Asian-Style Strawberry Napoleon Recipe (Mille-feuille Fraise Noix de Coco Dessert)

Mille-feuille, called "Napoleon" in the U.S., is a very popular French dessert. Traditionally [according to Wikipedia], a mille-feuille is made up of three layers of puff pastry, alternating with two layers of cream pâtissière, but sometimes whipped cream or jam. The top is usually glazed with icing or fondant in alternating white (icing) and brown (chocolate) strips, and combed.

I’ve made traditional mille-feuilles many times before, and I was in the mood for a change. I assembled a gluten-free version using layers of Vietnamese coconut paper called bánh phông sữa. They are paper-thin sheets made of coconut milk, sugar, cassava and condensed milk. I flavored the dessert with fresh strawberries and a coulis de fraise, which is a strawberry sauce. This dessert is bake-free and so easy to create, that I had the girls do the assembly. They had so much fun putting them together and even more making them disappear!

Spicy Peanut Mascarpone Chicken Curry Recipe

To make mascarpone chicken, I marinated chicken breast cubes that I tenderized overnight using buttermilk. For the thick gravy, I made a mixture of mascarpone and coarsely ground peanuts and turmeric.

Since the dish is a little heavy, I suggest serving it with leafy greens and steamed rice. It’s not the healthiest way to eat chicken, but it is quite delicious. Also, I’ve found that even finicky kids love it. That should be enough to get over any guilt you feel. It works for me!

Chocolate Pear Entremet

Un entremet poire chocolat is an ultra-refined dessert made of layers of chocolate cake, pear flavored mascarpone and covered in chocolate cream. The key to this dessert is to use very fragrant and juicy pears. I waited a few days for the pears to reach the peak of ripeness. I baked the mini chocolate cakes in 4-½" diameter pans so we could each have our own serving.

Of course, we ended up sharing one individual cake and feeding each other. Lulu commented that the entremet was almost too pretty to be eaten, but he soon got over his initial reaction. It was the perfect way to end our Valentine's Day dinner, and I'm sure I'll be making more of these in the near future.  There's no reason to wait a whole year to enjoy this decadent treat again!

Raspberry Trifle (Charlotte aux Framboises)

At first blush, charlotte aux framboises closely resembles an Italian tiramisu. The lady fingers and cream are where the similarities end though. This recipe is made with raspberry extract, fresh raspberries and raspberry sauce. For a more grownup treat, you can use framboise, which is a raspberry-flavored liqueur. Charlottes are traditionally made with fromage blanc, which is a thick yogurt that you can find in any market in France. I didn't have any, so I substituted mascarpone in instead. It's delicious either way.

Chocolate Macadamia Brownies with Pumpkin Cream

The base of the dessert is a layer of chocolate macadamia brownie. I filled the rest of the bowl with a pumpkin cream made with mascarpone cheese. It has a light and creamy texture that is the perfect backdrop for the decadence of the brownie. To top off the dessert, I added some whipped cream dusted with cinnamon. A few brownie crumbs make a nice final touch, as well as sign of what's to come as your spoon cuts through the pumpkin cream.

We love brownies and make them more often than we probably should, but until now I've never served them to guests. This was my attempt to dress up a brownie into a dessert that could be served at the end of a nice dinner party. I'm happy to report that the dessert went over very well. Brownies have an incredible ability to turn anyone who even looks at them into a kid again, and it was a wonderful way to end an elegant meal.