Raspberry Napoleans
By: Vicki Bensinger
Published: Sunday, February 12, 2012 - 8:09am

Ingredients




Ingredients:1/4 cup granulated sugar
1-2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed (depending on shape used)
1 pound fresh sliced strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and/or blackberries
Sugar to taste
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tablespoons Chambord or Framboise liqueur
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Sprinkle work surface with the granulated sugar.  Unroll puff pastry and place on sugar.  Drizzle with additional sugar, and roll out puff pastry to 1/16 - 1/8 inch thick.  Prick entire surface with a fork. This is called, "docking" and will keep the puff pastry from rising too much.   Cut into desired shape. Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper. 2 Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Check the dough about mid-way through the cooking. If it's puffing up, poke it with a fork to deflate it. When done, transfer to a rack to cool. Puff Pastry shapes can be made 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container. Mix desired berries with sugar to taste - can smash lightly with a fork to get the juices to macerate quickly.  Cover and set aside for 1 hour. You can prepare the berries several hours in advance.  Just before assembling the dessert, whip chilled cream at high speed until soft peaks start to form. Add powdered sugar and liqueur. Whip until the peaks firmly hold their shape.  To assemble, add a teaspoon of whipped cream on a plate and top with one of the puff pastry shapes - this will act like glue to hold the Napoleans in place. Top with whipped cream then berries. Repeat 2 more times until you have a 3 layered Raspberry Napolean.   Serve immediately!

About

Valentine's Day is just days away.  If you'd like to wow your significant other with a beautiful, simple yet luscious dessert please try this.  You can view my video demonstration of  how quickly this can be made
here:   http://in-homeculinaryclasses.blogspot.com/2012/02/raspberry-napoleans-valentines-day.html