Serves a Crowd

Vanilla-Roasted Peaches and Mascarpone Cream Napoleon

by:
August 21, 2011
4.3
3 Ratings
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

After I baked the Peach Almond Tart, I had steel 5 beautiful large peaches left. To prevent them from spoiling, I roasted them and decided to use 4 of them in some kind of an easy dessert for these week contest. Puff pastry is a favorite of mine and I always keep it in my freezer. To make a pastry cream and then cool it takes time, and I didn’t want to spend the whole Sunday in the kitchen. I just used what ever it was in the fridge and as you can see in the picture it came out beautiful and delicious. You also can use the roasted peaches for a light summer dessert by serving them warm toped with dollops of mascarpone cream or with ice cream and drizzled with cooking syrup. —Kukla

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the Vanilla-Roasted Peaches
  • • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • • 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and scraped, or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • • 2-3 tablespoons Peach Flavored liquor or Dark Rum or Brandy
  • • 4 firm, ripe peaches (1 to 1 1/2 pounds total), halved and pitted
  • For the Mascarpone Cream:
  • • 1 cup chilled whipping cream
  • • 8oz (1 container) mascarpone cheese
  • • 2 tablespoons syrup from the roasted peaches
  • • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • For the Napoleons:
  • • All-purpose flour, for work surface
  • • 2 sheets puff pastry (17.3-ounce package)
  • • 1egg + 2 teaspoons water for eggwash
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pastry to a 10-by-12-inch rectangle. With a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut pastry into eight 4-inches in diameter rounds. Place pastry on a large baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
  2. Brush the tops of the puff pastry rounds with eggwash. Transfer sheet to oven and bake until pastry is puffed and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool; then split each pastry horizontally. Leave the oven at the same temperature for roasting peaches.
  3. In a large, shallow baking dish, combine butter, lemon juice, sugar, liquor and vanilla bean (seeds and pod). Add peaches, and turn to coat with butter mixture; arrange, cut side down, in a single layer.
  4. Roast until peaches are tender and cooking liquid is syrupy, 15 to 25 minutes, brushing with cooking liquid halfway through.
  5. Place a large colander over a bowl; peel of the skins and pour the roasted peaches and the syrup into colander; let it drain until ready to assemble the Napoleons.
  6. To make the Mascarpone Cream: Using electric mixer beat cream, mascarpone, sugar, vanilla and the peach roasting syrup in large bowl until firm peaks form.
  7. To serve: Spread mascarpone cream (about 2 tablespoons) on pastry bottoms. Top with 1 half of the roasted peaches and gently cover with the tops.
  8. Best when assembled about 2-3 hours before serving. If you fined that a whole portion is too large, just gently cut them in half as shown in the picture.
  9. I think roasting the peaches in a nonstick 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 1 1/2-inch-high sides, cut side up, packed tightly for 30-35 minutes to allow the syrup thicken to a caramel stage; then cover peaches in the same cake pan with 10- inches puff pastry round pressed down around peaches, in about another 30 minutes you will have a puffed and deep golden PeachTart Tatin.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • lorigoldsby
    lorigoldsby
  • Dessert's On Me
    Dessert's On Me
  • Kukla
    Kukla

4 Reviews

lorigoldsby August 23, 2011
yumm...I really like your napoleon recipe! I have also used a marscapone/whatever i have in the fridge filling...and it works great! and it's fun to see a round napoleon!
 
Kukla August 24, 2011
Thank you lorigoldsby for such nice comment!
 
Dessert's O. August 21, 2011
This sounds amazing!
 
Kukla August 22, 2011
Thank you Dessert's On Me! It is very tasty and easy to make.