The Ultimate Strawberry Napoleons Recipe Flaky Pastry Crème

Ingredients

• 2 sheets All-Butter Puff Pastry (approx. 14 oz / 400g total), fully thawed
• 1 large Egg, whisked with 1 tsp water (for egg wash)
• 2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar (for caramelization)
• 2 cups (475 ml) Whole Milk
• 1 Vanilla Bean, split and scraped (or 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract)
• 4 large Egg Yolks
• ½ cup (100g) Granulated Sugar
• ¼ cup (30g) Cornstarch
• 1 pinch Fine Sea Salt
• 1 cup (240 ml) Heavy Whipping Cream (chilled)
• 2 Tbsp (25g) Confectioners' Sugar
• 2 lbs (approx. 900g) Fresh Strawberries, hulled and uniformly sliced
• 2 Tbsp Good Quality Strawberry Jam, warmed (optional)
• Confectioners' Sugar, for dusting