White Chocolate Mocha Napoleons
Chocolatier Archives

Yield: 6 Servings
Preparation: 2 hours plus baking and chilling times

White chocolate mascarpone cream:
6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Mocha mascarpone cream:
6 ounces Swiss dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder,
such as Medaglia d'Oro
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Assembly:
One half  17 1/4-ounce box (one sheet) frozen
puff pastry, such as Pepperidge Farm
Nonstick cooking spray

Dark mocha sauce:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate,
coarsely chopped
1/4 cup strongly brewed coffee
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur

Crème anglaise:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Garnish:
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Cocoa, for dusting
Chocolate-covered espresso beans

Make the white chocolate mascarpone cream:
1. Place the white chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring
3/4 cup of the cream to a gentle boil. Remove from heat. Pour the hot
cream over the chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 30 seconds to melt
the chocolate. Gently whisk until smooth. Whisk in the mascarpone
cheese, vanilla and almond extract. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap
and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Make the mocha mascarpone cream:
2. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan bring 3/4 cup
of the cream and the espresso powder to a gentle boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 30 seconds to melt the
chocolate. Gently whisk until smooth. Whisk in the mascarpone cheese, coffee liqueur and cinnamon. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Make the pastry layers:
3. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees
F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper.
4. Thaw the sheet of puff pastry according to the package directions. Lay
the sheet on a lightly floured work surface. Using a large chef's knife,
trim the sheet so that it is a perfect square. Using a fork, prick the
pastry well all over its surface. Using the knife, cut the sheet into
four squares . Transfer the squares to the prepared baking sheet.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes.
5. Remove the prepared pastry squares from the freezer. Spray a wire rack which is the same size as the baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Place the rack upside down over the pastry squares. Bake the squares
for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden. Transfer the squares to a wire rack
and cool completely.
6. Using a large knife, cut each of the squares in half diagonally to form 8 triangles. Using a small knife, carefully slice each triangle in half cross-
wise to form two thin layers from each triangle. There will be a total of
16 triangles. You will need 12 triangles for this recipe. The extra are in
case of breakage.

Make the dark mocha sauce:
7. Melt the chocolate with the coffee according to the directions in the. In a small saucepan bring the cream to a gentle boil.
Gradually whisk the cream into the melted chocolate until smooth. Stir
in the vanilla and coffee liqueur. The sauce may be made up to 5 days
in advance and refrigerated, covered, until serving. Reheat the sauce
over simmering water before serving.

Make the crème anglaise:
8. In a heavy, medium non-corrosive saucepan, bring the milk, cream and vanilla bean to a gentle boil over medium low heat. Cover the pan, re-
move it from the heat and let the mixture stand for 15 minutes. Remove
the vanilla bean pieces. Using a small, sharp knife, scrape the tiny black
seeds from the inside of the vanilla bean into the milk mixture.
9. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until blended. Gradu-
ally whisk the warm milk mixture into the yolk mixture until blended.
Return this mixture back to the saucepan. Continue cooking over
medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 to 4
minutes, or until custard has thickened slightly. It is done when you
can run your finger down the back of the custard-coated spoon and
a path remains in the custard for several seconds. Do not let the
custard come to a boil.
10. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately strain the custard into
a noncorrosive metal bowl. Place the bowl in a larger bowl of iced water
and stir the custard for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cold. (The crème anglaise
sauce may be prepared up to two days in advance, cooled, covered with
plastic wrap and refrigerated.)

Assemble the napoleons:
11. Remove the white chocolate and mocha mascarpone creams from
the refrigerator. In their separate bowls, whisk each of the creams to
soft peaks.
12. In a large chilled bowl, combine the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream
from the white chocolate mascarpone cream with the remaining 3/4
cup heavy cream from the mocha mascarpone cream. Using a hand-
held electric mixer, beat the cream at medium-high speed to soft
peaks. Do not overbeat. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold
one-half of the whipped cream (about 1 1/2 cups) into the white
chocolate mascarpone cream. Fold the remaining whipped cream
into the mocha mascarpone cream.
13. Fill two pastry bags fitted with medium star tips (such as Ateco #5)
with each of the creams. Place a puff pastry triangle on a work
surface. Dust the triangle with confectioners' sugar. Pipe a layer
of mocha mascarpone cream onto the triangle. Top with another
puff triangle. Dust with confectioners' sugar.
14. Pipe a layer of white chocolate mascarpone cream over the second triangle. Garnish the napoleon with a chocolate-covered espresso bean.
Repeat this layering process with the remaining puff pastry triangles to
form a total of six napoleons.
15. Spoon some dark mocha sauce on a dessert plate. Fill a squeeze
bottle with crème anglaise sauce. Pipe a spiral of crème anglaise over
the mocha sauce. Draw a toothpick from the center of the plate to
the edge, all around the plate at 1-inch intervals. Place a napoleon
in the center of the plate. Dust with cocoa powder, if desired.
Serve immediately.
- Tish Boyle
 

Page 1, Gigi's Napoleons!
Page 3, White Chocolate Black
Pepper Mousse Napoleon
 

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