Directions

1 Day Before Baking: Make the Puffy Pastry

To make the puffy pastry

1. Remove ⅔ cup of flour from the bag of all purpose flour and save as dusting flour.

2. In a bowl, mix together the remaining all purpose flour and salt until well combined.
3. Cut 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) of butter into small cubes. Rub into the flour mixture.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or by hand with a wooden spoon), begin mixing in the water little by little until a smooth dough forms. Add the water slowly until everything comes together and there are no dry bits. If you add too much water, the dough can become sticky and hard to work with.
5. On two separate sheets of parchment paper, draw a 8.5x8.5 inch square.
6. Place the dough on the parchment paper and cover with a 2nd sheet of parchment. Roll out until it fits the 8.5x8.5 inch border.
7. Place in the refrigerator to rest for at least an hour.
8. Remove your butter from its wrapper and slice in half lengthwise.
9. Lay it in the center of the 2nd sheet of parchment that has the 8.5 x 8.5 inch square. Cover with a 2nd sheet of parchment paper and roll to an even 8.5 x 8.5 inch square.
10. Place in the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour.
11. After an hour, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough piece until it is approximately 12x12 inches.
12. Remove the butter block from the refrigerator and unwrap the butter block. If the butter block is extremely firm, allow it to warm to the point that it has a little flexibility in it. Place it in the center of the dough square offset by 45 degrees so each corner of the butter block is aligned with the center of the edge of the dough.
    

13. Fold the corners of the dough over the butter block so they all meet in the middle. Use your fingers to pinch the dough together to “lock in” the butter block.

14. On a heavily floured surface roll out the dough until it is approximately 1 x 2 feet.
15. Using a pastry brush, brush off any excess flour and begin folding. You will fold the short ends of the dough so they meet in the center of the dough and touch. Then fold one more time in half. You should have a long skinny rectangle. This is called a book fold.
    

16. Rotate your dough block 90 degrees and repeat the rolling and folding process 1 more time. Then chill the dough for 30 minutes. (Please note, if the dough is extremely soft, you can chill before doing the 2nd fold)

17. Remove from the fridge, and complete the book fold process two more times (4 folds in total). Wrap in plastic and rest in your refrigerator overnight.

Bake the Puffy Pastry

1. Preheat your oven to 400F

2. Cut the puff pastry in half. Roll the pastry half until it is ⅛” thick and around the same size as a half sheet pan. Approximately 12x18 inches.
3. Place the puff pastry on a parchment lined sheet tray. Using a fork, dock the pastry. Top with a 2nd tray
4. Bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove the top sheet and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown

Make the Honey Walnut Filling

1. Chop the walnuts and pistachios into small pieces and place them on a sheet pan. Bake for 5-7 minutes until they are golden brown

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, honey, egg yolks, salt, and cream.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until slightly thickened. Add in the chopped nuts and cook for an additional minute or two.
4. Remove from the heat and add in the vanilla extract. Season with salt to taste.

Make the Honey Cream

1. In a small bowl, combine the honey, cream, and a pinch of salt.

2. Whip to medium peaks.

Assemble the Napoleon and Plate

1. Cut the puff pastry into strips using a sharp knife or a serrated knife. (to assemble, you will need 3 even strips)

2. Spread the nut mixture onto the bottom of two layers of the puff pastry.
3. Pipe a layer of honey cream on top of the nut mixture.
4. Slice each layer into single serving size pieces before stacking and assembly. This will ensure the cream does not gush out everywhere. (If serving as a whole cake, feel free to stack the layers before cutting)
5. Stack the layers, placing a top layer of plain puff pastry on top.
6. Plate up the dish adding a design to the plate and garnishing with extra nuts, cream, honey, etc until the plate is beautiful.