Strawberry-White Chocolate Napoleons

STRAWBERRY-WHITE CHOCOLATE NAPOLEONS

A Napoleon is a French dessert made up of layers of flaky puff pastry and rich pastry cream. And my recipe for Strawberry-White Chocolate Napoleons is so simple and so delicious, that you're going to make it again and again.

Serves 4

1	sheet (½ of a 17.3-ounce package) frozen puff pastry, thawed and cut into 6 equal rectangles
3	tablespoons cornstarch
2	tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch	kosher salt
1½	cups milk
2	large egg yolks
6	ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1	teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½	cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks
1½	cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
	Roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the puff pastry on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart. Cover with a second sheet of parchment paper and top with a wire rack. (This will keep the puff pastry a uniform thickness.) Bake in the preheated oven until golden, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. Then, use a serrated knife to split each puff pastry rectangle in half. Set aside.


Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Gradually whisk in the milk, followed by the egg yolks. Set the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened to a puddling-like consistency, about 10 minutes.


Pass the pudding through a fine mesh sieve, discarding any remaining solids. Stir in the chocolate and vanilla extract. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap (pressing the plastic directly onto the surface of the pudding), and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.


Fold the whipped cream into the chilled pudding. Top 8 of the reserved puff pastry rectangles with some of the pudding mixture. Then, arrange some of the strawberries on top of the pudding. Assemble the napoleons by layering 2 pudding-topped puff pastry rectangles beneath 1 plain rectangle. Garnish with a sprinkling of the pistachios and serve.