Poached Apricot Napoleons with Ginger Pastry Cream

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

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Poached Apricot Napoleons with Ginger Pastry Cream

This recipe makes 8 servings

Nutritional Info
Per serving: about	-
cal	350350 cal
pro	6 g6g pro
total fat	14 g14g total fat
sat. fat	3 g3g sat. fat
carb	52 g52g carb
fibre	2 g2g fibre
chol	82 mg82mg chol
sodium	117 mg117mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	88 calcium
iron	1818 iron
vit A	1919 vit A
vit C	1717 vit C
folate	1414 folate

This elegant dessert looks as if you have to be a pastry chef to make it. However, with several make-ahead elements and the help of frozen puff pastry, this dish is one anybody can make.

Ingredients

1/2 pkg frozen puff pastry , thawed1/2 1/2pkg pkgfrozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg yolk 1 1egg yolkegg yolks
1 tbsp granulated sugar 1 1tbsp tbspgranulated sugar
Ginger Pastry Cream:
1-1/2 cups milk 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cupsmilk
1 egg 1 1eggeggs
1 egg yolk 1 1egg yolkegg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/3 1/3cup cupgranulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 1/4cup cupall-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp cornstarch 1-1/2 1-1/2tsp tspcornstarch
3 tbsp finely chopped candied ginger 3 3tbsp tbspfinely chopped candied ginger
1 tbsp butter 1 1tbsp tbspbutter
1-1/2 tsp vanilla 1-1/2 1-1/2tsp tspvanilla
Poached Apricots:
4 cups water 4 4cups cupswater
1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 1/2cup cupgranulated sugar
1/2 cup apricot nectar 1/2 1/2cup cupapricot nectar
5 5strips strips(2 x 1 in./5 x 2.5 cm) lemon rind
12 apricots , halved and pitted12 12apricotapricots, halved and pitted

Preparation

Ginger Pastry Cream: In small saucepan, heat milk until bubbles form around edge. Meanwhile, in bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolk, sugar, flour and cornstarch until pale and slightly thickened; gradually whisk in milk.

Return milk mixture to pan; cook over medium heat, whisking, just until bubbling, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, whisking, until mixture can mound on spoon, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whisk in ginger, butter and vanilla. Transfer to clean bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface; refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

Poached Apricots: Meanwhile, in saucepan, bring water, sugar, apricot nectar and lemon strips to boil over high heat; boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; add apricots and simmer just until apricots are tender, about 4 minutes. Let cool. (Make-ahead: Pour into bowl; cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

Puff Pastry: Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or leave ungreased; set aside.

On lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 15- x 7-inch (38 x 18 cm) rectangle; trim uneven edges. Cut lengthwise then crosswise in half to make 4 rectangles. Cut each diagonally in half. Transfer triangles to prepared pan.

In bowl, whisk egg yolk with 1 tbsp (15 mL) water; brush over pastry. Sprinkle with sugar; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Prick pastry all over with fork. Bake in centre of 375°F (190°C) oven until puffed and golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool on rack. (Make-ahead: Store in airtight container for up to 2 days.)

Meanwhile, using slotted spoon, remove apricots from poaching liquid, draining well; set aside. Bring poaching liquid to boil over high heat; boil until glossy, syrupy and reduced to about 2/3 cup (150 mL), about 30 minutes. Discard lemon rind; let cool.

Cut each triangle horizontally between pastry layers to make 2 thin triangles. Lay each bottom on chilled dessert plate. Top each with 3 apricot halves, about 1/4 cup (50 mL) pastry cream then triangle top. Drizzle with syrup.

Additional information : Tip: If reduced poaching liquid becomes jellylike, add 1 tbsp (15 mL) water and microwave until syrupy, about 30 seconds.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: August 2007