Mango and coconut napoleans

MAKES 12

1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry

60 g (2¼ oz/¼ cup) unsalted butter, melted

40 g (1½ oz/¹/₃ cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar, plus extra, sifted, for dusting (optional)

1 ripe mango

125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) cream

1 teaspoon natural coconut extract

1  Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6). Line two baking trays with baking paper.

2  Use a 4 cm (1½ inch) heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut 24 hearts from the pastry. Place 12 hearts on each prepared tray. Prick the hearts on one tray all over with a fork to form the bases. Place in the freezer for 2 minutes. Cover each tray with a sheet of baking paper and top with another tray to flatten the pastry hearts. Bake for 4–5 minutes. Remove the top tray from the hearts that will form the lids and brush with the melted butter — this will allow them to rise. Bake the other tray for a further 2 minutes before removing the top tray and brushing the hearts with butter. Return both trays to the oven and cook for a further 1–2 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.

3  Preheat the grill (broiler) to medium–high. Dredge the hearts with 2 tablespoons of the icing sugar. Place on the unlined baking trays and place under the grill for 1–2 minutes, or until light golden and caramelised. Slice the mango into 2–3 mm (¹/₁₆–¹/₈ inch) thick slices. Cut out 24 heart shapes using the cookie cutter.

4  Whisk the cream, the remaining icing sugar and the coconut extract until firm peaks form. Place a mango heart on each pastry base and spread on a thin layer of cream. Add another mango heart and a layer of cream and top with the lids. Dust with extra icing sugar, if desired, and serve immediately. The napoleons are best eaten the day they are made.