Napoleons

 ...gosh!

For a while when the Food Network show "Chopped" was in its infancy, it seemed like whenever the contestants were confronted with the dessert round they would make either French toast (while delicious, I would argue it is not a dessert) or a Napoleon (with things like matzo, pate, and ice cream).  

Today, I'm going to make a Napoleon with tasty things, including that lemon curd I posted earlier.  I'm still tweaking this, so don't be surprised if this gets revised in the future.  

Ingredients

Blueberries. About a pound.  Frozen is fine.  I use wild blueberries as they tend to be sweeter.  

Sugar. I used 1 1/4 cup of sugar.  Probably could use less. Don't judge me. 

Lemon. The lemon adds a nice dimension to the blueberry reduction.  

Puff Pastry. From everything I have heard, there's no point in making your own unless you've got Paul Hollywood breathing down your neck.  

Lemon curd.  Does anyone have a good recipe for it?

Whipped cream. Fresh is better, though the can is fine here.  

Corn starch. If needed to thicken your mixture.  About 1Tbsp.  Mix with approximately 4Tbsp of hot water.  I neglected to get pics of this step, so you'll just have to imagine.  

Directions

1. Put your blueberries in a high wall pot.  Add sugar and the juice of one lemon.  Stir to combine and set to medium heat.  The blueberries will release a lot of liquid.  Bring to a simmer and reduce temperature if needed.  This is going to take a bit, perhaps 30-40 minutes.  

2. Once the blueberries have cooled somewhat, run them through a fine mesh strainer.  This is so that the reduction is smooth when we add to the Napoleon.  

3. Place back in the saucepan.  Bring to a simmer and add your corn starch to bring to a desired thickness.  I wanted it thick enough to leave a distinct trail if a spoon was run through it.  Sadly, I thought I had pictures of this step, but I failed.  Feel free to ask for a refund.  Let the finished sauce sit on the counter until room temperature, and then place in the fridge until chilled.  

4. While you wait for the sauces to chill, thaw your puff pastry.  You can either have done this by placing in the fridge overnight or thawing on your counter for 40 minutes.  Unfold the sheets and then cut into 12 equal rectangles.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and run a fork over it.  You want it to puff, but not uncontrollably so.  Bake following your package directions for temperature and time. 

5. Once lightly browned, remove and place on a cooling rack. I inverted mine.  You want these to be completely cool before filling, otherwise you will have a sloppy mess.  If that's your thing, get down with your bad self.  

6. Take two pieces of pastry that are the same size and split them open.  You will want to use the three flattest pieces for this step.  You can eat the fourth.  Spread blueberry reduction on one piece and lemon curd on the other.  Stack them up.  

7. Top with whipped cream. I went for a traditional star pattern, but you can go nuts.  

8.  And, as Napoleon Dynamite would say, "eat the food, Tina!"