UnRecipe: Napoleon Complex, with Strawberries

Sometimes you just have to have dessert first. So says the person who's trying to get back into a better fitness regiment with morning jogs and at-home yoga sessions -- boo. But in happier days when I was indulging my sweet tooth a bit more, I threw together a quickie dessert that was easy to make and traveled well, as I brought this to a friend's house for an after-dinner treat, and it was super-easy to put together and serve. Let there be no Waterloo to sink this Mini Napoleon with Balsamic Strawberries and Whipped Cream. Vive la Dessert!

Strawberry Napoleon, a dessert with a shorty complex - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Springtime strawberries are perfect for this, but you can really use any fruit filling of your choice. I took a few cupfuls of chopped fresh strawberries and macerated them with a sprinkling of sugar and a balsamic vinegar that had been flavored with dried figs and vanilla, but even if you have no fancy-schmancy balsamic, just throw in a dash of vanilla extract for a lil' hint of somethin'-somethin' extra. The fruit, sugar and vinegar mix can hang out for a day before serving, and the balsamic gets nice and sweet, so it acts as a nice glaze to drizzle over the constructed dessert.

The part of this recipe I was pleased at was the use of premade wonton skins. I know I've said before I won't buy them premade, as making the dough from scratch yields a much better texture and ability to overstuff one's dumplings (no naughtiness implied, but feel free to giggle), but I had a package sitting in the freezer looking for its Special Purpose in life. Defrosting the little rounds, I laid them out on a baking sheet, brushed with some butter and sprinkled with a mix of cinnamon and sugar, and into a three hundred and fifty degree oven they went. It only took a few minutes for them to get to a crispy chip goodness, and once cooled, they were placed in an airtight container for storage. I have to say, probably only half of these little cinnamon sugar wafers made it into the dessert, as I was munching on them like crazy, so be forewarned over their addictive snackitude.

Wonton skin redux! - Photos by Wasabi Prime