How to Make Napoleon Cake

Today I want to show you how to make a Napoleon Cake from scratch! This cake is made of multiple layers of puff pastry dough and a smooth, delicate pastry cream in between the layers.

The Napoleon cake is the first cake I ever made at the age of 12. Since then it’s been one of the most favorite cakes for my family. It may seem difficult to make but I assure you that with my tutorial you can make it on your first try!

Ingredients for the dough:

600-650g sifted flour
400g cold butter
1 egg
180 ml chilled water
1 tbsp white vinegar
¼ tsp salt

Ingredients for the filling:

400ml whole milk
200g sugar
1 egg
40g cornstarch
100g butter
200ml cold heavy whipping cream

Step 1

We’ll start by preparing the filling, since we need to make the custard base and cool it very well. The first step is to warm up the milk without boiling it. You can do it in the microwave, or you can do it in a saucepan, using the stove top. Next, using a heavy bottom saucepan, we need to combine the sugar, cornstarch and egg.

Beat everything well until you get a smooth and even mixture without any lumps. Next, whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk until it is incorporated then slowly drizzle in the remaining hot milk while whisking.

Step 2

Place the saucepan on the stove and whisk constantly over medium-high heat until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the butter. Mix well until the butter has completely dissolved.

Step 3

Pour the custard into a bowl and cover the surface with a plastic wrap making sure that the plastic wrap is touching the whole surface. This is to prevent the custard from forming a skin on top. Let it cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

Step 4

Place the flour in a large whisking bowl. Take a piece of cold butter and coat it with flour. Using a hand grater, grind the butter while periodically dipping it into flour. Using your hands, combine all the ingredients until they turn into crumb.

You can also cut the butter into chunks, add it to the flour and use a knife to work it into the flour until there are pea sized bits of butter throughout the dough. Another way is to use a food processor or a blender for this step.

Step 5

Next, let’s prepare the wet ingredients. Add the salt, vinegar and egg to the chilled water and mix it with a fork.

Step 6

Make an indentation in the center of the flour and pour in the liquid ingredients. Quickly mix the dough, until it comes together. Work as fast as you can so that the chunks of butter don’t completely melt into the dough. The butter will melt as the cake layers bake and form air pockets in the cake layers and give them that flaky puff texture.

Step 7

Divide the dough into 10 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Dust a big plate with flour and lay out the dough balls on it. Place the plate into a plastic bag and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Step 8

When the dough is chilled, dust a Teflon sheet or parchment paper with flour, take one ball of dough out of the fridge and roll it thin, depending on the size of your future cake. You can use an 8 to 10-inch plate, a baking ring, or make it a rectangle shape like I will do. I use a cutting board that is 11 by 8.5 inch.

Step 9

Using a sharp knife cut all around the outside of the object that you are using. Collect all the dough scraps and put them in the refrigerator. At the end, we will make an extra cake layer for decorating the cake.

Prick some holes using a fork all over the cake layer to keep it from puffing up unevenly. While one cake layer is baking, prepare the next one the same way. Transfer the prepared cake layer along with the Teflon sheet or parchment paper to the prepared baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 8-10 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Step 10

The baked cake layers will be slightly decreased in size but will look very beautiful. From all the leftover dough I made the last cake layer. I didn’t prick it with a fork in order to show how the dough puffs up when baking. Using a food chopper, I will grind this layer and decorate the cake with the crumbs.

Step 11

Now it’s time to finish our cake filling. In order to do that we need to whip the cold heavy whipping cream to medium peaks. Next, take the custard out of the fridge and using a hand mixer give it a quick mix. Add the whipped cream into the custard and mix it with a spatula.

Step 12

Divide the filling between the cake layers, saving a little bit for the top and the sides of the cake. Place a dollop of filling into the center of the plate, just to keep the cake from sliding around. Place the first cake layer and spread the filling evenly. Repeat with the all cake layers except the top one. Cover the assembled cake with a cutting board and lightly press down. Let it sit for a couple of hours so that the cake settles a little bit.

* Keep in mind that depend on the size of your cake layers, you may end up with more than 10 layers.

Step 13

Cover the sides and top of the cake with the remaining cake filling. Sprinkle the cake crumbs evenly over the top of the cake and press them over the sides.

Keep the cake simple or decorate it as you desire.

Refrigerate the cake overnight so that the filling soaks into the cake layers and makes them soft and tender. Let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or so before serving.

Notes:

You can make the dough the day before you’re planning on making the cake.
Keep in mind that depends on the size of your cake layers, you may end up with more than 10 layers.
You can make the custard ahead of time. It will keep for a few days in an airtight container in the fridge. Add the whipped cream before assembling the cake.
Keep the cake refrigerated. Let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or so before serving.

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