Chocolate Mousse Napoleons Recipes

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT NAPOLEONS

Steps:

• Make hazelnut crème:
• Melt chocolate with Nutella and keep warm.
• Beat cream with an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks, then chill.
• Beat egg and yolks in cleaned mixer bowl with cleaned beaters at high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring sugar, water, and corn syrup to a boil in a 1-qt heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar has dissolved. Continue to boil, undisturbed, until candy thermometer registers 238°F (soft-ball stage; you will need to tilt pan to get temperature), about 4 minutes.
• Reduce mixer speed to medium and add hot sugar mixture to eggs in a slow steam (try to avoid beaters and side of bowl), then beat until mixture is pale, thick, tripled in volume, and completely cool, about 5 minutes.
• Fold chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Fold in one third of whipped cream to lighten, then fold in remaining whipped cream gently but thoroughly. Chill at least 4 hours.
• Candy hazelnuts:
• Line a baking pan with foil (shiny side up).
• Heat sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber. Add hazelnuts, stirring until coated. Transfer to foil and cool completely, then coarsely chop.
• Bake pastry:
• Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Line a large heavy baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll out puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 17- by 10-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick). Transfer to baking sheet, then cover with a sheet of parchment and top with a heavy baking sheet or sheet pan to weight down. Bake until pale golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir together corn syrup and water.
• Remove top baking sheet and parchment. Generously brush pastry with corn syrup mixture and cover with parchment, then invert pastry and brush other side with corn syrup mixture. Replace parchment and baking sheet and bake until deep golden and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool completely.
• Using a serrated knife, trim edges of pastry, then halve lengthwise and cut each half into 8 equal rectangles for a total of 16 rectangles.
• Assemble dessert:
• Arrange 8 rectangles on a baking sheet and dust with confectioners' sugar to cover. (To mark pastry decoratively, see cooks' note, below.)
• Dab a small amount of hazelnut crème in center of 8 plates, then put an undecorated pastry rectangle on top. Divide remaining hazelnut crème among pastry rectangles. Sprinkle with some of the candied hazelnuts and top with decorated pastry rectangles. Sprinkle with more candied hazelnuts.
• Do Ahead
• Hazelnut crème can be chilled up to 2 days. Candied hazelnuts keep in an airtight container 3 weeks. Pastry can be baked 2 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE NAPOLEON

Steps:

• On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll out Puff Pastry to a 12-inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. Using a pastry cutter or pizza wheel, cut square into three 12-by-4-inch strips. Transfer dough and parchment to a large baking sheet; prick all over with a fork. Cover with plastic wrap; chill in the refrigerator or freezer until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Transfer sheet to oven; bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until pastry is puffed and golden around the edges, about 10 minutes. Set another baking sheet directly on pastry strips and continue baking until pastry is light golden in the center, 6 to 8 minutes more. Remove top baking sheet; bake until pastry is baked through and golden brown, 6 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, butter, corn syrup, and 1 tablespoon milk. If the mixture is too thick to pour, add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the consistency of sour cream. Transfer a quarter of the glaze to a small bowl; whisk in cocoa. Transfer chocolate glaze to a paper cornet; set aside.
• Pour white glaze onto one of the pastry strips; spread evenly with an offset spatula. Cut the tip of the paper cornet, and pipe lines of chocolate glaze crosswise over the white glaze, about 1/2 inch apart. Drag the tip of a wooden skewer down the length of the glazed strip, in alternating directions, to create a decorative pattern.
• Fit a pastry bag with a 5/8-inch plain tip (such as an Ateco #808) and fill with half of the Chocolate Pastry Cream. Pipe an even layer onto another pastry strip. Top with the remaining pastry strip, pressing gently to secure. Fill the pastry bag with remaining pastry cream, and pipe evenly onto the strip. Place the glazed pastry on top. Once assembled, the Napoleon is best eaten the same day; slice with a serrated knife.
• A pastry strip is spread with an even layer of white glaze. After piping lines of chocolate glaze on top, a wooden skewer is used to create a decorative finish.
• The other pastry strips are layered with Chocolate Pastry Cream before being topped with the glazed strip.

CENTERPIECE NAPOLEON WITH CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT MOUSSE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line 4 sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Crack the egg into a small bowl, then add 1 tablespoon water and beat until well mixed. Pour half into a separate small bowl. Add a few drops of red food coloring to the egg in one bowl and a few drops of yellow to the other.
• Unfold the puff pastry sheets and cut each into 3 rectangles, using the folded lines as a guide, for a total of 12 rectangles. Place 3 on each of the prepared sheet pans, leaving 2 to 3 inches in between each.
• Top each of two pans of puff pastry with a second piece of parchment and place a second sheet pan on top of the parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the top sheet pans and top pieces of parchment. Return to the oven and bake until puffed and golden brown on the bottom, an additional 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Top the remaining two pans of unbaked puff pastry with parchment and sheet pans and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the top sheet pans and parchment. Brush these partially-baked rectangles with red egg wash on one end and yellow on the other, overlapping the two in the middle to create an orange section. Return to the oven to finish the baking, another 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Make the filling in two batches so that it will fit in the mixer. Add half the cream cheese and half the powdered sugar to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until light. Add 3 cups heavy cream and beat to stiff peaks. Add half the chocolate hazelnut spread, then fold in using a rubber spatula until no streaks remain. Transfer to a piping bag or large resealable plastic bag fitted with a large closed-star tip and refrigerate until ready to use. Repeat the process with the second half of the filling ingredients, leaving this portion in the bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Split each of the puff pastry rectangles open horizontally using a serrated knife. Line up 6 of the bottom half puff pastry rectangles end-to-end down a long platter, using a dot of filling to secure to the platter if necessary. Pipe an even layer of filling down the puff pastry line. Top with 6 more puff pastry rectangles and repeat with filling and puff pastry twice more, refilling the piping bag as needed and ending with the colored puff pastry, lining them up with red ends touching. (See Cook's Note.)
• Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the puff pastry and top with broken pieces of Hazelnut Brittle.
• Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
• Add the granulated sugar, corn syrup and 1 cup water to a medium saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over medium-high heat until the syrup begins to turn golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling the pan gently, until the mixture is a deep amber color.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the nuts and salt. Pour immediately onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread into an even layer and let cool completely, then break into small pieces.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE NAPOLEONS

Steps:

• Thaw pastry at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400.
• Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 strips along fold marks. Cut each strip into 6 rectangles. Place 2" apart on baking sheet.
• Bake 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack.
• Place cream and cinnamon in bowl. Beat with electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold in melted chocolate pieces. Split pastries into 2 layers. Spread 18 bottom halves with chocolate cream. Top with remaining top halves. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours.
• Drizzle with melted chocolate and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar just before serving.
• TIP: *You can substitute 2 cups thawed frozen non-dairy or dairy whipped topping for heavy cream. Proceed as directed.