Coconut Whipped Cream (AIP)

I have a love/hate relationship with coconut whipped cream.  Ideally, one is supposed to be able to refrigerate a can of coconut milk overnight, open the can, scoop off the solids & whip them into amazing “whipped cream.” This is NOT always the case.

As you can see in this picture I posted on Instagram a couple weeks ago, I’ve had my fair share of coconut whipped cream failures... I asked others what they did to ensure that the coconut milk would actually whip into usable cream & I received some good tips. Two pieces of advice that I took to heart were 1) to use Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream (which is *still* unsweetened) and 2) to open the can from the bottom, after the refrigeration process.

Using those words of wisdom, I made a successful batch of Coconut Whipped Cream that fit with my detox specifications and felt like a decadent treat, when spooned on top of berries. I found my berries were sweet enough that I left my “cream” unsweetened (whether through stevia, or, if you’re not on a detox diet, powdered sugar).

Coconut Whipped Cream 

1 can of Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste/extract (omit for AIP)

optional: sweetener of choice, such as honey or maple syrup

1. Chill the can of Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream in the refrigerator overnight.  
2. The following day, flip the can upside down & open the can from the bottom.  Drain out any liquid & use it in something else (like add it to a smoothie). Scoop the remaining solids into a bowl. 
3. Using a hand-held mixer, whip the solids for a couple minutes, or until the cream forms soft peaks. 
4. Add the Vanilla Bean Paste & optional sweeteners & mix to combine. If a more firm texture is desired, re-refrigerate for 10 minutes before serving. 
5. Use as you would use regular whipped cream--here, I spooned it over some berries. 
6. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple of days, though re-whipping may be required. 

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Lemon Raspberry Pavlova (GF)

Forgive my unexpected time lapse between posts.  By now, I ought to know that when I’m taking a trip back to North Dakota (which is where I've been the past two weeks), I really won’t have time to finish a post, even if I have the best intentions of doing so, haha.  I’m also sorry for not sharing this lemon raspberry pavlova with you sooner! It’s a keeper. 

Every time I make a pavlova for dessert, I wonder why I don’t make it more often. It’s very easy to make & naturally gluten free, not to mention super tasty. Luckily, I’ve gotten a couple friends hooked on it, and they remind me to make it :) When one of those aforementioned friends celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago, I knew it was the perfect time to test out a pavlova variation that has been rolling around my head for quite a while.....

 Most often, when I’m making pavlova, I make a version of the Berry Pavlova I posted last July; however, this time, I switched things up. I don’t know if there’s a way to make a pavlova more elegant than it already is, but somehow crafting it into individual portions seems to do the trick. Plus, they’re easier to serve at a dinner party (which is where I served these). And using tart lemon curd as the filling pared wonderfully with the sweet meringue shell. Top little whipped cream and a few raspberries & you’re set with a spectacular dessert.

Pavlova Shells
Yields 4 servings 

2 ea Whites
3.5 oz / 1/2 c Granulated Sugar
Vanilla Bean Paste/Vanilla Extract (optional, I forgot to add it to mine & they still tasted great!) 
1 tsp Cornstarch

1. Preheat oven to 250 F. 
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper & spray with cooking spray .  
3. In the very clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites.  Mix on medium-low speed until they become foamy.  Gradually add the sugar, a couple tablespoons at a time. 
4. Once all the sugar is added, increase the mixer speed to high & whip until the mixture holds stiff peaks and becomes very thick & glossy.  
5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl & add a splash of the vanilla bean paste/extract. Mix on high speed one additional minute.  
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer & sift the cornstarch over the meringue.  Use a silicone spatula to gently fold in the cornstarch, taking care not to deflate the meringue.  
7. Use a large portion scoop to portion the meringue into 4 small mounds on the prepared parchment. Use a small offset spatula to hollow out the center slightly to make room for the filling & fruit that will be added after baking.  
8. Place the pan into the oven & immediately drop the oven temperature to 225 F. 
9. Bake the pavlovas for 30 minutes, rotate the pan & bake for 15 to 30 additional minutes.  When done, the outside will be dry & firm to the touch, but the interior will be soft & marshmallow-y Ideally, the pavlovas should remain very pale cream in color. If they begin to brown, reduce the oven temperature, or even turn the oven off & allow the residual heat to finish the baking process. 
10. Cool completely before assembly. If not planning to assemble & serve the pavlovas immediately, tightly wrapped the completely cooled meringue shell & store at room temperature so that it retains it’s crispy shell. 

Lemon Curd

sorry, I do not have a volume measurement for this recipe. If you run out of time to make your own curd, you could substitute store bought :)

80 g Egg Yolks

126 g Granulated Sugar

100 g Lemon Juice

25 g Heavy Cream

65 g Butter

1. In a small stainless steel saucepan, whisk together yolks, sugar, juice, cream, and butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, 5 to 7 minutes, or until mixture just reaches a boil (do not let boil). 
2. Strain curd through a fine sieve into a bowl. 
3. Cool curd with its surface covered with plastic wrap (pressed into the curd, so that it doesn’t develop a skin), and chill. Alternately, chill over an ice bath (with plastic pressed into the curd). 
4. Curd may be refrigerated for up to 2 days. 

Assembly

Assemble just before serving

Cooled Pavlova Shells

Chilled Lemon Curd

Whipped Cream

Fresh Raspberries

Mint (optional garnish--my grocery store was completely out, so I couldn’t use any...) 

1. Gently press the center of the pavlova shell to indent it a little further. 
2. Spoon a little lemon curd into the indentation.
3. Top with a quenelle (or dollop) of whipped cream & sprinkle with a few raspberries. Optional: garnish with a few sprigs of fresh mint. 
4. Serve immediately! 

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Peach Surprise with Grandma Vein

“What’s the surprise?” asked my husband when I told him about my plans to make “Peach Surprise” with my Grandma Vein while we were back in North Dakota.  “I really don’t know.” I told him. And that’s the truth! I just know “peach surprise” is one of my absolute favorite summer-time desserts. 

After very suddenly losing my other grandma last year and since my sisters and I all live in different parts of the US, my motivation during trips back to North Dakota changed.  My number one focus has become spending as much time with family as possible. Grandparents are not alive forever. (really none of us are.) And we never know which visit will be our last.

Last month, we took a trip back to North Dakota/Minnesota to visit my family. We were fortunate to spend a few days in my hometown, followed by a few days at my family’s lake cabin in Minnesota.

My husband had to go back to work in Texas, but I stayed longer to spend some additional time in my hometown & to help my youngest sister move to Chicago.

One of the things I most wanted to do while in ND was to make something with my Grandma Vein. She’s a fabulous baker and cook! Last summer, we made a peach pie together, but this summer, I knew we needed to make “peach surprise.”

The recipe for “peach surprise” is straight out of an old lutheran church cookbook.  The pages where the good recipes are located are stained from years of use. Grandma has written her own notes & variations throughout the cookbook too.

Grandma’s favorite peaches are the elberta variety.  Every year, she patiently waits for them & buys them in mass quantities.  Grandma told me this year that she even called the store to reserve a whole lug of them (i.e. a little less than a bushel), fearing the store may run out before she could get any.

All those peaches get turned into delicious peach desserts, or sliced & eaten on their own with perhaps a splash of heavy cream.  Grandma also gives many of the peaches away to her sons so that their families may enjoy eating them.

One of the great things about “peach surprise” is that it is a no-bake dessert--just a graham cracker crust with peaches & a marshmallow/whipped cream filling.  But, since I can’t eat regular store bought graham crackers, we did have to turn on the oven to bake a batch of gluten free graham crackers first.

Grandma had suggested maybe we should make a gluten free cereal-based crust, using something like rice krispies, but I convinced her that gluten free graham crackers are rather fast and easy to make yourself. Honestly, I also just could not bear to change a classic too much!

While the gluten free graham crackers baked and later while the dessert was chilling in the refrigerator, Grandma and I had some good visiting time. She showed me all her latest photo albums & told me all the family news I’ve been missing. She has a hard time hearing voices over the phone, so our phone chats have been a bit difficult lately.  It was lovely to actually talk in person.

Though peach surprise is an easy dessert to make, I feel so fortunate and blessed to actually make it with Grandma. There are so many things she makes that my whole family loves to eat, but most of us don’t have those precious “memory food” recipes.

Even with my culinary school education, I treasure the times Grandma and I spend in the kitchen where she teaches me her tricks & techniques for making things.  I am actively trying to make sure that I document as many of her recipes, including the methods she uses that aren’t written in the recipes.

When I returned to Texas and told my husband and friends about my experiences making “peach surprise” with Grandma, they requested to try the dessert for themselves.  So for our Labor Day cookout yesterday, I made a pan of "peach surprise". It was the perfect way to celebrate the end of summer and a sweet finale to the evening.

Peach Surprise
yields approximately 12 servings

6 oz / 170 g / 4 cups Mini Marshmallows
4.95 oz / 139 g / 1/2 c Orange Juice

10 oz / 280 g /2 c Graham Cracker Crumbs {I used Gluten Free} 
2.45 oz / 69 g / 1/3 c Confectioner’s Sugar
4 oz / 112 g / 1 stick Unsalted Butter, melted

5 large ripe peaches {Grandma would suggest Elberta peaches}
16 oz / 448 g / 1 pint heavy cream

1.  In a double boiler, melt the marshmallows with the orange juice. Stir often. Remove from the heat to cool while the crust is made. 
2. To make the crust: crush the graham crackers (if they aren’t crushed already) using either a food processor or a ziptop bag with a rolling pin.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the crumbs with the confectioners sugar.  Add the melted butter and mix until all the crumbs are moistened by the butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13” pan. Chill in the refrigerator while the filling is made.  
3. To make the filling: Peel, and slice (and chop, if you like) 5 large peaches. Whip the cream to medium stiff peaks either by hand, or on high speed with a hand mixer, or on high speed in a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Once the cream is whipped, fold it together with the previously made & slightly cooled marshmallow/orange juice mixture. Fold in the peaches.  
4. To assemble: Spoon dollops of the filling over the prepared crust.  Smooth out the top surface of the filling. Cover the pan & refrigerate for 4 hours. 
5. When ready to serve, cut the dessert into 12 pieces.  The dessert will keep for several days well covered in the refrigerator (if it isn’t entirely eaten immediately). 

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Gluten Free Key Lime Pie Wordless Wednesday

I seem to be having some trouble getting the actual writing portion of this post done. Instead, I'm taking advantage of Wordless Wednesday :)

GLUTEN FREE KEY LIME PIE

adapted from Nellie & Joe's  Key Lime Juice 
yields 1 9” pie (6 to 8 generous servings)

Crust
230 g / 2c c Gluten Free Graham Crackers (or substitute regular grahams, if not following a Gluten Free lifestyle) 
56 g / 4 Tbl Granulated Sugar 
112 g / 8Tbl/ 1 stick Unsalted Butter, melted 

Filling
3 egg yolks
1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
122g / 1/2 c Key Lime Juice (such as Nellie & Joe's) 

Decoration
1/2 c Whipped Cream
1 Tbl / 15 g Granulated Sugar
Key Limes, thinly sliced 

1. To make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Crush the graham crackers, either in a food processor or in a zip top bag with a rolling pin.  Mix together the crumbs, granulated sugar & unsalted butter until combined. Press the crust into the bottom & up the sides of a 9” pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven (but don’t turn it off) and allow the crust to cool completely. 
2. To make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sweetened condensed milk.  Stir in the key lime juice, taking care not to stir too much & create bubbles. Pour into the pre-baked crust.  Bake the pie at 350 F for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to decorate & serve.
3. To make the decoration: Just before serving, vigorously whisk the whipped cream with the sugar until the cream forms medium stiff peaks.  Place the whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe whipped cream around the edges of the pie.  Decorate by adding a few very thin key lime slices (remove the seeds first).  Serve immediately. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.  

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"Cake and Ice Cream" Cake

My birthday was this past week! 

Every birthday I can remember celebrating with my family has included both cake and ice cream.  Each person’s plate not only included a slice of birthday cake, but also a generous scoop of ice cream.

As a child--and well, as an adult, if I’m really being honest--I had a preferred method for eating that cake and ice cream. I would eat the frosting first, not because I liked the icing best, but because I felt that it’s flavor and texture got in the way of the cake and ice cream.  Next, I would smoosh all the cake with my fork and vigorously mix it with the slightly softened ice cream.   Then, it was perfectly mushy & ready to be eaten.  

I know, it’s a terribly unladylike way to eat cake... (especially when it’s someone else’s birthday).

My mom made all of our birthday cakes when I was a kid (or rather, until I caught the baking bug and asked to make my own cake).  We were allowed to pick out exactly what kind of cake, icing and ice cream we wanted each year.  Though she didn’t exactly approve of my preferred cake-and-ice-cream-eating method, she did take pity on me & create a whole new genre of cake for me: the “cake and ice cream cake.”

She baked a chocolate cake, crumbled it up, mixed the cake crumbs with vanilla ice cream, spread the whole mixture back into a 9x13 pan & froze it until solid.  Then, she still piped “Happy Birthday Laura!” and some decorations on it right before candles were added & the “Happy Birthday” song was sung.  The time out of the freezer & the heat from the candles would soften the cake enough to cut it into squares for serving.  And voila, a perfectly polite way to eat my favorite cake and ice cream mush concoction.

It’s been awhile I’ve last had one of my mom’s cake-and-ice cream cakes.  Most years, I still make my mushy concoction, usually with cake leftovers, but for my birthday this year, I decided to resurrect the cake and ice cream cake.

I made just a couple of changes.... I added a crust, using Glutino gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies because who doesn’t like a chocolate sandwich cookie crust!  The crust also acts as an insulator so that the ice cream doesn’t melt as quickly when put onto the plate, and it makes the cake less messy to serve.

I also folded in a bit of whipped cream to the cake and ice cream filling, just to help stabilize it a little for serving & to keep the cake from melting as quickly.  Finally, instead of decorating the top of the cake with colored icing, I piped a quick shell border with some additional whipped cream.

We invited some friends over for an impromptu cake and (spiked) coffee gathering the night of my birthday. It was fun to tell them the backstory to the cake.  And, none of them could taste that the cake was gluten free!  I’d say it was a great success :)

Cake and Ice Cream Cake
yields 12 servings 

One Bowl Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free Version) 
makes one 8x8 pan (or 12 cupcakes)
adapted from Martha Stewart 

1.15 oz Cocoa Powder, sifted
3.2 oz AP Flour (I used Jeanne’s Gluten Free AP Mix)
5.25 oz Granulated Sugar
3/4 t Baking Soda
3/4 t Baking Powder
1/2 t Sea Salt

3 fl oz Buttermilk
1 large Egg
1.5 Tbl (21 g) Vegetable Oil
1/2 t Vanilla Extract
3 fl oz Water (or substitute cold coffee) 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Generously spray an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.   
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the sifted cocoa powder, flour, granulated sugar, soda, powder, and salt.  
3. Add the buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla to a 2 cup-liquid measuring cup.  Gently break up the egg & combine the ingredients with a small whisk or a fork.  
4. Pour the buttermilk, egg, oil, vanilla mixture to the dry ingredients.  Measure the water into the just used liquid measuring cup (to make sure everything is used) and also pour that into the dry ingredients.  
5. Whisk everything, just until combined.  Pour into the prepared pan. 
6. Bake until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (mine baked in a metal dish took approximately 25 minutes).  
7. Allow to cool completely.  If not using immediately, wrap the cooled cake & store at room temperature. Cake may be made up to two days in advance.  

Crust
17 ea/8.7 oz Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (I used one package, minus 4 of Glutino cookies) 
2 oz/half a stick Unsalted Butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 
2. In a food processor, blitz the cookies until they are finely ground. 
3. Microwave the butter until it is just barely melted.
4. Stir together the melted butter with the cookie crumbs until the crumbs are all coated with butter. 
5. Press the mixture into a 9” springform pan. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes.  
6. Allow to cool completely then place in the freezer for 10 minutes to give it an extra chill.  

Assembly
1 recipe Chocolate Cake
16 oz half of a half gallon Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (you could make your own, if you like) 
12 oz heavy Cream
3 Tbl Granulated Sugar
1 Tbl Vanilla Extract
1 Prepared Crust

1. In a large bowl, crumble the baked, cooled chocolate cake until the cake is all crumbs.  
2. Remove the ice cream from the freezer & allow to soften slightly.  (I scoop the ice cream directly into the bowl where the cake is & allow it to soften there.)
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla.  Whip on high speed until the cream forms medium-stiff peaks.  Remove 1/3 of the whipped cream & store in the refrigerator.
4. Use a spatula to combine the cake & softened ice cream.  Fold in the whipped cream & stir until just combined.  The more stirring that happens, the more brown the mixture will become & the less contrast in color there will be between the dark colored cake and the light colored ice cream/whipped cream.  
5. Pour the filling into the cold prepared crust.  Place the entire pan into the freezer and freeze for 2 hours.  After 2 hours, wrap the pan well with plastic wrap & return to the freezer for at least 12 hours.  
6. When ready to serve, allow to sit at room temperature for a couple of minutes before removing the outer portion of the springform pan.  Pipe a border around the edge of the cake using the reserved whipped cream.  Use a hot knife to cut into slices & serve immediately.  Store any leftovers, well wrapped, in the freezer.  

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Pistachio Raspberry Napoleon

In high school, I had the privilege of traveling to France (and Monaco) for 17 days with my French class.  I did not so much enjoy high school, but I really, really loved that trip! We started in Paris & then traveled via motor-coach in a giant circle around the rest of the country.

For most of the trip, we ate lunch on our own in whatever city we happened to be visiting that day.   Even in high school, I knew that someday I wanted to study pastry.  I am not at all ashamed to say that most every lunch included dessert.  Sometimes, dessert was the only food group!  Luckily, the friends I made during the trip agreed with dessert for lunch :)

One day, towards the tail end of the trip when we were in the norther part of France, along the cost, I bought a “Mille-Feuille” (also known as a “Napoleon”) for lunch.  It was a beautiful pastry, layered with cream & strawberries, and topped with a healthy dusting of confectioners‘ sugar.  Somewhere in my boxes of France mementos at my parents’ house is a photo I took of the pastry...

While the napoleon may have looked exquisite & delicious, it only took one bite for me to realize that the pastry was burned.  Badly burnt.  Sadly, I ended up throwing out the pastry layers and just eating the cream & strawberries.  Even though this first napoleon experience was not-so-great, I knew that someday I would eat a better one.

That trip to France did really help further my palate, & it exposed me to new things within the culinary world . Pistachio, in particular, remains one of my all time favorite flavors.  As does red currant.  And, of course, I fell in love with croissants, pain au chocolat, jam & nutella for breakfast.

Fast forward just a few years (ha!) to my time in culinary school.  Laminated Doughs & Breakfast Pastries quickly became my favorite class.  We made our own puff pastry, laminated it with European butter, and one week we turned some of the finished puff pastry into amazingly delicious, yet challenging Napoleons.  Finally, I tasted a real napoleon that wasn’t burned!

Classical napoleons, topped with poured fondant & chocolate stripes, aren’t an easy task.  They require lots of work & also require the person making/assembling them to be on top of their “mis-en-place,” meaning that everything must be completely ready & in place before the assembly process begins.  I struggled with the napoleon as a student & while my pastry was delicious, it wasn’t nearly as beautiful as it should have been (or as beautiful as Chef Jeff’s was).  When I became an instructor & taught the Laminated Doughs class, I still was a little nervous on napoleon day when I had to demo this challenging item to 16 eager students (and then grade them on their results)....

While I love the classical napoleon, both for it’s flavor and for the skill it requires one to possess to execute flawlessly, I experimented with alternate presentations for the same components.  The squares were pre-cut to their serving size.  The vanilla diplomat cream filling was decoratively piped.  Fruit could be added.  The fondant & chocolate topping was exchanged for a pattern of powdered sugar.

I have a terrible habit of hoarding ingredients I deem “special.”  As I was brainstorming future posts & looking through my cabinets & freezer, I remembered the remaining piece of gluten free blitz puff pastry that needed to be used before it developed freezer burn.  And in the dark, back corner of the pantry, I discovered an even bigger gem: pistachio paste!  Ironically, I brought the pistachio paste back from my second trip to France .  I’ve been saving it for a special occasion, but really, that just means it’s just hiding in my pantry.  My aformentioned love of pistachio drove me to buy the paste three years ago, but allowing it to just sit in the back of the pantry really does no one any favors.  So, I cracked the can open, inhaling the wonderful fragrance of pistachios &  was inspired to make a pistachio napoleon with raspberries.  Not only are pistachios and raspberries visually pretty together, their flavors also are a great compliment.

I knew there wasn’t enough leftover blitz puff pastry to make very many napoleons, so in lieu of just eating the pistachio diplomat cream with a spoon (which it IS delicious enough to do), I bought a box of commercial puff pastry.  I used the regular puff pastry to make a couple napoleons to give as thank-you gifts.

In one bite of the napoleon, I’m transported both back to my trips to France, and also to my days as a culinary student & instructor.  Good memories :)


PISTACHIO RASPBERRY NAPOLEONS 

• In the above images, the larger napoleon was made with commercial, store-bought puff pastry. The smaller, individual size napoleon was made with gluten free blitz puff pastry.  
• The batch of pastry cream & diplomat cream will make enough to fill two sheets of regular puff pastry and all the gluten free pastry rectangles as well. 

Baking Commercial Puff Pastry Sheets (large Napoleons) 

1. Allow the puff pastry to thaw at room temperature for approximately an hour.  Preheat the oven to 400 F. 
2. Open the package & separate the two pieces of puff pastry.  Save the second piece for later (or hold it in the refrigerator until the first pieces is done & then repeat the steps.) Gently open the folds of the pastry.  
3. Using a pastry wheel & a ruler (I like to use my quilter’s ruler), cut off the edges of the puff pastry pieces, just to expose the lamination.  Cut each piece into three equal pieces approximately 3 inches wide.  
4. Place the 3” wide pieces onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Use a fork to dock the dough (make little holes in it) all over the surface of the dough.  Top with a second piece of parchment & a second sheet pan.  The puff pastry should now be sandwiched between the parchment & the pans.  Add a heavy, oven-safe weight to the top pan--I like to use my cast iron skillet.  
5. Bake the skillet-topped pans for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven & remove the cast iron skillet (DON’T FORGET THAT THE PANS ARE HOT!!) Flip the pans with the pastry over & remove the top pan (which was previously the bottom) and the top layer of parchment.  Return the pan to the oven (the bottom pan will be upside down, but that’s OK). and continue baking until the pastry is golden.  Rotate as needed to promote even browning.  The finished pastry should be quite brown, but not burned. Mine took approximately 7 additional minutes to bake.  Allow the baked pastry to cool at room temperature.  
6. After the rectangles have trim with a small, sharp paring knife until all the pieces are the same size & the edges have been re-exposed. Save any scrap pieces to eat with leftover diplomat cream :)  Some of the rectangles may break, but just use those for the bottom or inside layers when assembling. Decide which piece is the prettiest & reserve that one for the top.  Set aside until ready to assemble.

Baking Gluten Free Blitz Puff Pastry (individual Napoleons)

1.  Allow the frozen blitz puff pastry to thaw at room temperature for approximately 10 minutes (for a flat sheet)
2. Use a ruler & pastry wheel to cut the dough into 2x4 inch rectangles.  
3. Place the rectangles onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Return to the freezer for 10 minutes. 
4. Preheat the oven to 400 F. 
5. Bake the rectangles for 25 minutes (or until lightly golden).  Remove the pan from the oven.  With an offset spatula, very carefully flip each piece over.  They do tend to ooze a bit of butter & that hot butter will burn!  
6. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 5 to 10 more minutes, or until the pastry is golden.  
7. Remove from the oven & cool to room temperature.  

Pastry Cream
Note: Cut the batch in half if you aren’t planning on assembling more than 1 napoleon (i.e. using more than 1 sheet of commercial puff pastry).  I bought my pistachio paste in France, but you can find several kinds here.  Alternately, unsalted pistachios can be steeped in milk & then pureed, but the flavor will not be as strong & the texture will be much more grainy.   

9.75 oz  Milk
1.5 oz  Pistachio Paste (similar here)
1 fl oz  cold Water
0.15 oz  Granulated Gelatin (approximately half a packet)
2 oz Egg Yolks (approximately 4 yolks, don’t worry if it goes a little over)
4 oz  Granulated Sugar
0.85 oz  Cornstarch
0.55 oz  Butter

1. In a medium sized stainless steel sauce pan, combine the milk and pistachio paste.  Heat over medium heat until it simmers, whisking often.  Remove from the heat, cover & allow to steep 10 minutes or so while the other ingredients are prepared. 
2. In a microwave safe small bowl, add the cold water.  Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water.  Stir lightly to ensure all the granules are moistened.  Set aside to bloom.  
3. Separate the cold eggs.  Reserve the whites for a different use. 
4. In a medium sized heat-proof bowl (glass, metal, etc.), Whisk together the granulated sugar & cornstarch.  
5. Return the pistachio milk to the stove top & heat over medium high heat until it begins to steam.  Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks into the granulated sugar/cornstarch mixture.  Place a damp towel or a silicone pot holder underneath the bowl if it moves around too much.  Do not allow this mixture to sit or the sugar may cause the egg mixture to chemically cook & create lumps in the final cream. 
6. Slowly temper the hot pistachio liquid into the egg mixture, while whisking constantly.  Once all the two are combined, return them to the sauce pan and heat over medium high heat, whisking constantly. 
7. Continue cooking & mixing until the custard boils.  Allow to boil for a minimum of 15 seconds (count slowly), then remove from the heat.  Whisk in the butter
8. Place the bloomed gelatin into the microwave & heat on high for 10 seconds (or until liquid).  Whisk the melted gelatin into the custard.  Pour the custard into a separate bowl & cover with plastic wrap touching the surface.  Refrigerate until ready to make the diplomat cream, just before assembly. 

Diplomat Cream 
Wait to make the diplomat cream until just before assembly! It won’t pipe as well if made earlier. Cut the batch in half if you aren’t planning on assembling more than 1 napoleon (i.e. using more than 1 sheet of commercial puff pastry)

16 oz Pastry Cream (with the gelatin added) 
16 oz Whipping Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (or substitute extract) 

1. Approximately 30 minutes before making the diplomat cream, remove the pastry cream from the refrigerator & allow to come to room temperature. 
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until medium peaks form. Beat in the vanilla bean paste. 
3. Whisk the room temperature pastry cream to break it up a bit.  Add half of the whipped cream to the pastry cream & whisk to combine.  Pour the pastry cream/whipped cream back into the bowl of whipped cream & gently fold to combine.  
4. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.  
5. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip (I used an Ateco #808). Reserve any leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.  

Tri-layer Assembly
Baked Puff pastry pieces, trimmed (regular, not gluten free ones)
Diplomat Cream
1/2 to 1 pint Raspberries, unwashed 
Confectioners sugar 
Pistachios, finely chopped (optional garnish) 

1. Build the napoleon on a parchment lined sheet pan.  Pick through the raspberries & decide which ones are prettiest for the outside edges and which ones are not as beautiful that may be hidden on the inside.  Set aside a couple of extra pretty garnish berries, if desired. Lay out the raspberries on some paper towel.  Do NOT wash them. Due to their fragile nature, the raspberries may not hold up as well if they are washed & they risk bleeding into the pastry cream.  
2. On the base layer, pipe three large dots/rounds with the diplomat cream along the short side of the baked puff pastry.  Next to the dots, snuggly place 4 raspberries (or however many fit best), remembering to put the prettiest ones towards the outside where they will be seen.  Repeat the cream dots & raspberry rows throughout the remaining width of the pastry.  Top with a second piece of puff pastry & gently press to adhere, but not so hard that the cream and berries are squashed.  
3. Repeat the cream and berry layer process on the second tier of pastry.  Top with the prettiest piece of pastry. Lightly press. 
4. Place the pan into the refrigerator to chill the napoleon for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. 
5. Just before serving, cut parchment paper into equal strips. Lay the strips diagonally across the top of the pastry.  Liberally sift powdered sugar over the top.  Gently remove the strips, being careful not to disrupt the sugar pattern.  On one corner, lay an extra line of chopped pistachios. Top with a couple additional fresh raspberries. 
6. Serve immediately.  Use a hot, but dry, serrated knife to cut the napoleon into pieces.  Because pastry will begin to get soggy, this dessert is best consumed within 24 hours of assembly.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container (or well wrapped) in the refrigerator.  Leftovers will become soggy, but will still still taste delicious.  

Individual variation (Gluten Free) 

1. Follow the same steps as before, only make the individual napoleons two layers instead of three.  

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