Strawberry-Almond Cream Napoleons

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 sheet (half of 17 ounce package) frozen puff pastry
• 1 (3.4 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup light whipped topping
• 2 cups stemmed and sliced California strawberries
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• Powdered sugar, for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Thaw folded pastry sheet 20 minutes. Open sheet and cut along folds to make three equal strips; halve each strip to make six rectangles. Space apart on baking sheet. Bake in center of oven about 15 minutes until well browned and baked through. Remove to rack to cool.
2. Meanwhile, in bowl, whisk pudding mix, milk and extract for 2 minutes; fold in whipped topping to blend thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate. Carefully split each piece of pastry in half horizontally. Cover bottom halves with almonds, then pudding mixture and sliced strawberries, dividing equally. Cover with pastry tops. Dust with powdered sugar.
3. Serve with Strawberry Sauce, if desired.
4. To make Strawberry Sauce: Stem and halve 1 pint basket California strawberries and puree in blender container with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon juice until smooth.
5. To serve, divide sauce among 6 plates; top each with Napoleon.

Notes

All components of this dessert can be prepared several hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate pudding mixture, strawberries and sauce. Assemble just before serving.

Nutrition

Per serving: 413 calories; 20g fat; 1mg cholesterol; 354mg sodium; 52g carbohydrate; 4g fiber; 7g protein

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: California Strawberry Commission