Napoleon cake is a favorite delicacy of millionssweet tooth. Have you ever wondered why this dessert has such a strange name? Really, what does Napoleon, who is Bonaparte, have to do with it, and does he have any relation to this layered delicacy? In search of an answer, I had to thoroughly dig around on the Internet. The information, it must be said, is the most contradictory. I will have to share everything I managed to find out. The versions presented on the Internet are suitable for any taste: romantic, down-to-earth, sentimental and even those that have some philosophical subtext. Here is one of them. As you know, the emperor was an admirer of female beauty and never refused to pay attention to the fair sex. One day, Josephine witnessed him whispering with one of her ladies-in-waiting. In his defense, the emperor came up with a rather strange story about a recipe for an amazing dessert that suddenly dawned on him, which he allegedly told to the lady-in-waiting. The cook had to take the rap, and the very next day he served a cake made of delicate dough and delicious cream. A less romantic version is that Moscow confectioners prepared a new dessert for the centenary of the Battle of Borodino. Cakes made of puff pastry and custard resembled a cocked hat in shape – this was the kind of headdress Napoleon Bonaparte wore. The dessert caught on, became a favorite, and is now prepared as a cake. It is difficult to say which version is more plausible. And that is not the point. The main thing is that we have a great treat, and today we will tell you how to properly prepare a Napoleon cake. By the way, desserts with a similar name can be found in cafes and pastry shops in many countries, in particular in Norway, Sweden, and Germany. Before moving on to the recipes, a few important notes. The classic Napoleon cake, or rather the dough for it, is prepared with butter. However, many housewives note that the cakes prepared on a margarine base are more tender and thin. Ideally, the classic Napoleon cake should be made from classic unleavened puff pastry. However, this process is so labor-intensive that nowadays even the classic recipe is served in a lighter version. But we are not looking for easy ways and give perfectionists the opportunity to bake a real Napoleon cake.
Classic Napoleon Cake
Ingredients for the dough:
- half a kilo of flour
- 2 packs of oil
- egg
- a tablespoon of lemon juice
- a pinch of salt
- 300-350 ml of water
Recipe for making dough:Sift flour into a bowl. Pour the egg into a glass, add water to the brim and shake, pour into a bowl with flour, add lemon juice, salt and another half glass of water. Knead elastic dough. Form a ball and leave under film for half an hour. Roll into a layer, sprinkle with flour and leave under film for 15-20 minutes. Rub soft butter in a bowl, add a couple of tablespoons of flour and mix with butter. Put the resulting mass in the freezer for half an hour. Cut the butter into thin slices and spread it over the dough so that it can be covered on both sides. You will get a kind of rectangle, which must be pinched from the open sides and folded in four. Put the prepared dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. Roll out the resulting blank into a rectangular layer (1 cm thick) and fold it in four again. Put it in the refrigerator for half an hour. Repeat everything two more times (roll out – fold – cool). The dough is ready. Ingredients for the cream:
- 800 ml of milk
- 3 eggs
- a glass of sugar
- 150 grams of butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- Vanillin or vanilla sugar to taste
Recipe for making cream:Beat eggs with sugar, add flour, a little milk and beat again to get a homogeneous mixture. Bring milk to a boil, pour in the resulting mixture and cook over low heat until thickened, finally add vanilla sugar. After the cream has cooled, add soft butter in small portions. Beat the cream into a fluffy mass. Cake recipe: Divide the dough into 6-8 equal parts. Roll each very thin and bake the cakes. Before putting the baking sheet in the oven, prick the cake with a fork so that it does not bubble. Use one cake for crumbs, which will be used for decoration. Temperature 180-190 degrees, bake until golden brown. Generously spread the cooled cakes with custard, the top layer is cream sprinkled with crumbs.
Napoleon cake. Modern classic
Ingredients for the dough:
- batch of margarine for baking
- 2-3 glasses of flour
- 100 ml of cold water
- dessert spoon of vinegar
Recipe for making dough:Sift flour into a bowl, add cold margarine chopped into small pieces and rub it with flour. Add vinegar to very cold water, stir. Pour in small portions into the flour and margarine mixture and knead the dough. Divide it into 8-10 parts, roll each into a ball. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes. Ingredients for the cream:
- 3 cups of milk
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 yolks
- a glass of sugar
- Vanilla sugar or vanilla to taste
Recipe for making cream:Grind the yolks with sugar until white, add flour and a little milk to get a homogeneous mixture. Pour the rest of the milk into a saucepan and put on the fire. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, pour in the resulting mixture and cook, stirring constantly until thickened (the cream should not boil). Cool, gradually add soft butter and vanilla sugar while whisking. If the cream does not seem sweet enough, you can add powdered sugar to taste at the last stage. Recipe for making the cake: Roll out each ball of dough very thinly, twist it onto a rolling pin and transfer it to a baking sheet. Prick with a fork and put in the oven, preheated to 180 degrees. Bake until golden brown. It is important not to overcook the cakes in the oven, they are thin and bake quite quickly. Usually, while one cake is rolling out, the other one has already baked. Generously grease each cake with the prepared custard. Rub one flat cake into crumbs and sprinkle it on the last cake covered with cream. Napoleon cake is ready. And finally, one more recipe for Napoleon dough - the simplest one. This is simply a luxurious recipe for puff pastry, from which you can make not only the beloved dessert (Napoleon cake). It goes well with a variety of fillings.
Cake Instant Napoleon
Ingredients for the dough:
- 2-2.5 cups of flour
- batch of margarine for baking
- 1 egg
- half a glass of water
- a pinch of salt
Recipe for making dough:Sift flour into a bowl. Beat egg, salt and water, pour into a bowl with flour and knead elastic, smooth dough. Roll out into a thin layer, grease with softened margarine and roll into a roll. Put the resulting blank in the refrigerator for about an hour. Cut the roll into small pieces, roll each into a thin layer and bake the cakes at a temperature of 180-190 degrees. They should become golden. Spread the cakes with custard cream (see the cream recipe above) Notes:
- If you want to make a cake Napoleon turned outcrispy, it should be smeared with cream immediately before serving. In order to make the dessert "wet", the cakes are smeared with cream and leave the cake for 2-3 hours at room temperature, and then put for several hours in the refrigerator.
- Before the rolled dough is sent to the oven, it must be stuck in several places, so that it does not bubble, let stand for 15 minutes and only then send it to the oven.
- In many reference books it is recommended to bakecakes at a fairly high temperature - 230 degrees. This, of course, speeds up the baking process, but there is a risk of spoiling the taste, it is better to still bake at a more gentle temperature.
- The classic Napoleon cake has an interlayer ofcustard with the addition of butter. Many confectioners prepare a cream based on condensed milk, which is whipped together with soft oil. This cream has a soft creamy taste.
As you can see, each recipe has its ownzest. Try making a Napoleon cake using our recipes and tips, and, of course, experiment. Cook with pleasure. Enjoy your meal! We recommend reading:
