Chocolate Hazelnut Napoleon Food

CENTERPIECE NAPOLEON WITH CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT MOUSSE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line 4 sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Crack the egg into a small bowl, then add 1 tablespoon water and beat until well mixed. Pour half into a separate small bowl. Add a few drops of red food coloring to the egg in one bowl and a few drops of yellow to the other.
• Unfold the puff pastry sheets and cut each into 3 rectangles, using the folded lines as a guide, for a total of 12 rectangles. Place 3 on each of the prepared sheet pans, leaving 2 to 3 inches in between each.
• Top each of two pans of puff pastry with a second piece of parchment and place a second sheet pan on top of the parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the top sheet pans and top pieces of parchment. Return to the oven and bake until puffed and golden brown on the bottom, an additional 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Top the remaining two pans of unbaked puff pastry with parchment and sheet pans and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the top sheet pans and parchment. Brush these partially-baked rectangles with red egg wash on one end and yellow on the other, overlapping the two in the middle to create an orange section. Return to the oven to finish the baking, another 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Make the filling in two batches so that it will fit in the mixer. Add half the cream cheese and half the powdered sugar to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until light. Add 3 cups heavy cream and beat to stiff peaks. Add half the chocolate hazelnut spread, then fold in using a rubber spatula until no streaks remain. Transfer to a piping bag or large resealable plastic bag fitted with a large closed-star tip and refrigerate until ready to use. Repeat the process with the second half of the filling ingredients, leaving this portion in the bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Split each of the puff pastry rectangles open horizontally using a serrated knife. Line up 6 of the bottom half puff pastry rectangles end-to-end down a long platter, using a dot of filling to secure to the platter if necessary. Pipe an even layer of filling down the puff pastry line. Top with 6 more puff pastry rectangles and repeat with filling and puff pastry twice more, refilling the piping bag as needed and ending with the colored puff pastry, lining them up with red ends touching. (See Cook's Note.)
• Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the puff pastry and top with broken pieces of Hazelnut Brittle.
• Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
• Add the granulated sugar, corn syrup and 1 cup water to a medium saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over medium-high heat until the syrup begins to turn golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling the pan gently, until the mixture is a deep amber color.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the nuts and salt. Pour immediately onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread into an even layer and let cool completely, then break into small pieces.

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT NAPOLEONS

Steps:

• Make hazelnut crème:
• Melt chocolate with Nutella and keep warm.
• Beat cream with an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks, then chill.
• Beat egg and yolks in cleaned mixer bowl with cleaned beaters at high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring sugar, water, and corn syrup to a boil in a 1-qt heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar has dissolved. Continue to boil, undisturbed, until candy thermometer registers 238°F (soft-ball stage; you will need to tilt pan to get temperature), about 4 minutes.
• Reduce mixer speed to medium and add hot sugar mixture to eggs in a slow steam (try to avoid beaters and side of bowl), then beat until mixture is pale, thick, tripled in volume, and completely cool, about 5 minutes.
• Fold chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Fold in one third of whipped cream to lighten, then fold in remaining whipped cream gently but thoroughly. Chill at least 4 hours.
• Candy hazelnuts:
• Line a baking pan with foil (shiny side up).
• Heat sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber. Add hazelnuts, stirring until coated. Transfer to foil and cool completely, then coarsely chop.
• Bake pastry:
• Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Line a large heavy baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll out puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 17- by 10-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick). Transfer to baking sheet, then cover with a sheet of parchment and top with a heavy baking sheet or sheet pan to weight down. Bake until pale golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir together corn syrup and water.
• Remove top baking sheet and parchment. Generously brush pastry with corn syrup mixture and cover with parchment, then invert pastry and brush other side with corn syrup mixture. Replace parchment and baking sheet and bake until deep golden and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool completely.
• Using a serrated knife, trim edges of pastry, then halve lengthwise and cut each half into 8 equal rectangles for a total of 16 rectangles.
• Assemble dessert:
• Arrange 8 rectangles on a baking sheet and dust with confectioners' sugar to cover. (To mark pastry decoratively, see cooks' note, below.)
• Dab a small amount of hazelnut crème in center of 8 plates, then put an undecorated pastry rectangle on top. Divide remaining hazelnut crème among pastry rectangles. Sprinkle with some of the candied hazelnuts and top with decorated pastry rectangles. Sprinkle with more candied hazelnuts.
• Do Ahead
• Hazelnut crème can be chilled up to 2 days. Candied hazelnuts keep in an airtight container 3 weeks. Pastry can be baked 2 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT NAPOLEON

Steps:

• For the pastry cream, heat the evaporated milk and milk in a medium saucepot until just below a simmer. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, and cornstarch together. Place the chocolate and butter in a separate bowl and place a strainer overtop.
• Pour the hot milk over the egg mixture while whisking constantly until it has all been added. Return this to the pot and whisk over medium heat until the custard thickens and turns glossy, about 3 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and pour it through the strainer over the chocolate and butter. Whisk this until the chocolate has melted and the custard is smooth. Whisk in the hazelnut liqueur and vanilla, then whisk in the hazelnut butter. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard, cool to room temperature, then chill until set, about 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking tray with parchment paper, and have a second baking tray of the same size on hand.
• Cut the pastry dough into 3 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface roll out each piece to a rectangle about 5-x-14 inches. Alternatively, you can roll out each piece to about 4-x-8 inches and then finish rolling the dough through a pasta roller set to the widest setting (this makes for a pastry that bakes evenly and level). If needed, stack the 3 pieces of dough and trim the edges so that they are all the same size (they will be closer to 4-x-12 inches once trimmed). Chill the dough for 15 minutes.
• Place the 3 pieces of dough on the prepared baking tray and dock with a fork. Place a second sheet of parchment paper over the pastry and place the second baking tray on top. Bake the pastry for 10 minutes, then add a heavy weight on top of the top baking tray (a cast iron skillet, or even 2 bricks wrapped in foil) and bake 10 minutes more. Remove the weights, the top baking tray and parchment and finish baking for about 10 more minutes, until the pastry is a rich golden brown. Cool completely before assembling.
• To assemble, place one of the pastry pieces on a platter or flat board. Stir the pastry cream to soften and spread half of it over the pastry. Top this with a second sheet of pastry and spread the remaining half of the pastry cream overtop. Top this with the third piece of pastry and press it down ever so gently. Chill for an hour.
• Dust the top of the napoleon generously with icing sugar. Using a sharp Chef's knife, trim the edges of the pastry if needed, then cut the napoleon into 6 individual portions, each 4-x-1 ½-inches. Store the napoleons refrigerated until ready to serve.
• The napoleons can be prepared up to a day in advance, and stored refrigerated up to 2 days.