I love this Napoleon Cake! For me it’s not only one of the most delicious cakes, but also a reminder of my childhood. Napoleon was the signature Cake of my Grandmother, who baked it for all the major Holidays and Birthday celebrations, or just because I asked her to :) My Mom continued the tradition and uses the same dough recipe, but modified the cream, adding the butter cream to Custard.
My gradma used the Custard cream in this recipe, without combining it with the Butter cream, but it was still very tasty! I sure remember that! So, if you want, you can simplify the recipe and use only the Custard cream, but mixing it with the butter cream will make it even better.
This recipe is brought here by my Mom who is visiting from Montreal. We sure had a lot of fun making it. The cakes layers can be done in advance and stored in the dry place, covered for a couple of days. I used 9” round baking form, and got 7 cake layers: 6 are used for the Cake and the 7th – for crumbs. You can make Napoleon in the rectangular form, just like my grandmother always did, or decide having a taller round cake and double the ingredients.
This cake gets better with time because the cake layers get soaked with this delicious cream. So, I know, it’s not easy seeing this gorgeous Cake in your fridge and not eat it for 24 hours, but it’s well worth it! Enjoy!
Ingredients
Cake:
½ kg all-purpose flour
1 egg
250 g butter, cold from the fridge
¾ cup water mixed with 1 tsp. vinegar
Pinch of salt
Butter Cream:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup milk
200 g butter, room temperature
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
Custard:
1 L milk
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 tbsp. flour
Direction
Make the Cake:
Cut the butter into small pieces first and then toss them separately into the flour making sure they each get covered in flour before you start “cutting”. Cut butter into flour. Make sure the butter is cold. Gradually add water with vinegar while continue to cut the butter into the flour.
Add the egg and knead the dough for about 15 minutes, occasionally sprinkling the surface with a bit of flour so the dough won’t stick. Shape the dough into a ball, place on a plate, and cover with plastic and keep in a fridge for 2-3 hours.
Make the Butter Cream:
In a small pan, mix the eggs with sugar to combine. Add milk and place the pan on the stove. Over the low heat, bring the mixture to a boil, constantly stirring. Remove from the heat and place aside to cool.
Make the Custard:
Over a medium heat, boil 1 L of milk.
In the meantime, in a bowl, whisk the eggs with sugar to combine. Add 1 cup of milk and flour. Mix well. Slowly and gradually pour the mixture into the boiling milk, constantly stirring and keeping the bottom of the pot from scorching.
Bring it to boil again, cook for 2-3 minutes and remove from the heat. Place aside to cool and bring to a room temperature.
Add butter to a butter cream and allow for it to dissolve. Combine Butter Cream, Vanilla and Custard. Make sure the cream is smooth.
If the cream has lumps, you can beat it with the electric mixer and then pass it through the sifter, if needed.
Now, it’s time to go back to our dough.
Preheat oven to 400F. Set the rack in the middle.
Make the Cake layers:
Dust the working surface with a bit of flour and start flattening the dough with the rolling pin.Place the bottom of the spring form on top of the flattened dough and cut around with a pizza cutter or a knife. Place the round cut dough on the silicone baking mat, prick the dough with the fork and bake for about 8-10 minutes until light golden.
Add the scraps of dough to the fresh dough, mix together and roll it out again.
Repeat with the rest of the dough.
*The cake layers can be prepared in advance and stored at room temperature in a dry place.
Once the cake layers have cooled, you can start assembling the cake.
Take one cake layer and crumble it with the rolling pin. Put aside.
Place the first cake layer on the serving plate. Spread evenly about 4 table spoons of cream.
Repeat with the rest of the cake layers and the cream, finishing with the cream.
Sprinkle the top of the cake with the crumbs. You can also press the crumbs around the sides of the cake. In this case, you will need to cover the sides of the cake with the cream as well.
Leave the cake at room temperature for a couple of hours and then refrigerate overnight. The cake tastes the best after 24-48 hours.
Keep refrigerated.
Ingredients:
- Cake:
- ½ kg all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 250 g butter, cold from the fridge
- ¾ cup water mixed with 1 tsp. vinegar
- Pinch of salt
- Butter Cream:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 200 g butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
- Custard:
- 1 L milk
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tbsp. flour
The Cooking Tale
Cake Napoleon - Russian Mille-feuille
I am excited to share with you the recipe of Napoleon Cake that had been in my family for years. It was the signature Cake of my Grandmother, modified and improved by my Mom. Enjoy this delicious, creamy and moist Napoleon Cake!
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Step by step:
1. Make the Cake:Cut the butter into small pieces first and then toss them separately into the flour making sure they each get covered in flour before you start ?cutting?. Cut butter into flour. Make sure the butter is cold. Gradually add water with vinegar while continue to cut the butter into the flour.
Add the egg and knead the dough for about 15 minutes, occasionally sprinkling the surface with a bit of flour so the dough won?t stick. Shape the dough into a ball, place on a plate, and cover with plastic and keep in a fridge for 2-3 hours.
2. Make the Butter Cream:
In a small pan, mix the eggs with sugar to combine. Add milk and place the pan on the stove. Over the low heat, bring the mixture to a boil, constantly stirring. Remove from the heat and place aside to cool.
3. Make the Custard:
Over a medium heat, boil 1 L of milk.
In the meantime, in a bowl, whisk the eggs with sugar to combine. Add 1 cup of milk and flour. Mix well. Slowly and gradually pour the mixture into the boiling milk, constantly stirring and keeping the bottom of the pot from scorching.
Bring it to boil again, cook for 2-3 minutes and remove from the heat. Place aside to cool and bring to a room temperature.
4. Add butter to a butter cream and allow for it to dissolve. Combine Butter Cream, Vanilla and Custard. Make sure the cream is smooth.
If the cream has lumps, you can beat it with the electric mixer and then pass it through the sifter, if needed.
5. Make the Cake layers:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Set the rack in the middle.
Dust the working surface with a bit of flour and start flattening the dough with the rolling pin. The dough should be pretty thin. Place a 9 inch bottom of the spring form on top of the flattened dough and cut around. Place the round cut dough on the silicone baking mat, prick the dough with the fork and bake for about 8-10 minutes until light golden.
Repeat with the rest of the dough.
*The cake layers can be prepared in advance and stored at room temperature in a dry place.
Once the cake layers have cooled, you can start assembling the cake.
6. Take one cake layer and crumble it with the rolling pin. Put aside.
Place the first cake layer on the serving plate. Spread evenly about 4 table spoons of cream.
Repeat with the rest of the cake layers and the cream, finishing with the cream.
7. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the crumbs. You can also press the crumbs around the sides of the cake. In this case, you will need to cover the sides of the cake with the cream as well.
8. Leave the cake at room temperature for a couple of hours and then refrigerate overnight. The cake tastes the best after 24-48 hours.
Keep refrigerated.
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