Cherry Almond Napoleon
Filled with silky almond pastry cream and topped with juicy cherries, this Cherry Almond Napoleon is a fun twist on the classic French dessert!
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I have a mild obsession with pastry cream. A good vanilla pastry cream piped inside of a flaky croissant is a thing of beauty. I could eat one of those every single morning and not get tired of ’em! It should come as no surprise that I also love a good Napoleon. After all, a classic French Napoleon is simply pastry cream sandwiched between layers of flaky dough. It’s basically a croissant in dessert form.
Close behind a classic croissant with vanilla cream is an almond croissant. Flaky layers of dough mixed with almond pastry cream and topped with toasted almonds. Delish! I got to thinking. A cream filled croissant is closely related to a classic Napoleon, right? What if I take that idea and use almond pastry cream in a Napoleon?
Cherry Almond Napoleon
This Cherry Almond Napoleon is very similar to the a classic Napoleon. Instead of vanilla pastry cream, this version uses almond pastry cream. And instead of icing on top, this version uses powdered sugar and some halved cherries with a dollop of whipped cream. In short, this is a fun twist on the classic French dessert!
I’ll admit that the cherries in this Cherry Almond Napoleon are used mainly as a garnish. I thought about layering halved cherries in between the layers of puff pastry and pastry cream, but I thought that might get messy. Nevertheless, cherries and almonds go well together (they’re chemically related!), and the fruit addition makes this Napoleon perfect for summer entertaining.
Puff Pastry in a Napoleon
While this dessert is called a Napoleon in North America, it’s called mille-feuille in France. Mille-feuille translates to “thousand sheets,” a reference to the many layers of puff pastry pastry in this classic dessert. While you could make homemade puff pastry, I find it’s much easier to just buy a package of frozen puff pastry.
You will need to roll the frozen sheets of puff pastry out into a wider square, but that’s about it. They also get baked in a unique way – with a heavy pan on top. The purpose of this trick is to keep the puff pastry from puffing up too much while baking. You still end up with layers and layers of flaky dough…but the sheets are a bit flatter. This makes assembling the final Napoleon much easier.
I’ve seen some Napoleon recipes use instant boxed pudding as a shortcut. Don’t do this. The frozen puff pastry is a perfectly acceptable shortcut, but I highly recommend making your own pastry cream for this recipe. Homemade pastry cream might sound difficult – it’s not. It simply involves milk, eggs and 2 bowls. Be careful, though. Once you learn how to make pastry cream, you’ll be looking for all sorts of reasons to make it again!
How to Store Leftover Napoleon
Unfortunately this is a dessert where the leftovers do not store well. Puff pastry will lose its crispness once refrigerated. Leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2-3 days, but the texture will not be the same. If necessary, you could make the individual components of this dessert (almond pastry cream, baked puff pastry and cherries) in advance and then assemble shortly before serving.
If you’re looking for a fun and tasty twist on a classic dessert, then put this Cherry Almond Napoleon on the list. The taste is amazing, and it was a huge hit here in our house! (And now I’m looking for more ways to use almond pastry cream…) Happy Baking!
Did you bake this Cherry Almond Napoleon recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Cherry Almond Napoleon
Ingredients
- 1 box frozen puff pastry thawed
For the Almond Pastry Cream
- 5 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 5 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp almond extract
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
For the Cherries
- ¾ cup halved pitted cherries
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
For the Almonds
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
For the Whipped Cream
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp confectioner’s sugar plus more for dusting
- {optional} mint sprigs for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- Using a lightly floured cutting board, stack the two thawed puff pastry sheets on top of each other. Roll into a 12”x12” square. Cut into three equal 4”x12” rectangles. Using a fork, prick the dough every 2”.
- Place the 3 rectangles on the prepared sheet pan. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the rectangles. Next, place a second rimmed baking sheet directly on top of parchment paper. Set a large oven-safe dish on top of this second baking sheet in order to weigh it down. (Note: This step ensures that the pastry rectangles bake flat and do not puff up too much in the oven.)
- Bake rectangles for 10 minutes.
- Remove the dish, extra baking sheet and top piece of parchment paper. Return the rectangles to the oven and bake for 6-8 more minutes, or until golden brown. Set baked rectangles aside to cool. (Note: The puff pastry will puff up during this last stage, but it will deflate as they cool.)
For the Almond Pastry Cream
- Using a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until smooth and pale in color. Set aside.
- Using a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. (Tip: Stir milk often to prevent it from scorching.)
- Slowly pour half of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking vigorously the entire time. Pour this egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. (Tip: Use a fine mesh strainer when you pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan. This will ensure a smooth pastry cream later.)
- Bring mixture to a boil and then continue cooking for 1 more minute, stirring constantly the entire time. Remove mixture from the heat, and continue stirring for another 2-3 minutes. Add the butter, vanilla extract and almond extract; stir until fully combined and cream is smooth.
- Let pastry cream cool at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Refrigerate pastry cream for ~30 minutes.
For the Cherries
- Using a medium bowl, add cherries and sugar; toss until well combined.
- Let mixture stand for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.
For the Almonds
- Using a dry skillet, add sliced almonds. Place over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool.
For the Whipped Cream
- Using an electric mixer, whip the heavy whipping cream and confectioner’s sugar together until stiff peaks form. Set whipped cream aside.
To Assemble
- Place one pastry rectangle on a large plate or cutting board. Spread or pipe half of the pastry cream on top.
- Place a second pastry rectangle on top; press gently into the pastry cream. Spread the remaining pastry cream on top.
- Place last pastry rectangle on top.
- Dust top lightly with confectioner’s sugar.
- Using a serrated knife, trim the edges of the Napoleon.
- Slice remaining rectangle into smaller pieces for serving.
- Top each piece with a dollop of whipped cream, cherries, toasted almonds and {optional} sprig of mint.
Looking for more pastry desserts? Check out these other favorites, too:
I need to try this soon for me BTW cant wait to make your recipes soon for me
You should absolutely try this recipe, Ramya – it’s a fun twist on the classic French dessert!
Napoleon is one of my favourite desserts ever – it’s quite simple yet elegant and so delicious. I love your cherry version. Now, I’m thinking if you could infuse the pastry cream with a little of alcohol, like Amaretto… I bet it could work!
Hmmm, that’s a fun idea, Ben! Next time I’ll grab the bottle of amaretto!
I bet this is delicious David. We call these vanilla slices here in australia, or snot block!
sherry
Oh that’s a really unfortunate name for a fancy dessert, Sherry!
I had the best almond croissant at bakery in NYC right near Central Park (think they got bought by a big chain bakery around covid) and your post took me down memory lane! I also am a sucker for pastry cream-especially almond pastry cream! (If you ever need a pastry bowl cleaner, id like to throw my resume in! Jk jk! ) This napoleon has me drooling and i absolutely love that u used frozen puff pastry! Yum!!
Isn’t the best part about food? Recipes and flavors (and smells!) bring back amazing memories. That really is what makes cooking fun! I do think you should make these napoleons and relive those Central Park memories!!
Looks like we both have cherries on the menu this week, David! I guess great minds think alike… Anyway, your pastries looks amazing! I love cherries and Napoleons may be my favorite French pastry (neck and neck with the Paris Brest). So this would be right up my alley.
I’m a rather reluctant baker ,but I may give this a try when I’m feeling a bit ambitious in the kitchen.
Hey – it’s that time of the summer, Frank! Once fresh cherries roll into the stores around here, I get excited. In fact, I bought a big bag just yesterday – perfect timing to make that amazing tiramisu recipe you shared! I know you sometimes hold back on baking recipes, but honestly I think you can tackle this one – the frozen puff pastry makes it so much easier!
Love a Napoleon, and this one looks so good with all that almond cream! The cherries are a beautiful complement to it!
The almond cream is SO tasty, Michelle! This is a wonderful summer dessert recipe. 🙂
To start, you’ve made preparing pastry cream dangerously easy. How am I not going to get addicted to making this!?! Then the final result, indulging with pastry cream sandwiched between layers of flaky dough… this is a truly heavenly treat!!
Haha – we’re definitely addicted to this pastry cream! Regular vanilla pastry cream is bad enough, but add the almond flavor? That’s it! We’re all done. 🙂 I hope you enjoy this one as much as we do, Heidi!
This looks absolutely divine! Almond pastry cream is one of those dangerously moreish things I can never get enough of, and pairing it with cherries? Brilliant! Definitely saving this for my next dessert project.
Almond pastry cream is so easy to make at home, too! And I bet there are dozens of different ways we could use this pastry cream in other desserts. Thanks, Raymund!
I agree, pastry cream is SO good! And I love using almond extract when I bake.. gives it so much flavor. Cherries + almond sounds like a delicious combo!
Almond extract is a secret weapon in the kitchen! I love using a tiny bit in white cake recipes. This almond pastry cream is dangerously good…and it pairs really well with fresh cherries!