Napoleon cake made from ready-made puff pastry
12 servings
120 minutes
The Napoleon cake is a legendary treat with roots dating back to the 19th century. Its layered structure resembles military uniforms, and its name is associated with the French emperor. This recipe uses ready-made puff pastry, making preparation accessible and quick. A delicate cream made from milk, egg yolks, flour, and cognac gives the dessert a velvety texture and refined taste with light vanilla notes. Walnuts add a special touch, making the cake slightly crunchy and aromatic. Napoleon is perfect for festive occasions, and its flavor intensifies after a few hours in the refrigerator. This dessert is a true symbol of home comfort and sweet pleasure that can delight gourmets with its refined simplicity.
1
Defrost the dough.
- Yeast-free puff pastry: 1500 g
2
Pour milk into a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
- Milk: 1200 ml
3
Mix flour with sugar and vanilla sugar, add 5 yolks and stir. Add cognac and stir again.
- Wheat flour: 250 g
- Sugar: 400 g
- Vanilla sugar: 1 teaspoon
- Egg yolk: 5 piece
- Cognac: 10 ml
4
Pour in the milk and stir. Place on low heat.
- Milk: 1200 ml
5
Cook until thickened (stir continuously). The consistency should resemble thick sour cream. Then the cream needs to be cooled.
6
Dust the surface for rolling out the dough with flour. Lay out the dough and roll it a bit to the desired shape.
- Wheat flour: 250 g
7
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or foil), place a layer of dough on top, and bake for about 10 minutes on each side. Repeat this with each layer of dough. You should have at least 5 layers. Then divide the layers into 2 parts (if you are dividing cooled layers, cut them in half lengthwise). I divided the freshly baked and hot layers. I burned my fingers a bit, but it was more convenient for me this way :) Then spread cream on each layer, stacking them on top of each other with the browned side down, except for the last layer.
- Yeast-free puff pastry: 1500 g
8
Sprinkle each layer with grated walnuts.
- Walnuts: 200 g
9
After that, let the cake sit for 30 minutes. The last layer (its first half) is placed with the browned side up. Then, it is necessary to gently press the top of the cake, but in a way that the top layer does not crack.
10
Spread cream on the top layer and carefully trim the edges to make them even.
- Sugar: 400 g
11
Then spread cream on all sides. After that, crush the last half of the cake and sprinkle it on the sides of the cake. Generously sprinkle the top layer with crushed walnuts.
- Walnuts: 200 g
12
Transfer the cake to a suitable surface and place it in the refrigerator. At least for 6 hours.