Banana Caramel Napoleons Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place puff pastry rectangles on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and puffed, 15 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream and sugar on high until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.
• With a serrated knife, cut rectangles in half horizontally. Reserve 4 tops. Divide banana slices among 4 pastry bottoms, then drizzle with dulce de leche. Use 2 pastry bottoms and 2 pastry tops to make middle layers. Layer with whipped cream and coconut, then top with reserved pastry tops. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the puff pastry on parchment lined baking sheets, 1/2-inch apart. Place parchment on top of the dough and then on a wire rack or baking sheet on top. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. (If you are using a baking sheet on top, you will have to remove the baking sheet to see if the puff is done.) Cool to room temperature. Slice each piece of puff pastry in 1/2 horizontally along the 4-inch side.
• Whisk the cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and rum in a large bowl until soft peaks form.
• Slice the bananas 1/2-inch thick on a bias. Place them in a bowl and mix in the lime and orange juices.
• Place some bananas and a little rum cream on each of 6 plates. Place a piece of puff pastry on top. Place the remaining bananas and rum cream on the puff. Drizzle warm caramel sauce over and around the bananas. Top with a second piece of puff. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Combine 1 cup sugar, 6 tablespoons water and lemon juice in heavy small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Carefully add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir until mixture is smooth. Transfer caramel to small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until thick, about 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper, roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 15x12-inch rectangle. Cut crosswise into three 12x5-inch strips. Transfer pastry strips to prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Chill 10 minutes.
• Pierce pastry with fork. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to racks; cool. (Caramel and pastry can be made 2 days ahead. Keep caramel refrigerated. Wrap pastry in foil; store at room temperature.)
• Set aside 1/2 cup caramel for decoration. Using electric mixer, beat mascarpone and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until smooth. Add remaining caramel and beat until caramel cream is well blended, about 1 minute.
• Trim pastry layers so that they are flat and even. Place 1 pastry strip on work surface. Spread with 1/4 of caramel cream. Arrange half of banana slices in single layer over caramel cream. Spread second pastry strip with 1/4 of caramel cream; place pastry, caramel cream side down, atop bananas. Spread top of second pastry strip with 1/4 of caramel cream. Arrange remaining bananas in single layer over. Spread remaining pastry strip with remaining caramel cream. Place pastry, caramel cream side down, atop bananas. Using serrated knife, cut pastry crosswise into 8 equal pieces. Sift powdered sugar over. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Tent with foil; refrigerate.)
• Place napoleons on plates. Drizzle reserved caramel around napoleons.

Steps:

• For the Pudding: In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, egg yolk and cornstarch. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups milk and 3 tablespoons sugar almost to a boil. Whisk in other ingredients. Bring to a low boil. Whisk constantly until thickened and smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Strain custard and whisk in vanilla. Place 2 bananas in food processor and pulse until cut into small pieces. Fold this into custard and refrigerate.
• For the Napoleon Layers: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk egg whites with sugar. Stir in melted butter and vanilla extract. Fold in flour. On a parchment lined sheet pan, spread 1 tablespoon of mixture thinly into a 4-inch diameter circle (like a thin cookie). Repeat until there is no more batter. Bake in the oven until light brown, about 5 minutes. For each serving, use 3 "cookies". Slice thin remaining bananas on bias. On each plate, place 1 cookie, followed by 2 slices of bananas, 1 1/2 tablespoons of banana custard. Repeat and then top with remaining cookie. Garnish with powdered sugar and mint leaves.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Unfold pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 lengthwise strips along fold marks. Cut each strip crosswise into 3 squares; place on baking sheet.
• Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
• Split each pastry square horizontally into 2 layers, making a total of 18 squares. Set aside the 9 top layers. Spoon 3 Tbsp. of the whipped topping onto each bottom layer. Drizzle evenly with caramel topping; sprinkle with pecans. Cover with pastry tops; sprinkle with powdered sugar. Store leftover desserts in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Boil water. Drop the wonton wrappers in one at a time and bring water back to a boil. Boil for about a minute and a half then drain carefully and return wrappers to pot. Fill pot with cold water.
• Brush a cookie sheet with oil. Carefully lift wrappers from water shake off as much water as you can and arrange on sheet. (NOW you know why we used cold water don't you?).
• Place 1 1/4 tbsp of sugar into sieve and top wrappers.
• Cook for 16 to 18 minutes. They should be nicely browned, crisp and glazed. Now remove wrappers from sheet to a cooling rack carefully with thin spatula.
• Mix the lemon rind, lemon juice, peach preserves, and rum in a bowl large enough to hold the bananas.
• Peel the bananas, first cut them in half crosswise, then into 1/3-inch lengthwise slices.
• Add them to the bowl, and mix gently to coat the banana slices with the sauce.
• When you go to serve place a wonton crisp on each of the four dessert plates then divide the banana mixture among the plates, spoon on top of the crisps.
• Place the remaining wonton crisps on top of the bananas, sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of sugar on top.
• Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Cut pastry sheet crosswise into 3 rectangles. Roll or stretch each rectangle into 14x3-1/2-inch rectangle. Place, 2 inches apart, on parchment-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle 1 rectangle with granulated sugar and nuts. Cover all rectangles with second sheet of parchment; top with second baking sheet.
• Bake 15 min., using oven mitt to carefully press down top baking sheet after 8 min. to flatten pastries. Remove top baking sheet and top parchment sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 375ºF. Bake pastry 8 to 10 min. or until golden brown. Cool completely.
• Meanwhile, mix sour cream and powdered sugar in medium bowl until blended. Gently stir in half the COOL WHIP. Microwave 3 oz. chocolate and remaining COOL WHIP in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min.; stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Cool.
• Slice bananas. Spread half the chocolate mixture onto 1 plain pastry rectangle on serving plate; top with half each of the bananas and sour cream mixture. Repeat layers. Cover with nut-topped pastry, nut side up. Melt remaining chocolate; drizzle over dessert.

Steps:

• Mix sugar, flour and salt in saucepan.
• Stir in cold water and egg yolks.
• Beat smooth.
• Gradually stir in boiling water.
• Cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes until smoothly thickened.
• Stir in butter, vanilla and evaporated milk.
• Cool slightly.
• Pour into baked pie shell.
• Shortly before serving, slice bananas and arrange over filling.
• Top with whipped cream or meringue (made from left-over egg whites).