Puff Pastry Shells with Cream Cheese, Guava Jelly and Ginger Creme Anglaise

Ingredients

• 1 (17-ounce) package puff pastry (2 sheets)
• 1/2 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 recipe Ginger Creme Anglaise, recipe follows
• 1 cup guava jelly
• 1/2 cup small diced peeled mango
• 8 sprigs fresh mint, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll out each of the puff pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface to a 13 by 12-inch rectangle. Trim each of the pastry sheets to a 10-inch square and cut each into quarters to make a total of 8 (5-inch) squares. Fold 1 square diagonally in half to form a triangle and place on a work surface with the folded side closest to you.

Starting 1/2-inch from the bottom corners of the triangle, cut a 1/2-inch border along the top 2 sides, leaving the folded side and the 2 bottom corners intact. Unfold the triangle and using your finger, brush the 1/2-inch strips with water. Fold the right strip underneath the left strip and the left strip over the right strip, wet sides down, and press firmly into place to make a diamond shape with raised borders. Repeat the process with the remaining squares. Place the pastries on the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate until chilled, about 15 minutes. Bake until set and light golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

Transfer the pastries to a wire rack to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese with the sugar, lime juice and lime zest, and stir together using a whisk. Place the cream cheese mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.

To plate the dish, pour about 3 tablespoons of the creme anglaise onto each of 8 dessert plates, and place a puff pastry shell in the center of each plate. Place 2 tablespoons of the guava jelly in the center of each of the shells, then pipe about 3 tablespoons of the cream cheese filling over the jelly into the center of each shell in a decorative fashion. Place a tablespoon of the diced mango on top of each of the cream cheese tops, and garnish each shell with fresh a mint leaf and powdered sugar.

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped

2 tablespoons minced ginger

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

Heat the heavy cream, milk, vanilla bean and minced ginger in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Place the egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof mixing bowl and beat until pale yellow in color and all of the sugar has dissolved. Add about 1/2 a cup of the hot cream mixture to the egg mixture and whisk vigorously to combine. Add the egg mixture to the saucepan with the hot cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon. Be sure to stir in the corners of the pot and lower the heat slightly. Stir the mixture for 4 to 5 minutes or until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the stove and strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Place the bowl in another bowl half-filled with ice and water and stir occasionally until thoroughly chilled. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Sauce may be made up to 2 days in advance.

Yield: about 2 cups