Sour Cherry Cheesecake Napoleons (Mille Feuille)

A take on the traditional layered French puff pastry dessert, using a variation on no-bake cheesecake and sour cherries.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, French

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 30

Cooling Time 1

Total Time 2 15

Servings 8 napoleons

Calories 654kcal

Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the center, and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Roll out each puff pastry sheet to about 10 ½ x 12" rectangle. If your box has only one larger sheet, cut it in half first to work with. Measure and cut the rolled pastry pieces with a bench scraper into 3 ½ x 4-inch rectangles.
Place 8 rectangles on the prepared baking sheet and poke a few times with a fork. Top with another layer of parchment and another sheet pan nested in the first, to add pressure on top of the pastry and prevent too much rising (if your baking sheet is light, you can weigh it down with pie weights).
Bake 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with other 16 pieces of puff pastry in two batches.

In a medium saucepan, combine cherries and sugar. Heat over medium until the cherries begin to release their juices. Bring this to a boil and cook, stirring until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and salt.
Transfer the cherries and syrup to a bowl and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

Add the heavy cream to a small bowl or jar. Whip using a hand or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, starting on low and increasing to the highest speed. Continue mixing until peaks form and the cream holds its shape.
In a separate bowl, use a hand or stand mixer with the beater or paddle attachment to combine the cream cheese, sugar, and vinegar in mixer on medium-low until combined and softened.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture using a silicone spatula until incorporated. Fill a piping bag fitted with large round tip or no tip with the cheesecake filling and set it aside.

Add the confectioner's sugar into a small bowl for cherry glaze and a medium bowl for white glaze. Stir the cherry juice into the small bowl of sugar to color it pink.
Slowly add water to each, stirring into the sugar until it reaches desired consistency. It should be thin enough to spread, but not so thin that it flows. Use your finger to swipe a streak on the spoon. It should stay for about a second and then begin to "heal" itself.

Set aside 8 of the puff pastry pieces. On the other 16, pipe large dots of the cheesecake fillings around the border, touching each other but leaving space in the center of the pastry.
Add 3-4 cherries to the center of each cheesecake outlined pastry, allowing any excess juice to drip off the cherries into the bowl first.
Place 8 cherry and cheesecake-topped pastries on top of the other 8 to create 2-layers, pressing very gently, and set these aside.
On the remaining 8 puff pastry pieces, spread the white glaze.
Drizzle stripes of the cherry glaze across the white. Then use a toothpick to draw lines perpendicular to the pink stripes in alternating directions to create the signature Napoleon pattern.
Gently place each glazed piece of pastry on top of one of the stacks of cherry cheesecake pastries. Serve and enjoy!

To use frozen cherries: Follow the same instructions for making the cherries, but they make take longer to cook and thicken.
Make ahead tips:
- The cheesecake and cherries fillings can be made in advance and stored in separate airtight containers in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- The baked puff pastry pieces and do not store well, and I suggest you bake them as close to assembly as possible. You can roll and cut the puff pastry and freeze them raw. They can be baked directly from frozen, but may need more baking time.
- The white and cherry glazes will begin to solidify, so it is best to prepare them just before using.
- Assembled Napoleons are best served immediately or after one day in the fridge. If needed, you can refrigerate leftovers for 2-3 days in an airtight container, but the pastry will soften and lose some of its flakiness.