Indulge in the delectable symphony of flavors and textures that is the Chocolate Napoleons, a culinary masterpiece that harmoniously blends crisp layers of puff pastry with rich chocolate pastry cream and velvety chocolate ganache. This exquisite dessert is a symphony of contrasting elements, capturing the essence of indulgence and sophistication. Discover the art of crafting this iconic treat through a collection of carefully curated recipes that guide you through each intricate step, ensuring success in your baking endeavor. Embark on a journey of culinary exploration as you delve into the secrets of creating the perfect puff pastry, mastering the art of pastry cream, and achieving the ultimate chocolate ganache. Allow your taste buds to be captivated by the symphony of flavors and textures that define this classic dessert, leaving you with an unforgettable experience.
Here are our top 5 tried and tested recipes!
CHOCOLATE NAPOLEONS
People will think you fussed over these impressive desserts from Roberta Strohmaier of Lebanon, New Jersey. She uses frozen puff pastry for the flaky shells and dresses up pudding mix for the yummy chocolate filling.
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 40m
Yield 12 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry into a 12-in. square. Cut into twelve 4x3-in. rectangles. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 400° for 9-12 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool., In a small bowl, whisk milk and sour cream until smooth. Add pudding mix; whisk for 2 minutes or until blended. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. , To assemble, split each pastry in half. Spoon pudding mixture over bottom halves and replace tops. Combine confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth; drizzle over top. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 366 calories, Fat 21g fat (12g saturated fat), Cholesterol 58mg cholesterol, Sodium 264mg sodium, Carbohydrate 36g carbohydrate (21g sugars, Fiber 2g fiber), Protein 6g protein.
CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT NAPOLEONS
Weighting the puff pastry with an extra sheet pan while it blind-bakes is a classic way to get the crackle without the height and also gives the pastries a sleek, modern look.
Provided by Lillian Chou
Categories Holiday 2018 Christmas Christmas Eve Dessert Pastry Hazelnut Chocolate Phyllo/Puff Pastry Dough Entertaining Winter New Year's Eve
Yield 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 19
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 AND RASPBERRY NAPOLEONS
Chocolate hearts are layered with raspberry semifreddo ("half cold" in Italian), a frozen dessert similar to ice cream.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Line a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside. Place raspberries (if using fresh raspberries, reserve 1/2 cup for garnish) in a medium skillet over medium heat. Simmer until raspberries begin to break down and liquid is released, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer raspberries to a food processor, and puree, about 20 seconds. Pass through a fine sieve. Set aside to cool.
- Fill a large bowl with ice and water; set aside. Bring a stockpot 1/4 full of water to a boil. Let simmer. In a medium stainless-steel bowl, whisk together egg yolks, 2 tablespoons sugar, corn syrup, and kirsch or champagne; place over simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until mixture thickens (when whisk is lifted over the mixture, the ribbonlike trail it leaves on the surface should hold its shape for 1 or 2 seconds), about 4 minutes. Transfer bowl to the ice-water bath; whisk mixture while it cools. Add 3/4 cup raspberry puree to mixture; whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on high speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. While mixer is running, gradually add remaining 6 tablespoons sugar; beat until very stiff, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Beat cream with whisk attachment until stiff; fold into egg whites.
- Fold raspberry mixture into egg whites and cream. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan; cover with plastic wrap. Transfer to the freezer; freeze until hardened, at least 4 hours. This can be prepared up to 2 days in advance.
- To make the raspberry sauce, stir superfine sugar into the remaining raspberry puree (about 2 tablespoons). Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To serve, use a heart-shaped cookie cutter (2 1/2 inches across at the widest point) to cut out 4 hearts from the semifreddo. Divide the raspberry sauce between 2 dessert plates. Place a chocolate heart, off center, on top of the raspberry sauce. Place a semifreddo heart on each chocolate heart and repeat layering until there are 3 layers of chocolate and 2 layers of semifreddo, ending with a chocolate heart. Garnish with the reserved fresh raspberries (if using), sift confectioners' sugar over the raspberries, if desired.
CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY NAPOLEONS
Add a touch of whimsy to your Easter feast with this springtime version of a classic pastry. Fluffy chocolate mousse and bright raspberries are sandwiched between flaky sheets of phyllo, then sprinkled with powdered sugar for an elegant finish.-Jordan Sucher, Brooklyn, New York
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 35m
Yield 8 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; stir with a whisk until smooth. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate, covered, until cold., Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out). Brush phyllo sheet with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Repeat layers seven times. Cut into eight rectangles. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet., Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack., Gently split each pastry horizontally in half. In a small bowl, beat ganache just until soft peaks form, about 15 seconds (do not overbeat). Spread half of the mixture over pastry bottoms; top with raspberries and remaining chocolate mixture. Replace tops. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 312 calories, Fat 26g fat (15g saturated fat), Cholesterol 63mg cholesterol, Sodium 117mg sodium, Carbohydrate 22g carbohydrate (12g sugars, Fiber 3g fiber), Protein 3g protein.
WHITE CHOCOLATE AND SUMMER BERRY NAPOLEONS
Categories Berry Chocolate Dairy Dessert Bake Summer Bon Appétit Kidney Friendly Vegetarian Pescatarian Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free Kosher
Yield Makes 20 Servings
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Stir white chocolate in large bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Bring milk to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk milk barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove chocolate from heat. Bring milk to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk milk into chocolate. Let chocolate mixture cool until just beginning to thicken, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
- Using electric mixer, beat cream and vanilla in another large bowl until medium-firm peaks form. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Cover and refrigerate.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 17x11x1-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out 1 pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 15x12-inch rectangle. Cut crosswise into three 12x5-inch rectangles. Repeat rolling and cutting with remaining pastry sheet to make six 12x5-inch pastry rectangles total. Transfer 2 pastry rectangles to prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly. Cover remaining pastry rectangles and chill.
- Pierce pastry rectangles on baking sheet all over with fork. Top with second piece of parchment. Place another 17x11x1-inch baking sheet atop parchment to weigh down pastry rectangles as they cook. Bake pastries until edges and bottoms are golden, about 10 minutes. Remove baking sheet and parchment paper from atop pastries. Turn pastries over. Continue baking uncovered until bottoms are golden, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer pastries to rack; cool. Repeat piercing and baking with remaining 4 pastry rectangles in 2 more batches. (White chocolate cream and pad pastry rectangles can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep cream refrigerated. Store pastry rectangles airtight at room temperature.)
- Place 1 pastry rectangle on work surface. Spread 1 1/2 cups of chocolate cream over pastry. Gently toss all berries in large bowl. Arrange of berries in single layer over chocolate cream. Place second pastry rectangle atop berries. Spread 1 cups of chocolate cream atop second pastry rectangle. Top with of berries. Top with third pastry rectangle. Repeat with remaining 3 pastry rectangles, chocolate cream and berries to form second napoleon. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Refrigerate.) Using serrated knife, cut each pastry crosswise into 10 equal pieces. Sprinkle powdered sugar over each and serve.
Tips:
- Use high-quality chocolate. This will make a big difference in the flavor of your Napoleons.
- Make sure your chocolate is tempered. This will help it set properly and give your Napoleons a smooth, glossy finish.
- Don't overmix the dough. Overmixing will make the dough tough.
- Chill the dough before rolling it out. This will make it easier to work with.
- Bake the Napoleon layers until they are golden brown. This will give them a nice, crispy texture.
- Let the Napoleons cool completely before assembling them. This will help prevent them from falling apart.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the Napoleons. This will help prevent them from crumbling.
Conclusion:
Chocolate Napoleons are a delicious and impressive dessert that is perfect for any occasion. With a little planning and effort, you can easily make these pastries at home. Just be sure to follow the tips above to ensure that your Napoleons turn out perfectly.
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