Get ready to fall in love with these refreshing lemon raspberry napoleons. These are so simple to make as they start with store-bought puff pastry that gets filled with lemon filling and fresh raspberries. They will quickly become your favorite dessert to impress guests when you don’t have much time at all!
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Easy Lemon Napoleons
I’ve been hosting a lot of girls nights lately and at girls night, I like to serve things that are a bit prettier than just our classic rice krispy treats. Delicious but maybe not so gourmet.
So I’ve been trying to come up with recipes that are simple to make but feel a bit more impressive. These lemon napoleons are exactly that. They start with store-bought puff pastry that you bake then fill with a fluffy lemon filling and fresh raspberries.
They’re beautiful. They’re fresh. And they’re absolutely delicious. I’ve served them now for a girls night, a bridal shower, and just for my own family and they’ve been a hit every time.
Why You’ll Love These
- Beginner-friendly – you won’t believe how easy it is to make once you taste the decedent combination of flavors and textures.
- Unique – stop bringing cookies to every gathering (though these chocolate chip cookies are always a hit) and bring the dessert that people can’t stop raving about.
- Elegant – these Napoleons look as fancy as they sound, making them a great choice when you want something more elevated.
Ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Puff pastry – any frozen puff pastry will work as long as it is rectangular.
- Cream cheese – this needs to be room temperature to cream well. I also always recommend full-fat cream cheese for a creamier and richer filling.
- Heavy cream – you can use heavy whipping cream or heavy cream for this.
- Lemon juice – fresh is best for the flavor. The bottled juice will likely take more to get the same flavor, and it can start to break down the cream.
- Fresh raspberries – again, I recommend fresh, frozen will leak too much, and the canned will end up being too sweet.
- Coarse sugar – you can use granulated if in a pinch.
How to make Easy Napoleons
Making these napoleons is a matter of creating each layer and then assembling. You’ll be amazed how quickly they come together.
1 – Bake the Puff pastry
- Preheat the oven as directed on the puff pastry packaging, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Unfold puff pastry and cut into 9 equal squares and move them to the baking sheet.
- Make an egg wash by beating the egg and a splash of water together.
- Lightly brush the egg wash over the tops of each square then generously top with coarse sugar.
- Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Set aside to cool on a wire rack completely.
2 – Make the Lemon Filling
- While the pastries are baking and cooling, prepare the lemon filling.
- In a medium mixing bowl add the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Use a hand mixer and mix on medium high speed until smooth. Set aside to add in later.
- Pour the whipping cream into a large bowl and, using a hand mixer on high speed with whip attachments on, whip the heavy cream until it reaches the same consistency as whipped cream.
- Add in the cream cheese mixture to the whipped cream using a rubber spatula to gently fold it until smooth.
- Once smooth, fold in the lemon juice until completely combined.
3 – Assemble the napoleons
- Working with one square of puff pastry at a time, gently divide it into two portions like you would split a bagel.
- Place the two halves back on top of each other and gently cut the square diagonally so you have two triangles.
- Start with one half of the triangle, and use a piping bag or an off-set spatula, to fill the bottom half of the puff pastry with lemon whipped cream.
- Top with 3-4 raspberries.
- Take the top half of the pastry and fill with lemon whipped cream then gently place it on top of the raspberry layer, creating a sandwich with the raspberries in the center.
- Repeat the assembly process until you have 36 filled triangle shaped puff pastries.
You can either serve these right away or put them in your fridge until you’re ready to serve them. They’re a great one to make a few hours early because they’re designed to serve chilled, not warm.
Tips & Tricks
- Not all frozen puff pastries are made the same; finding one that’s made with all butter, like at Trader Joe’s, will give you a richer, flakier crust.
- For a more elegant look, pipe the whipped filling onto the pastry.
- Add the lemon slowly, making sure to taste regularly to get the right amount of lemon for you.
- Make it themed by using a cookie cutter to cut out shapes instead of squares of puff pastries. Avoid anything with small details and that’s less than two inches big.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make it ahead of time?
Yes, but not in its entirety. The best way to make it ahead of time is to prep and store all the layers individually, then assemble them shortly before you are ready to serve it.
How many raspberries do I need?
One Costco pack is about the right amount. That is two of the small containers at most grocery stores, or roughly three cups.
How do you store napoleons?
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days or until soggy. Best if kept in a single layer and not stacked.
How to Make a large pan of Napoleons
Napoleons are often made as one large pastry, then cut into individual portions. I like the ease of having them individually portioned; but you can just as easily make it as a large pastry.
Baking a full sheet
- Preheat the oven as written on the package and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Take both (uncut) sheets of thawed puff pastry and place them directly on the parchment paper.
- Take a fork and gently pierce each pastry sheet to keep it from creating bubbles.
- Lightly brush the tops with an egg wash and top with coarse sugar.
- Bake according to the package or until lightly brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire baking rack.
- No need to split the puff pastry in half for this version. Instead, you will stack the two different sheets.
The rest of the recipe will follow the original, with the exception that you will use all the fillings for the one sheet.
Once assembled, allow it to sit in the fridge until ready to serve. Slice with a sharp serrated knife into whatever size sweets you want.
More Puff Pastry Recipes you’ll Love
Using store-bought puff pastry dough is one of my favorite hosting hacks. It’s an easy way to elevate a dessert with minimal effort. Here are some of my other go to puff pastry treats.
- Strawberry danish – these are so good with fresh strawberries!
- Apple cheddar bites – perfect for the fall but also good all year long!
- Pumpkin pull apart bread – you can do this same thing with all different flavors!
- Berry ghoster strudel – the cutest little Halloween treats!
- Ham and cheese empanadas – great for breakfast or even dinner!
Lemon Napoleons with Fresh Raspberries
Ingredients
- 1 package puff pastry two sheets, thawed
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cup heavy whipping cream cold
- 2.5 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 pint raspberries
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup coarse sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven as directed on the puff pastry packaging, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Unfold puff pastry and cut into 9 equal squares and move them to the baking sheet.1 package puff pastry
- Make an egg wash by beating the egg and a splash of water together.1 egg
- Lightly brush the egg wash over the tops of each square then generously top with coarse sugar.1/4 cup coarse sugar
- Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Once done baking, remove from the tray and allow to cool completely before assembling.
- While puff pastry is baking, in a medium mixing bowl add the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Use a hand mixer and mix on medium high speed until smooth. Set aside to add in later.8 oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla
- Pour the whipping cream into a large bowl and using a hand mixer on medium high speed with whip attachments on, whip the heavy cream until it has created medium peaks.2 cup heavy whipping cream
- Add in the cream cheese mixture by using a rubber spatula to gently fold it into the whipped cream. Fold in until smooth.
- Once smooth, fold in the lemon juice until completely combined.2.5 tablespoons lemon juice
- Working with one square of puff pastry at a time, gently divide it into two portions like you would split a bagel.
- Place the two halves back on top of each other and gently cut the square diagonally so you have two triangles.
- Start with one half of the triangle, and use a piping bag or an off-set spatula, to fill the bottom half of the puff pastry with lemon whipped cream.
- Top with 3-4 raspberries.2 pint raspberries
- Take the top half of the pastry and fill with lemon whipped cream then gently place it on top of the raspberry layer, creating a sandwich with the raspberries in the center.
- Repeat the assembly process until you have 36 filled triangle shaped puff pastries.
Tips & Notes:
-
Not all frozen puff pastries are made the same; finding one that’s made with all butter, like at Trader Joe’s, will give you a richer, flakier crust.
-
For a more elegant look, pipe the whipped filling onto the pastry.
-
Add the lemon slowly, making sure to taste regularly to get the right amount of lemon for you.
-
Make it themed by using a cookie cutter to cut out shapes instead of squares of puff pastries. Avoid anything with small details and that’s less than two inches big.
-
Puff pastry – any frozen puff pastry will work as long as it is rectangular.
-
Cream cheese – this needs to be room temperature to cream well. I also always recommend full-fat cream cheese for a creamier and richer filling.
-
Heavy cream – you can use heavy whipping cream or heavy cream for this.
-
Lemon juice – fresh is best for the flavor. The bottled juice will likely take more to get the same flavor, and it can start to break down the cream.
-
Fresh raspberries – again, I recommend fresh, frozen will leak too much, and the canned will end up being too sweet.
-
Coarse sugar – you can use granulated if in a pinch.
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