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NAPOLEONS

MAKES 6 NAPOLEONS

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If the dough becomes too warm and sticky to work with, cover it with plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator until firm. You can substitute a 1-pound box of store-bought puff pastry dough for homemade puff pastry, if desired. Click here for defrosting instructions. See the sidebars that follow the recipe.

 

PASTRY
½	recipe Puff Pastry Dough

CHOCOLATE GLAZE
1	ounce bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped fine
2	tablespoons milk
¾	cup (3 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

VANILLA GLAZE
¼	cup (1 ounce) confectioners’ sugar
1½	teaspoons milk
⅛	teaspoon vanilla extract

FILLING
1	recipe Pastry Cream

 

1. FOR THE PASTRY: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 16 by 12-inch rectangle, about ¼ inch thick, between 2 lightly floured sheets of parchment paper. Remove top sheet of parchment and prick pastry with fork every 2 inches.

2. Replace top sheet of parchment and slide dough onto rimmed baking sheet. Place second rimmed baking sheet on top of dough and weight baking sheet with large ovensafe dish. Bake pastry until cooked through and lightly golden, 50 minutes to 1 hour, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.

3. Remove weight, top baking sheet, and top sheet of parchment and continue to bake pastry until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Let pastry cool completely on baking sheet, about 1 hour. (Pastry will shrink slightly.)

4. Cut cooled pastry in half lengthwise with serrated knife and trim edges as necessary to make them straight. Cut each pastry half crosswise into 3 rectangles, then cut each rectangle crosswise into 3 small rectangles (you will have 18 rectangles). (Puff pastry rectangles can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.)

5. FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE: Microwave chocolate at 50 percent power for 15 seconds; stir chocolate, add milk, and continue heating for 10 seconds; stir until smooth. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

6. FOR THE VANILLA GLAZE: Whisk sugar, milk, and vanilla together in bowl until smooth.

7. Spread chocolate glaze evenly over top of 6 rectangles of pastry and lay them on wire rack set over sheet of parchment (for easy cleanup). Drizzle thin stream of vanilla glaze crosswise over chocolate glaze. Run tip of small knife or toothpick lengthwise through icing to make design. Let icing set, about 20 minutes.

8. FOR THE FILLING: Meanwhile, spread about 2½ tablespoons of pastry cream evenly over 6 more rectangles of pastry. Gently top each with one of remaining 6 rectangles of pastry and spread remaining pastry cream evenly over tops. Top with glazed pastry rectangles and serve. (Glazed and assembled Napoleons can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 hours.)