Waffle Napoleons With Raspberry Cream 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.

CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY WAFFLE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat a waffle maker that makes round waffles on medium. Prepare the boxed cake mix according to the package directions.
• Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into the center of the waffle maker, close the lid and cook until the cake is lightly browned and springs back when you touch it, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the cake from the waffle maker using a fork and set aside on a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter; you should have 8 waffled cakes total. Let them all cool completely.
• Pulse the raspberries with the confectioners' sugar in a food processor until it looks like dust. Add the mascarpone, vanilla and 1 cup cream and pulse until thick and creamy.
• Put the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Heat the remaining 1/2 cup cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles form and it just begins to simmer. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.
• Put 1 waffled cake on a cake stand or plate. Use an offset spatula to evenly spread a 1/4 cup of the raspberry-cream mixture over the cake, pushing most of it to the edge of the cake, leaving a small well in the middle. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the chocolate ganache into the well and top with another waffled cake. Repeat with remaining waffled cakes, raspberry cream and ganache, finishing with some raspberry cream on top. Decorate the top with the fresh raspberries and drizzle with the remaining ganache (microwave the ganache for a few seconds and stir if it needs to be loosened). If desired, dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

NEAPOLITAN NAPOLEONS

Steps:

• Because the pastry cream needs to be removed from the saucepan immediately, prepare a medium sized bowl, a fine mesh strainer or a food mill, and a heat resistant rubber spatula near the stove.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour with 1 cup of the sugar as well as the eggs until incorporated. The mixture will be very thick.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, the remaining cup of sugar and the salt. With a pairing knife, scrape the inside of the vanilla bean and place contents into the saucepan. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally to prevent scalding. Remove from heat when the milk just begins to simmer. While whisking constantly, slowly pour about half of the milk in a thin stream into the flour mixture. Once the 2 mixtures are combined, continue whisking the combined flour and milk and return the contents to the saucepan with the remaining milk. Place the saucepan on medium heat while whisking constantly. Cook the mixture until it thickens, approximately 2 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from the heat as soon as the first bubble breaks the surface of the pastry cream.
• Pour the hot pastry cream into the strainer or food mill over a medium sized bowl. With a spatula, push the cream through the strainer or food mill. To prevent a skin from forming, place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours, or overnight.
• Have packaged puff pastry unrolled on cutting board. Bake the puff pastry according to package directions. Spread layers of pastry cream between the baked puff pastry alternating optional flavors. Garnish with fruit or nuts and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

RASPBERRY NAPOLEONS DESSERT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet on a floured work surface until it is 1/4-inch thick. Cut into 16 squares. Transfer to a baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Repeat with remaining puff pastry sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned on the top and bottom, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool, about 10 minutes.
• Combine cream cheese, white sugar, heavy cream, and lemon zest in a bowl. Mix by hand until smooth and glossy. Dollop cream cheese mixture over 16 squares. Spread out cream cheese mixture and cover with raspberries. Top with the remaining puff pastry squares and dust with confectioners' sugar.

LEMON-RICOTTA WAFFLES WITH RASPBERRY-MASCARPONE WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat a waffle iron to medium-high heat.
• Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. In a separate medium bowl, add the half-and-half, ricotta, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and egg and whisk to combine. Add the ricotta mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to combine.
• Spray the preheated waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray and spoon about 3/4 cup of batter into the waffle iron. Cook until the waffle is golden brown and lightly crisp, 3 to 4 minutes (or according to manufacturer's instructions). Repeat with remaining batter.
• To serve the waffles: top each waffle with a dollop of Raspberry-Mascarpone Whipped Cream, berries and maple syrup.
• Add the heavy cream, mascarpone and raspberry jam to a large bowl. Whip on medium-high speed with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes.

WAFFLE NAPOLEONS WITH RASPBERRY CREAM

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine the raspberries and the 2⁄3 cup sugar, and pulse until the berries have broken down and the mixture is liquefied. Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, pressing with a spatula. Taste and add more sugar, if needed. Transfer 2⁄3 cup of the puree to a small bowl; reserve the remaining puree for garnish. Add the cream and yogurt to the 2⁄3 cup puree and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to a chilled thermo whipper canister and assemble according to the manufacturer's instructions for cold applications. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. For each napoleon, place 1 heart-shaped waffle on a plate. Shake the thermo whipper canister back and forth 4 to 6 times, then dispense a small amount of the raspberry cream into a bowl to test the consistency. If the cream doesn't hold its shape, shake the canister again. Dispense about 2 Tbs. raspberry cream onto the waffle. Repeat the layering, then top the second layer with another waffle. Garnish the napoleons with confectioners' sugar, the reserved raspberry puree, raspberries and blueberries.

ROUGH PUFF NAPOLEONS WITH LEMON CREAM AND BERRIES

Steps:

• For the rough puff: Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and use a pastry cutter or your hands to cut or rub the butter into the flour until it is covered with flour and resembles chunky wet sand. There should still be chunks of butter visible in your mixture -- do not overwork.
• Add the cold water slowly and start to mix until the dough comes together. It will still be quite shaggy and crumbly.
• Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap and dump the dough in the center. Wrap the dough tightly, pressing down firmly to help compress and form it into a square. Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
• Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to approximately a 10-by-16-inch rectangle. (You should still see butter marbled in the dough.) Using a letter-folding technique, fold the top third down and bring the bottom third up, folding over the center like a letter. Turn the dough one-quarter and roll out again to three times its length. If the dough is too soft, chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. After rolling, repeat the letter fold a second time. Cut the dough in half to make 2 squares. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Roll out 1 piece of the chilled dough into a 1/4-inch-thick-square (or slightly thinner). Trim the edges so they are even and cut into nine 2-by-4-inch rectangles. Move the dough rectangles to one of the prepared baking sheets and chill for 20 minutes. Repeat the rolling, cutting and chilling process with the remaining piece of dough.
• Dust the dough rectangles lightly with confectioners' sugar and place a second piece of parchment on top. Top with a second baking sheet to control the rise of the dough.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the top baking sheet and parchment paper and continue baking until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pastry pieces to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the lemon cream: Bring the lemon juice to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Whisk together the lemon zest, sugar, eggs and egg yolk in a small bowl. When the lemon juice begins to simmer, temper the egg mixture by adding a small amount of hot liquid to the eggs while constantly whisking. Add the warmed egg mixture back to the pot and continue to cook over medium heat, whisking continuously. When the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, strain the curd through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Finish by whisking the butter into the hot curd. Cool completely in the refrigerator.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add heavy cream and powdered sugar and whip to soft peaks.
• Fold the cooled lemon curd into the whipped cream, taking care not to deflate the mixture too much. Scoop the lemon cream into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and keep refrigerated until ready to use.
• For the blueberry coulis: Add the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and 1/4 cup water to a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to make sure the sugar dissolves. Continue to boil for 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Strain the coulis through a fine-mesh strainer and cool completely.
• To build the Napoleons, drizzle the blueberry coulis onto a plate. Pipe the lemon cream onto one pastry rectangle from end to end. Top with a second piece of pastry and repeat the piping with lemon cream. Top with a third piece of pastry and pipe one more layer of lemon cream. Garnish with fresh blueberries and raspberries.

BELGIUM RASPBERRY WAFFLES WITH LEMON RASPBERRY SYRUP

Steps:

• To make the waffles, place the the flour, baking powder, icing sugar, oil, milk, vanilla and egg yolks in a large bowl.
• Mix slowly until well blended.
• In a medium size bowl beat the egg whites and salt until they make soft peaks.
• Gently fold the egg white mixture into the batter, being careful not to over mix.
• Now for the last step gently fold the fresh raspberries into the batter.
• When your iron is heated, pour the batter onto the greased waffle iron and bake for 3 - 4 minutes, how long will depend on your waffle iron.
• The waffles should be crisp and golden brown when done.
• Keep the waffles warm in a low oven until ready to serve.
• To make the Raspberry Lemon Syrup, add the lemon juice, maple syrup, water, powdered sugar, cinnamon and allspice together in a small pot.
• Mix well and bring to a rapid boil, lower heat and simmer uncovered until ready to use. Stir occasionally.
• Just before serving the pancakes add the raspberries to the syrup.
• Plate the waffles, add some whipped cream if desired and drizzle with the raspberry lemon syrup.