Strawberry-Almond Cream Napoleons
This stunning dessert tastes as good as it looks! All it takes is one sheet of puff pastry, sliced strawberries and a very easy-to-make vanilla mousse. An optional strawberry sauce takes this dessert over the top.
Recipe Ingredients:
Napoleons:
1 sheet (half of 17-ounce package) frozen puff pastry
1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup light whipped topping
2 cups stemmed and sliced California strawberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Powdered sugar for garnish
Strawberry Sauce: (optional)
1 pint basket California strawberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon
Cooking Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
- For Napoleons: Thaw folded pastry sheet 20 minutes. Open sheet and cut along folds to make three equal strips; halve each strip to make six rectangles. Space apart on baking sheet. Bake in center of oven about 15 minutes until well browned and baked through. Remove to rack to cool.
- Meanwhile, in bowl, whisk pudding mix, milk and extract 2 minutes; fold in whipped topping to blend thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate.
- Carefully split each piece of pastry in half horizontally. Cover bottom halves with almonds, then pudding mixture and sliced strawberries, dividing equally. Cover with pastry tops. Dust with powdered sugar.
- For Strawberry Sauce: Stem and halve strawberries and purée in blender container with sugar and lemon juice until smooth.
- To serve, divide Strawberry Sauce among 6 plates; top each puddle with a Napoleon.
Makes 6 servings.
Tip: All components of this dessert can be prepared several hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate pudding mixture, strawberries and sauce. Assemble just before serving.
Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/6 of recipe): 413 calories; 20 g fat; 1 mg cholesterol; 354 mg sodium; 52 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 7 g protein.
Recipe provided courtesy of California Strawberry Commission. ©2003 California Strawberry Commission. All rights reserved. Used with permission.