Lemon Napoleans w/ Curd and Whipped Cream
(Makes 6)

Lemon is one of my most favorite flavors and it goes perfectly here with puff pastry and whipped cream. The lemon curd can be made a week ahead, and the pastry can be baked a few days ahead, making this a really simple yet impressive dessert.

1/2 pound frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Lemon curd (see recipe page)
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar

Preheat a conventional oven according to the instructions on the puff pastry package. Cut a piece of kitchen parchment to fit a baking sheet.

Place the parchment paper on the work surface and sprinkle it with half of the sugar. Lay the pastry sheet over this and sprinkle it with the remaining sugar. Roll it to a thickness of 1/16-inch. Carefully move the parchment and dough to the baking sheet:

Place it in the preheated oven. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until a deep golden brown. Cut the pastry into 12 equal rectangles and let it cool.

When ready to serve, whip the cream and sugar together to a firm consistency. Place one piece of pastry on a plate for each serving. Top that with some of the lemon curd. Place another piece of pastry on top of the curd, and drop three small dollops of whipped cream on top of the pastry. Repeat for each serving.

(To print the recipe, right-click the window and select PRINT)