Cake "Napoleon" from puff pastry with custard: recipes, cooking features and reviews

This cake is familiar to many from distant childhood. Cake "Napoleon" is a world-famous delicacy that was very loved back in Soviet times. He is able to decorate any festive table. Many positive reviews and diverse recipes prove the fact that "Napoleon" is the real king of cakes. Thin soft cakes smeared with delicious cream - what could be tastier? Traditionally, the Napoleon cake is prepared from puff yeast-free dough. The article contains the best and most tested recipes that will be useful to every housewife - both beginner and experienced.

The history of the origin of the cake "Napoleon"

This cake is popular not only in Russia, but also throughout the world. In France and Italy, this delicacy is called "millefeuille", which translates as "a thousand layers", only the cakes are coated with cream and strawberry jam.

Many people ask: how did this famous cake come from and where did its name come from? It is believed that this dessert was first invented in Moscow in 1912, when people celebrated the expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte from the city. It was a puff cake in the form of a triangle, which resembled the hat of the French emperor. There is also a version that the name of the dessert is associated with the city of Naples.

How to cook a real "Napoleon"?

The main components of the royal delicacy are cream and thin cakes. A traditional Napoleon cake is made from puff pastry with custard. The taste and success of the dish depends on their proper preparation. Later, dessert, if desired, can be decorated with nuts, grated chocolate and coconut - at the discretion of the chef.

Dessert Cooking Tricks

There are a number of features of the preparation of Napoleon cake from puff pastry with custard, which must be taken into account to make the dessert successful:

1. Only the highest grade is worth choosing flour. Be sure to sift through a sieve, you can even two times.
2. Butter for dessert should be taken as fat as possible, then the cakes will be lush and beautiful. Oil must be cold.
3. The most delicious cake "Napoleon" - from homemade puff pastry. If the cook has free time, then you should not be too lazy and cook it at home. There is nothing difficult to prepare. The main thing is to stick to the recipe.
4. Roll out the puff pastry in one direction away from you, and not in different directions. The dough is folded into squares and put away for a while in the refrigerator.
5. Cakes are usually made as thin as possible - no more than 1 mm. Then they are better saturated with cream, and the cake will turn out to be juicy and soft.

Old classic version: Napoleon recipe from puff pastry with custard

Most novice culinary experts believe that preparing Napoleon at home is very difficult. Actually this is not true. Following the recipe, even beginners can cook a juicy and soft cake.

What will be needed for a legendary dessert?

Ingredients of the classic Napoleon cake:

• butter - 400 g;
• sifted wheat flour - about 1 kg;
• chicken eggs - 2 pcs.;
• sour cream - 200 g;
• sugar - 200 g;
• milk - 1 l;
• vanilla sugar - half a teaspoon.

Stages of preparation:

1. A pack of oil should be melted. Add 200 g of flour to it. Mix the mixture thoroughly. Set aside for a while.
2. Then we take sour cream, put it in the dishes, break the eggs and beat with a mixer.
3. Pour 500 g of flour into the mixture and knead the dough thoroughly.
4. Form a medium-thick sausage and divide into approximately six parts.
5. Roll each piece thinly.
6. Grease the cake with a mixture of oil and flour. Cover it with another cake. Thus, coat all the cakes, stacking them on top of each other.
7. Then roll the dough into a roll and slightly cut it (do not cut), into approximately 20 parts.
8. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 10 hours.
9. We take out the dough and roll it.
10. Bake the cakes on a baking sheet without oil at 200 degrees for about 7-8 minutes.
11. Cut irregularities of the cake and save to decorate the cake.
12. While the cakes are cooling, you should do the cream. Pour 600 ml of milk into a deep saucepan and put it on medium heat.
13. Pour half a teaspoon of vanilla sugar into milk. It will give the pastry a pleasant aroma.
14. Pour 200 g of sugar into another bowl, 6 tablespoons of flour, mix. Then pour 300 ml of milk. Mix the mass until smooth.
15. Add the mixture to milk. The mass should be stirred endlessly with a spoon or whisk until thickened. Remove the finished cream from the heat and cool slightly. Then add a pack of oil, divided into pieces, and again mix thoroughly until completely dissolved.
16. Lightly grease the bottom of the dish with cream.
17. We put cakes on a festive plate and carefully season it with custard. So we coat the whole cake, not forgetting the sides.
18. Decorate the finished dessert with crumbs from the remaining dough.
19. “Napoleon” is better to let it brew for 10 hours, then its taste will become more saturated, and the cakes will be even softer and juicier. But if you endure for so long no desire, you can eat the cake in a couple of hours.

Grandma's famous cake recipe

According to this technology, this cake was also prepared by Soviet grandmothers who wanted to pamper their children and grandchildren with a sweet dessert. It was a real celebration when the whole family gathered at the table to drink fragrant tea with a delicious cake. Many recall this delicacy with a warm sense of nostalgia.

Below is a proven Soviet Napoleon cake recipe with custard.

For the test:

• 500 g sifted flour of the highest grade;
• 200 g butter or margarine;
• 2 chicken eggs;
• 100 ml of cool water;
• 1 tbsp. a spoon of vinegar;
• a pinch of salt to taste.

For cream:

• 1 liter of milk;
• 300 g of granulated sugar;
• 7 yolks;
• 100 g sifted flour;
• a pinch of vanilla sugar.

Cooking:

1. You need to start by making puff pastry. Grate the chilled butter (or margarine) quickly so that it does not have time to melt.
2. Sift the wheat flour carefully, preferably several times. Mix it with salt, then add oil and grind the mixture with your hands in crumbs.
3. In cool water add a tablespoon of vinegar, mix and add to the grated butter with flour. Stir again.
4. In a separate bowl, break the eggs, pour a pinch of salt and beat until lush foam. Then put them in the cooked butter-flour mixture.
5. Knead the dough until smooth, cover with a film and put in the refrigerator. While the dough is in the cold, you need to cook custard.
6. Separate the proteins from the yolks, add the latter to a separate bowl. Pour sugar into it, sifted flour and mix everything.
7. Pour a glass of milk into the resulting mixture and beat with a mixer until a homogeneous mass appears without lumps.
8. The remaining milk must be poured into a saucepan and put on fire. Bringing to a boil, pour the egg-flour mixture into the milk and mix thoroughly, reducing the heat. The mass should be dense and without lumps.
9. If you still have lumps, you can beat the mass with a blender.
10. Put the resulting cream to cool.
11. Deliver chilled and suitable dough from the refrigerator. Roll a sausage out of it and cut into eight equal parts.
12. Roll a piece into a circle as evenly as possible. Do not throw away the scraps, they are still useful in the formation of the cake. Put them in a separate bowl.
13. Put the finished circle on a baking sheet and pierce in several places. The cake is baked quite quickly at a temperature of 190 degrees.
14. So bake all the cakes. Before greasing them with cream, the cake should be allowed to cool.
15. It's time to do some pre-cooked scraps. You need to connect them, roll them into a circle and bake. Then grind in a blender.
16. By this time, the cream has completely cooled down, and it will be possible to proceed to the final stage - the assembly of the cake and its decoration.
17. For the cake you need to cook a large dish. We also grease its bottom with cream.
18. Put the cake on top, apply a layer of cream and so on, to the very top. At the end of the side, also flavor with the rest of the cream and sprinkle well with the cooked crumbs.
19. If desired, the cake can be decorated with melted or grated chocolate and nuts. Put the cake in the refrigerator for impregnation, preferably at night. By morning, the whole family will expect a delicious and delicious treat. Such a dessert will look great on any holiday table.

Cake "Napoleon": recipe (step by step) with custard

This version of Napoleon is more modern, because in this case you need ready-made dough and you don’t have to spend too much time in the kitchen. For the Napoleon cake from the ready puff pastry with custard, the following components are required:

• 900 g puff yeast-free dough;
• custard prepared using the same technology as in the previous recipe.

Cooking dessert:

1. The dough should be removed from the freezer and thawed well.
2. While it will thaw, you can make a cream of eggs, flour and milk. It is prepared in the same way as in the Soviet recipe.
3. Roll out the thawed dough layers (it is important to follow the rule - one way from yourself) as thin as possible. Form a circle, trim aside. From them later prepare a sprinkle for the cake.
4. Bake the cakes in turn, not forgetting to pierce them with a fork.
5. Coat the cooled cakes abundantly in turn with custard, then sprinkle with finished crumbs. The cake is ready. Garnish with berries and nuts if desired.

Little Sweet Joy: Napoleon Cake

You should definitely prepare this sweet at home, as the kids just love this dessert. And adults will not refuse. Swept off the table for one, two, three!

Essential Ingredients:

• sifted flour of the highest grade - 500 g;
• chilled butter (or margarine) - 400 g;
• icing sugar - 200 g (you can take more if your family has a sweet tooth);
• yeast (preferably fresh) - 10 g;
• milk - 1 l;
• egg - 1 pc.;
• granulated sugar - 100 g;
• baking powder - half a teaspoon;
• vanilla sugar - one pinch;
• nuts, chocolate, berries - for decoration.

Cake "Napoleon" with custard is prepared as follows:

1. It is best to start with the dough, as it takes the most time to prepare. Dissolve live yeast in two to three tablespoons of milk.
2. Sift the flour thoroughly, mix with powdered sugar and add baking powder for the dough.
3. Put 200 g of cold soft butter in flour and rub into crumbs with quick movements.
4. Then add milk and yeast to the butter and flour mass. Knead soft dough. Put it in the cold for at least an hour. During this time, prepare custard for future cakes.
5. To prepare it, pour 100 g of sugar and a little water into the pan. Bring it over medium heat to a liquid state. Then add half the milk to the sugar of the total specified amount and wait for boiling. The mixture should acquire a caramel shade.
6. In a separate bowl at this time, mix the remainder of the milk and 5 tablespoons of flour so that there are no lumps. You can beat with a mixer.
7. Then gently, slowly, pour the flour mass into the caramel mixture, without ceasing to stir it. The mixture is boiled until thickened over low heat. Then remove the finished cream from the stove and let it cool.
8. The dough for this period of time has cooled sufficiently and has come up. Take it out of the refrigerator, roll it into a sausage and divide it into six pieces.
9. Roll each part thinly, no more than 1-2 mm.
10. Cakes are baked on a baking sheet for about 8 minutes at 190-200 degrees. Be sure to pierce the cakes in several places to avoid bubbles.
11. Cut irregularities and collect in a separate bowl for sprinkling cakes.
12. Carefully grease each cake with cream on all sides. Then sprinkle liberally with crumbs. You can decorate with anything: grated chocolate, chocolate icing, nuts and berries. This is at the personal discretion of the hostess and her household.

Cake "Napoleon" with walnuts

Those who like nuts in cakes should definitely prepare this version of Napoleon. It turns out incredibly tasty. It is done quickly, since the finished dough is taken as the basis. If you wish, you can do your own.

So, for its preparation you will need the following products:

• ready-made puff yeast-free dough - 900 g;
• yolks - 3 pcs.;
• granulated sugar - 200 g;
• flour - 3 tbsp. spoons;
• starch - 2 tsp;
• condensed milk - 350 g;
• milk - 0.5 l;
• walnuts - 200 g.

And here's how to cook it:

1. Separate the yolks from the proteins, pour into the dishes and mix with sugar. Then add half the milk of the total, stir.
2. Sift flour, combine with starch and add to the yolks. Pour the remaining milk into the mixture and mix everything thoroughly.
3. Pour the mass into a pan and send to medium heat until it thickens. Let the custard cool.
4. Mix the condensed milk with butter and add the cooled cream to it. Beat the mass with a mixer, and then remove to the cold.
5. Slightly fry the walnuts on a baking sheet in the oven and then grind in a blender or on a table with a rolling pin.
6. Make cakes from puff pastry. Allow them to cool completely and grease with custard, not forgetting to sprinkle with ground nuts.
7. The final stage is to sprinkle the cake with crumbs, which can be prepared from scraps of the remaining dough. Generously coat all sides of the cake and sprinkle with ground nuts.

Cake with walnuts is very nutritious, beautiful, with a rich nutty taste.

Reviews and recommendations

All the reviews of the hostesses agree on one thing: Napoleon is the true king of desserts that can decorate any table. However, they warn that the technology of its preparation has a number of nuances and tricks that must be observed to make the cake successful.

A traditional Napoleon cake is being prepared from puff pastry with custard.

First of all, all products should be fresh and chilled - puff pastry does not like heat and heat. Butter should be just cold, not frozen, otherwise the dough will break during rolling.

You should not put a lot of flour, warn the reviews, otherwise the cakes will turn out to be dry and hard.

Before the direct baking, the housewives are advised to pierce the cakes with a fork - then they will not be inflated.

To make the cake soft and juicy, you need to generously lubricate it with custard and put in the refrigerator for at least 10 hours, and best of all - at night. During this time, he will have time to properly soak.

For lovers of crispy cakes, instead of the traditional custard, you can use boiled condensed milk mixed with butter.