Crispity Crunchity

Hello Monday!  You know you love it.  I am putting myself back on the wagon starting today, need a major detox for the nest few weeks.  No more meat or alcohol, see how long I last...

In the kitchen, a napoleon is a very vague term these days, basically defining food as a stacked item.  Something Crunchy and something soft all stacked together to give some height and texture.  I had a request yesterday for a Napoleon cake for a birthday party this afternoon at Blue Bar, and truthfully have made single serve napoleon desserts but never a cake, so it was time for some experimenting.  Did some research on Wiki (friggin love this site for stuff like this), and turns out it has nothing to do with the French Emperor Napoleon the Ist, but named after Naples, the city.  Classically with three layers of puff pastry, some kind of cream or jam, and a top layer of fondant (I despise fondant...).  Of course I like to switch some things up a little and go the Caribbean route, with lots and lots of RUM!!

I baked off a few thin Layers of Pound Cake (holds its texture very well when stacked), and a few layers of Puff Pastry, then went in search of some nice berries and fruit.  I pureed some beautiful Guava I bought off one of our few local farmers and made a Guava Pastry cream (whip cream + Guava puree), sliced some strawberries and Kiwi, and some super sweet Coconut Rum.

The Puff Pastry gives the Cake a great crust in the center, and if cooked right stays super flaky in a cake.  I soaked the Pond cake in about 2 cups of rum ( about 16 shots...) and stared layering.  Surprisingly turned out quite nice!  I finished the sides with a toasted almond crumble and a quick garnish on the top of Coconut and chocolate shavings.  Not the prettiest cake I have ever made, but DAMN GOOD. 


Spent some time in Spanish Wells over the weekend, the place is starting to grow on me...  I think I am just really tired of Briland folks right now, its good to meet some new peeps, minus the accent they have there that weirds me out.  A mix of a deep Fargo accent with Bahamian, sort of strange.  Caught dome gorgeous grouper and a few small yellowtails, probably throw them on the menu tonight.  Gonna start diving again next weekend! YAYA, water is finally warming up, get in soon before the sharks start making their way back into the reefs off the islands. 

Peace!