool completely, 30 minutes.
• For the frosting: Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until softened, 1 minute. Add the confectioners' sugar in 2 batches, beating on low speed until combined after each addition, 1 minute. Turn the speed to medium and add the sour cream and heavy cream and beat until smooth, silky and well-combined. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag and chill.
• For assembling the napoleons: Transfer the bread with its parchment to a large cutting board. Using a ruler to get a straight edge, trim 1/4-inch from all the edges. Cut the bread into thirty-five 3-by-1 1/2-inch rectangles (cut every 3 inches along the length and 1 1/2 inches along the width.). Line the rectangles up vertically on a cutting board. Cut the corner off of the bag of frosting, and pipe a zigzag of frosting over each of the pieces. Stack 2 banana bread and frosting layers upon each other. Repeat with the remaining layers of bread and frosting to make seventeen 2-layer napoleons (you will have one unpartnered piece of cake left over). Top each napoleon with a banana chip, if using.

BANANA PUDDING NAPOLEON

Steps:

• For the Pudding: In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, egg yolk and cornstarch. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups milk and 3 tablespoons sugar almost to a boil. Whisk in other ingredients. Bring to a low boil. Whisk constantly until thickened and smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Strain custard and whisk in vanilla. Place 2 bananas in food processor and pulse until cut into small pieces. Fold this into custard and refrigerate.
• For the Napoleon Layers: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk egg whites with sugar. Stir in melted butter and vanilla extract. Fold in flour. On a parchment lined sheet pan, spread 1 tablespoon of mixture thinly into a 4-inch diameter circle (like a thin cookie). Repeat until there is no more batter. Bake in the oven until light brown, about 5 minutes. For each serving, use 3 "cookies". Slice thin remaining bananas on bias. On each plate, place 1 cookie, followed by 2 slices of bananas, 1 1/2 tablespoons of banana custard. Repeat and then top with remaining cookie. Garnish with powdered sugar and mint leaves.