Napoleon Cake
This Russian Napoleon cake is made with a simple puff pastry recipe and a delicious from-scratch pudding cream! Each layer is soaked in a rich vanilla custard, which softens and enriches this flaky dessert. It's so delicious!
Equipment
- 10 sheets of Aluminium foil
- 1 cake stand
- 1 rolling pin
- 1 large cookie sheet or 2 pizza pans
Ingredients
Pastry Dough:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, (708 ml)
- 3 sticks butter, (12 oz butter or 339 grams)
- 2 Tbsp heaping of white distilled vinegar, (see notes)
- 1/2 cup sour cream, (2 Tbsp heaping or 1/2 cup if measuring precisely)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 egg
Pastry Cream Filling:
- 2 cups milk
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 12 oz Cool Whip
Instructions
Directions:
- To make pastry cream, combine cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Then whisk the eggs and milk together in a bowl and stir them into the dry mix. Heat this over medium heat whisking until thickened (1-2 minutes.) Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla; cool in the fridge for 2 hrs. Then fold in the Cool Whip.
- To make puff pastry for a Napoleon cake, grate the cold butter into the flour and salt. Then mix together the sour cream, vinegar, egg, and vanilla, and stir this into the flour until a dough forms.
- Preheat the oven to 430°F. Divide the dough into 9-10 pieces.
- Roll out each piece to a 10" circle over a well-floured surface. Place over a sheet of foil and stack until the rest of the dough is rolled out.
- Bake each layer until golden (6-8 minutes). Cool.
- To assemble the Napoleon cake, stack the cake layers between pastry cream, reserving one puff pastry layer for the cake crumbs.
- Frost the sides and top, then garnish all over with crumbs.
- Allow the cake to soak in the cream overnight. Napoleon cake is best the next day before slicing and serving.
Notes
- I find that the puff pastry comes together better with 1/2 cup of white distilled vinegar; however, the vinegar may impart a strong aroma when baking. This doesn't really affect the flavor when eating. Use a generous 2 Tbsp of vinegar (I'm talking the extra-large tablespoons) to be on the safe side.
- Two tablespoons heaping can sometimes equal a lot more than we think. I find that a generous two tablespoons of sour cream is equivalent to half a cup.
Nutrition Facts
Napoleon Cake
Serving Size
1 slice
Amount per Serving
Calories
364
% Daily Value*
Fat
23
g
35
%
Saturated Fat
14
g
88
%
Trans Fat
1
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
1
g
Monounsaturated Fat
6
g
Cholesterol
100
mg
33
%
Sodium
275
mg
12
%
Potassium
120
mg
3
%
Carbohydrates
33
g
11
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
12
g
13
%
Protein
6
g
12
%
Vitamin A
764
IU
15
%
Vitamin C
1
mg
1
%
Calcium
81
mg
8
%
Iron
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
