Goat Cheese Napoleon

I have such great fun repurposing leftovers, so they are nothing like what their components were when originally used. This sweet yet savory napoleon is a good example of that. The idea for this particular cheese mixture of minted goat cheese came from the one that originally topped fresh figs. But since I had puff pastry in the house I decided to try something different with the cheese. Although good, I think I can tweak this recipe into being something even better.

Ingredients:
1 package frozen puff pastry squares
4 oz. goat cheese
4 oz mascarpone
fresh mint
honey

Directions:

First thing to do is to bake the puff pastry according to package directions. This is easier said than done when you buy yours from a Middle Eastern market where the packages have no directions. I decided to go for a safe 375 degrees and that worked well. Halfway through the baking, when the pastry is starting to rise, place another baking pan on top to stop the dough from rising to much. On this particular baking, I waited too long and as you can see from the 2nd photo above, the pastry started flaking when I spread the cheese on top. Chop up some mint and add it to the softened goat cheese and mascarpone for the spread. I added the mascarpone to give a creamier texter and more buttery taste to the cheese spread.

After spreading on the goat cheese, generously drizzle on the honey, add another layer of the pastry, then spread on the cheese mixture and drizzle more honey, then cap with a final layer of baked puff pastry. In the photos you can see that I did the entire process using square dough, thereby forcing myself to cut the final product into individual portions. Do yourself a favor and cut the dough into portion size pieces before you bake it. That's the way I'm going to do this next time and I may also add sugar to the minted cheese. The recipe is savory, but I think the added sweetness will enhance the cheese taste without making this a sweet dessert. All in all it was a good way to use up the leftover minted goat cheese.