Recipe: Fresh Fruit Napoleons with Blackberry Curd 40

I did these blackberry curd & fresh fruit napoleons a while back for restaurant baking. I wished I would've had time to get better pictures.

This recipe is more suited for summer, but when winter rolls around, and the holidays have past - it is refreshing to see desserts that awaken memories of summers past - and that reminds you summer is right around the corner.

Fresh Fruit Napoleons
This recipe yields 20 servings.

16 sheets of frozen phyllo dough
1 cup butter (melted) [you can substitute "butter flavored" baking spray or earth balance sticks]
1/2 cup crystal sugar
2 cups blackberries
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
4 1/2 cups mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blue berries)

Whipped topping,
or hand whipped cream,
or sweetened whipped marscapone cheese

Pastry Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

Now as stated in my former post (Recipe: Banana - Rum Napoleons) you need to work fast and follow certain guidelines when working with phyllo {Tip: When you are working with phyllo dough it is best to have a tray to lay out the sheets, then keep totally covered, under a damp kitchen towel. If exposed to air, the moisture from the phyllo dough will be wicked out and it will become dry and brittle - which means non workable for you. So work quickly.]

You will need 2 half sheet pans (jelly roll) lined with parchment, to bake 10 sheets on each pan.

Place a sheet of phyllo onto a jelly roll pan, brush with melted butter. Sprinkle crystal sugar. Top with another phyllo sheet and repeat these steps until 10 sheets are used. Make sure to repeat butter & sugar on the last (top piece). Repeat with second sheet pan.

Using a ruler - score each pastry stack with a pastry wheel or sharp paring knife into squares or rectangles of equal measurements. Bake in the preheated oven 10-12 minutes (pastry should be golden and crisp). Allow the baked pastry to cool. Do not handle the pastry until building your napoleons or the baked phyllo squares may crack.

Blackberry Curd Procedure:

In a sauce pan combine the blackberries, 1/2 cup of water and orange zest. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes more. Scrape berry contents into a food processor and pulse until smooth. (if you don't have a food processor, you can place the berry contents in a sieve over a bowl and using a ladle , gently push and rub the contents against the mesh, repeat this until most of the contents have been filtered through the sieve into the bowl. This will leave behind seeds and a few skins from the berries).

Return the berry contents back into the sauce pan (on medium heat) - stir in 1 cup of sugar and 4 tablespoons of butter.

Combine the cornstarch & cold water in a small bowl stirring briskly. With a wire whisk add the cornstarch mixture to the berry contents in the saucepan . Stir until thick and bubbling. Stir for 3 minutes more. Remove from heat , scrape into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap - allow to cool for 2 hours or over night.

Napoleon Assembly:

Place a small dallop of blackberry curd onto the center of your serving plate.
Place a baked phyllo square (sugar side down), add 1 tablespoon of curd onto the center of the pastry square. Add (by pressing) enough of the mixed berries to cover the blackberry curd.

Finish by piping or adding rounded dollops of your favorite topping (Whipped topping,
or hand whipped cream, or sweetened whipped marscapone cheese) then add another pastry squared (sugar side up) to top.

There are many ways to finish this dessert , you could make it much fancier than this- drizzling berry syrup onto it, or around the base, using pastry cream on top of the blackberry curd - the combinations are endless.

Related Posts:

• Recipe: Banana - Rum Napoleons
• Recipes for Muffins, Scones & Pastries featured on this blog
• Dessert Costing : Banana Strawberry Torte

Summer Bursting with Strawberries 20

Summer brings with it an array of many fruits ,vegetables and herbs - each plant basking and feeding off the warm glow of seemingly endless days. With such an abundance of life giving light - is it any wonder that strawberries thrive in these months?

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picture courtesy of Bahadorjn

The fleshy sweetness invokes heavenly sighs when coupled with special desserts. Biting into the firm, juicy flesh, your tongue first experiences a tang, but that is overcome by the beautiful sugary blast of flavors.

Strawberries hold a special place in my taste memory. To me they equal the unbridled innocence of childhood - memories of summers long ago , when the sun was ablaze. Summer days as a child with my friends, I would run out into the hills and forests, and creeks or ponds - never a tricky thought clouding my mind, only a determination to experience and cover as much ground as humanly possible - before the sun set below the purple hills. Strawberries were a staple in my house, and more often then not desserts like strawberry shortcake, or just the simple act of dipping a berry into fresh whipped cream, were enough to satisfy a craving for sweetness.


Below is a weight to volume ratio chart for strawberries in their different states:

weight to volume ratio changes if berries are halved, quartered, sliced etc.
(See below)

1 (16 oz.) clamshell package equals approximately:
Whole Unstemmed	18 each 17.2 ounces 3 to 3 1/4 rounded cups 1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Whole Stemmed	15.5 ounces 3 to 3 1/4 rounded cups 1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Halved	15.5 ounces 3 to 3 1/4 rounded cups 1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Quartered	15.5 ounces 3 to 3 1/4 rounded cups 1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Sliced	15.5 ounces 3 rounded cups 1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Chopped	15.5 ounces 3 cups 1 cup = 6 or 7 strawberries
Pureed	15 ounces 1 3/4 cups

If you would like more info on strawberries, California Strawberry commission offers recipes, health and nutritional info.

They also have a really cute site just for kids aged 5-12 yrs , with lots of kid friendly recipes you and your children can make together, and fun activities on strawberry education, called Strawberryville.

The University of Florida also has a great page outlining different varieties of strawberries and where they can be grown, plus illustrations on strawberry shapes - very interesting.



Related Posts:

• Food Photography: Chocolate Mousse with Strawberry Sauce
• Dessert Costing: Banana Strawberry Torte
• Food Photography : Banana Strawberry Torte

Food Photography : Banana Strawberry Torte 24

kyung of David O'Conner & Lee Photography, in Portland, OR, graciously agreed to set up shop (i.e portable studio) one day after class, to photograph some of my plated desserts --- which were awaiting in the reach-in to be photographed. This was Kyung's first dabble into foodie photography --- as their company works capture more of the traditionally human element.

This dessert was my for my final presentation. It consists of French sponge, brushed with strawberry syrup, filled and finished with banana scented marscapone cheese, then garnished with fresh fruit and a chocolate screen, than drizzled with mango syrup. The plate design was given a stained glass effect , piped on first with tempered chocolate and then filled with honeydew melon -Midori syrup, Strawberry syrup, and mango syrup.

The flavor combination was very good --- the marscapone is so velvety, and it offset the banana wonderfully, and it didn't compete with the buttery layers of the sponge, just enhanced them.

I made all the components from scratch (with real fruit) and used my own recipes and calculated the per plate cost etc. I will post more of this experience in a post to come.

I really like plated desserts --- they are soo fun :)


Related Posts:

• Dessert Costing : Banana Strawberry Torte
• Food Photo : Chocolate Mousse with Strawberry Sauce
• Photography : Blackberry Granita w/ Banana Mouse
• Food Photography : Banana - Midori Strawberry torte

Berry Nice Puree 0

The Berries are washed in a colander.

I chose to use 3 types of berries for my puree: Blueberry,Raspberry & Blackberry. I thought it would add subtle layers of flavor.



Juice and finely mashed fruit collect in the bowl.



Once the berries were rinsed thoroughly in cold water, I placed a fine sieve over a small bowl. I used a soup ladle to push the berries into the sieve, thus separating the juice and fruit from the seeds.


These are the left over seeds.




I then discarded the seeds ( did this at least 4 times) and added the fruit to my food processor.
I blended until almost smooth [do not over blend or the puree will be to thin] Added a small amount of sugar. Set aside.

This was added to my buttercream & used as a syrup brushed onto the sheet cake layers. It gives the cake flavor and also helps keep the cake moist.

After I was done the house was perfumed with berries, quite honestly it reminded me of summer.