Napoleon Cake Recipe (2024)

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Napoleon Cake Recipe (1)

Napoleon cake is one of the most popular cakes in Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries. I’ve tried a lot of different Napoleon cakes as every family has their own recipe. One time, when I was a college student, during a birthday party Napoleon cake was proudly served. After I tried that cake, I immediately knew that this is the best cake I’ve ever had and I wanted its recipe! Since then, Napoleon cake is one of my very favorite cakes and I am making it only for very special occasions.

This cake needs to be made ahead as it must sit in a fridge for 24 hours. So the best way is to make it one day ahead. It takes about 3 hours to make it.

Napoleon Cake Recipe (2)

Ingredients:

Puff Pastry
– 3 cups flour
– 2 sticks unsalted butter, cold
– 1 egg
– 150 ml water, cold
– Pinch of salt

Custard
– 3 eggs
– 1 cup sugar
– 1.5 Tablespoons flour
– 1 Tablespoon starch
– 750 ml milk
– 2 sticks unsalted butter

Also, you will need aroll of parchment paper.

Napoleon Cake Recipe (3)

Instructions:

Make Puff Pastry

  1. Put butter for 15 min in the freezer. Whisk the egg in the cup.

2. In a medium bowl with a fork lightly stir together flour and salt.

3. Grate butter into the flour, you can use a pastry blender instead of a grater.

Napoleon Cake Recipe (4)

4. Mix butter and flour together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs,

5. Little by little add water and egg to the mixture.

6. With your hands, make the dough; do not knead too much.

7. Shape dough into a ball, cover it with plastic and put in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes.

Napoleon Cake Recipe (5)

While the dough is chilling, prepare the custard.

Custard

8. Separate egg yolks and mix them very well with sugar in a saucepan.

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9. Add flour and starch, mix well. Add 1 cup cold milk, mix very well. Make sure there are no lumps.

10. Put the pan on medium-low heat. While it is warming up, very slowly add remaining milk, stirring constantly.

11. Cook the mixture, continue stirring constantly (so it doesn’t get lumpy) until it becomes thicker. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

12. Remove from heat and let it cool for 15 – 20 minutes, then add butter and mix it in as it melts. Set aside.

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Baking the layers

13. Split dough into 10 pieces, form little balls and put them back into the fridge.

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14. Preheat oven to 375 F. Set the rack in the middle.

15. Get one piece of the dough from the fridge, roll it onto a large sheet of parchment paper into a very thin crust about 10”-11’’ in diameter.

16. Put 9” diameter plate on the top and cut out circle. Do not take away cut off piece – we will bake it together with the main circle and will use it later.

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  1. To prevent puffing during baking, prick the crust with the fork.

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18. Place the parchment paper with dough straight into the oven on a baking rack (or you can place it onto a large cookie sheet). Bake for 6-7 minutes or until the top is golden. It is easy to burn so keep an eye on the crust! Where the crust is thinner, the color could be slightly brown and it is OK.

19. While the first layer is baking, to save time, you can get another piece of parchment paper and start working on the next layer.

20. When the first layer is done, take it out of the oven, place central circle on a plate and cut off pieces – in a separate bowl. You can re-use the paper to roll out and bake the next layer of pastry.

Napoleon Cake Recipe (11)

Repeat steps15 – 20 for all the rest of the dough.

Making the topping

21. Put all baked cut off pieces of the crust and one circle (usually I am choosing the piece which didn’t come out well, damaged, broken or is the darker than other pieces) into a gallon size Ziploc bag, close it (squeeze the air out) and using the rolling pin, roll it over the bag several times to make fine crumbs.

Napoleon Cake Recipe (12)

Napoleon Cake Recipe (13)

Assembling the cake

22. Put one crust on the cake dish and spread a generous amount of custard cream over the top.

23. Put the next layer on top of the first layer and spread custard cream again.

24. Repeat until all layers have been stacked up to produce the cake.

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25. Sprinkle the crumbs over the top layer of the cake and over the sides. Let the cake sit in a fridge for 24 hours.

The next day, make a cup of tea and enjoy the most delicious Napoleon cake!

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Napoleon Cake Recipe (15)

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Napoleon Cake Recipe (16)

Napoleon Cake Recipe (17)

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Napoleon Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is a Napoleon cake made of? ›

Originating in Russia, the Napoleon cake is composed of many layers of puff pastry with a whipped pastry cream filling and encrusted with more pastry crumbs. After assembling, the cake is chilled overnight to allow the pastry layers to soften and absorb some of the cream, similar to the classic American icebox cake.

What is the difference between a Napoleon dessert and a mille-feuille? ›

Mille-feuille is very similar to the Italian dessert, Napoleon. The main difference between the two desserts is that a Napoleon is layered with almond paste instead of cream. A traditional mille-feuille will consist of three layers of puff pastry alternated with two layers of pastry cream.

How long does Napoleon last in the fridge? ›

Storage information: Napoleons are best served the day they're assembled. While still delicious after one or two days in the refrigerator, the pastry will lose its crispiness. See “tips,” below, for make-ahead instructions.

How much sugar is in a Napoleon cake? ›

Region: US
ServingIngredientCalories
7.14 gsugar28
0.62 gvanilla extract1.8
34.86 gwhole milk21
0.29egg yolk16
9 more rows

Is Napoleon cake French or Russian? ›

Standing tall with at least eight tiers (and sometimes more than 20) of alternating layers of pastry and custard, the Napoleon cake has become a national Russian dish, inspired by the French mille-feuille.

What nationality is Napoleon cake? ›

A mille-feuille (French pronunciation: [mil fœj], "thousand-sheets"), also known by the names Napoleon in North America, vanilla slice in the United Kingdom, and custard slice, is a French dessert made of puff pastry layered with pastry cream. Its modern form was influenced by improvements made by Marie-Antoine Carême.

Why is it called Napoleon cake? ›

3) The pastry was first created by an Italian chef in Naples who named it "napoletano" after his city, and the name was later corrupted to "napoleon" in English.

What country invented Napoleon dessert? ›

Napoleon pastry, also known as mille-feuille, is a classic French dessert that has been enjoyed for hundreds of years. Although its origins are somewhat disputed, its name is derived from Napoleon Bonaparte, who was said to have enjoyed the pastry during his reign as Emperor of France.

What is Napoleon disease? ›

The Napoleon complex, also known as Napoleon syndrome and short man syndrome, is a purported condition normally attributed to people of short stature, with overly aggressive or domineering social behavior. It implies that such behavior is to compensate for the subject's physical or social shortcomings.

How do you cut a Napoleon cake? ›

I would say the best way to do it is to freeze it for about an hour, then slice it with a very sharp knife.

How many calories in a slice of Napoleon cake? ›

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
Calories 270
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13 g17 %
Saturated Fat 6 g31 %
7 more rows
Jan 12, 2023

Which cake has the most sugar? ›

On average, Battenberg (56.4±7.3 g/100 g) contained the highest amounts of sugar, ranging from 46 to 62 g, followed by Genoa (45.9±3.7 g/100 g) and red velvet cakes (44.2±4.2 g/100 g), while blueberry muffins (24.6±1.4 g/100 g) contained the lowest amount of sugar.

Is Napoleon cake high calorie? ›

Napoleon dessert contains 170 calories per 57 g serving. This serving contains 9 g of fat, 2 g of protein and 21 g of carbohydrate. The latter is 10 g sugar and 0 g of dietary fiber, the rest is complex carbohydrate. Napoleon dessert contains 5 g of saturated fat and 20 mg of cholesterol per serving.

Why do American cakes have so much sugar? ›

Sugar helps baked goods retain moisture.

That bond helps keep baked good more moist (I know) for a longer period of time, increasing the shelf life of your baked goods! You can also brush simple syrup (sugar + water) on cakes to help with this as well!

What is the difference between puff pastry and phyllo dough? ›

The main differences between puff pastry and phyllo dough are their fat content and preparation. Puff pastry is a laminated dough that gets its signature airy puff from layers of butter, while phyllo dough is comparatively low-fat. Phyllo dough is mostly flour and water and can dry out easily.

What is a traditional Neapolitan dessert? ›

Among the most beloved Neapolitan sweets are sfogliatelle. There are two versions, riccia (curly) and frolla (shortcrust), and the former is the most popular. Outside of Italy, these shell-shaped pastries are often known as lobster claws. Characterized by a crisp and flaky exterior, they are true works of art.

Where does Napoleon cake get its name? ›

The guy who firsted baked it was Italian but he named it Napoleonto after Naples which was the city he loved. However it later got renamed as Napoleon cake. So technically it's not French and it doesn't have anything to do with Napoleon Bonaparte.

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