Vanilla Pudding Raspberry Napoleon Food

RASPBERRY NAPOLEONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry to a 10-by-15-inch rectangle. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Prick pastry all over with a fork. Cover completely with another sheet of parchment paper; weight with another baking sheet (same size or slightly smaller) to prevent pastry from puffing up unevenly. Bake, occasionally pressing top sheet down, until pastry is golden, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove top sheet and parchment, and let pastry cool.
• Transfer pastry to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, carefully trim and discard edges; cut into 12 equal pieces.
• Dividing evenly, put a large dollop of pudding (2 to 3 tablespoons) on 8 of the 12 pastry pieces; top with raspberries and a little more pudding.
• Assemble napoleons on serving plates: For each napoleon, stack two pieces of pastry already topped with pudding and raspberries, then top with a plain piece. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar.
• Make Raspberry Sauce (optional): In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup raspberry jam and 1 tablespoon water; pass through a fine-mesh sieve. Thin with additional water if needed.
• Garnish plate with Raspberry Sauce, if desired.

BANANA PUDDING NAPOLEON

Steps:

• For the Pudding: In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, egg yolk and cornstarch. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups milk and 3 tablespoons sugar almost to a boil. Whisk in other ingredients. Bring to a low boil. Whisk constantly until thickened and smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Strain custard and whisk in vanilla. Place 2 bananas in food processor and pulse until cut into small pieces. Fold this into custard and refrigerate.
• For the Napoleon Layers: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk egg whites with sugar. Stir in melted butter and vanilla extract. Fold in flour. On a parchment lined sheet pan, spread 1 tablespoon of mixture thinly into a 4-inch diameter circle (like a thin cookie). Repeat until there is no more batter. Bake in the oven until light brown, about 5 minutes. For each serving, use 3 "cookies". Slice thin remaining bananas on bias. On each plate, place 1 cookie, followed by 2 slices of bananas, 1 1/2 tablespoons of banana custard. Repeat and then top with remaining cookie. Garnish with powdered sugar and mint leaves.

VANILLA PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat 4 cups of the milk in a large saucepan over medium heat until steaming.
• Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks and the remaining 1/2 cup milk.
• Whisk half of the hot milk into the egg mixture until smooth, then gradually whisk the egg-milk mixture into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until it has thickened to a puddinglike consistency, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
• Cool slightly, stirring a few times to prevent a skin from forming. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding and refrigerate until completely cooled and thickened, about 4 hours.
• Before serving, whisk the pudding vigorously until smooth and creamy.
• Stir-ins:
• Cookies and Cream: Crush 20 chocolate wafer cookies, stir some into the pudding and top with the rest.
• Fresh Berries and Gingersnaps: Fold in 2 cups of fresh, mixed berries and top with about 12 finely crushed gingersnaps.
• Vanilla-Banana: Fold in 3 sliced bananas. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Fold in 24 crushed vanilla wafer cookies and top with more sliced bananas.
• Rocky Road: Fold in 1 cup each mini marshmallows and toasted chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips.
• Peanut Butter* and Jelly (See Cook's Note): Fold in 1 cup quartered red grapes and 1/3 cup each chopped roasted peanuts and peanut butter chips. Top with whole grapes.

RASPBERRY VANILLA PUDDING PIE WITH PEANUT BUTTER CRUST

Steps:

• For the crust: Combine the rice cereal, peanut butter and corn syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix together on medium-low speed until the mixture is uniform and comes together into a ball. Transfer to a 9-inch pie dish and pat into the bottom and up the sides to form an even crust. Set aside.
• For the pudding: Bring the half-and-half and vanilla to a simmer over low heat. Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl (the mixture will be pretty dry). While whisking constantly, slowly pour or ladle the hot half-and-half into the egg mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan, increase the heat to medium and cook, whisking, until the mixture thickens, the whisk leaves distinct trails and the mixture just starts to simmer at the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain into a clean bowl. Stir in the butter.
• Pour the pudding into the prepared crust and smooth the top. Dot the top with spoonfuls of the strawberry jam and swirl through with the tip of a toothpick. Arrange the raspberries with their points facing upward around the edge of the pie where the pudding meets the crust. Refrigerate to set for at least 1 hour or overnight. Garnish with the mint if using.

RASPBERRY AND VANILLA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• To make the crust, place the wafers in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until finely crushed. Add a couple of drops of water. Press the mixture evenly and firmly onto the bottom of a springform pan (see note below), making a fist and using the back of your hand and fingers. Refrigerate the crust while you make the filling. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. On low speed, add the sour cream and vanilla and set aside. In a clean mixing bowl, using the whisk attachment, combine the eggs and 1 cup of the sugar. Whisk for 4 to 5 minutes until fluffy. Fold in the softened cream cheese mixture. Separate this mixture into two large glass bowls. To one of the bowls, add the raspberry puree, mix well. In another bowl, using an electric mixer with clean, dry beaters, beat the egg whites. Start at low speed and increase the speed as the peaks form. Slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. When the whites are stiff but not dry, scrape them equally into the two bowls of filling and use a spatula to gently fold them in. Don't over mix the filling. Pour alternating plain mixture and raspberry mixture into the prepared pan until the pan is filled. Bake for approximately 1 hour, until the cake has risen and browned slightly and it just shimmies when you gently move the pan. It's a good idea to place the springform on a low, flat, pan, such as a pizza pan, to catch any batter that leaks. Turn the heat off and let the cake stand in the oven for 1 hour more. Remove the cake from the oven and cool before serving. You can make this cake a day ahead.

BAKED RASPBERRY VANILLA PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, lightly butter 9 inch pie plate or 1 qt shallow baking dish.
• Spread raspberries and their syrup evenly over bottom of the dish.
• Blend eggs, milk, cream, flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and vanilla together.
• Pour over fruit; sprinkle remaining 1 T sugar over top.
• Bake 20-25 minutes until set and golden around the edges.

CREAMY VANILLA PUDDING

Steps:

• Place 2 cups milk and salt in a saucepan. Sprinkle sugar on milk and do not stir; heat over medium-high. Quickly combine cornstarch with remaining milk; add egg yolks and mix well. When milk comes to a full boil, remove saucepan from the heat and stir in cornstarch mixture. Pudding will begin to thicken. Return to the heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into individual dishes. Serve warm.