This Napoleon features layers of crispy, flaky puff pastry Napoleon with a delicious vanilla custard pastry cream in between. It’s a surefire way to wow your guests.
Can we all agree that textured desserts make the best desserts? All things flaky, crispy, and crunchy should be in a league of their own. Especially if they also include a delicious, velvety smooth pastry cream.
And this Napoleon dessert is nothing less. It is one of my favorite desserts. I dream of leftovers even before I begin making this dish because I love having a slice for breakfast, a slice in the middle of the day, or even as a late-night guilty pleasure. This puff pastry Napoleon satisfies all my sweet tooth cravings.
It’s everything I want in a dessert. Rich but delicate. Sweet but not overbearingly sugary. And filled with a delicious vanilla pastry cream. Pastry cream that I would eat directly from the bowl. Pastry cream that I would slather on everything if I could. The obsession is real, folks.
The History Behind the Napoleon Dessert
Napoleon is a classic French dessert also known as mille-feuille – which translates to “a thousand leaves.” It was brought over to Russia in the late 19th century and is traditionally baked during festivities.
Personally, I don’t need any excuse to make this dessert. I’m perfectly content with having it on an ordinary day like Wednesday.
Let me know in the comments below how your Napoleon turned out!
Here’s what you’ll need to make the Napoleon cake:
- puff pastry
- egg yolks
- milk
- sugar
- flour
- vanilla extract
- unsalted butter
Steps
Defrost puff pastry sheet, if you haven’t already.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Roll the sheets and put on a baking sheet, individually.
Bake for 10-15 minutes.
While the puff pastry sheets bake, make the cream:
In a double boiler, (take small pot and fill it with water. Heat it up and put a bowl on top.
In the bowl, warm up 1 1/2 cup of milk.
In a separate bowl mix together 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 Tablespoon of flour, and 1/2 cup of milk. Add to the warmed milk. Whisk in 4 egg yolks very fast.
Stir occasionally and let it cook till thickened. Set it aside or put in the refrigerator to cool down.
With a hand mixer, beat 2 sticks of softened unsalted butter (1 cup) until smooth and no clumps.
To the butter add the cooled cream (1 Tablespoons at a time) beating on low speed.
Put the cake together! Spread the cream on a baked puff pastry sheet, top with another puff pastry sheet and spread more cream, repeat with the rest of puff pastry sheets and cream.
Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cake.
Delicate Napoleon Cake with Puff Pastry and a Simple Custard (Mille-Feuille) Yum
Ingredients
- 4 sheet puff pastry (or 2 sheets divided in half, for small cake)
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
Instructions
Defrost puff pastry sheet, if you haven’t already.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Roll the sheets and put on a baking sheet, individually.
Bake for 10-15 minutes.
While the puff pastry sheets bake, make the cream:
In a double boiler, (take small pot and fill it with water. Heat it up and put a bowl on top.
In the bowl, warm up 1 1/2 cup of milk.
In a separate bowl mix together 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 Tablespoon of flour, and 1/2 cup of milk. Add to the warmed milk. Whisk in 4 egg yolks very fast.
Stir occasionally and let it cook till thickened. Set it aside or put in the refrigerator to cool down.
With a hand mixer, beat 2 sticks of softened unsalted butter (1 cup) until smooth and no clumps.
To the butter add the cooled cream (1 Tablespoons at a time) beating on low speed.
Put the cake together! Spread the cream on a baked puff pastry sheet, top with another puff pastry sheet and spread more cream, repeat with the rest of puff pastry sheets and cream.
Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cake.
Equipment Used
Nutrition Facts
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