Napoleon cake ingredients. The most delicious Napoleon cake. Napoleon cake made from ready-made puff pastry with condensed milk cream

Napoleon cake is a long-known dessert that is very popular. Many housewives like to prepare this delicacy, because they are sure that the dessert will instantly fly off the table. Homemade Napoleon cannot be compared with any store-bought option, because a product made with love will always taste better!

Modern housewives don’t even realize that in past years it was very difficult to get a cake recipe.

To be more precise, in the 80s the recipe for making this dessert was not yet known. Housewives passed on various cooking options to each other, but there was no classic recipe among them.

Cooks of those times loved to write down all recipes in a notebook. A separate notebook was created for cakes, since in those years they were considered one of the most popular dishes.

As you know, they are used for cakes butter, which were difficult to obtain in those days. Margarine was used as a replacement, with which it was not easy to cook something tasty.

Also one of the reasons why tasty treat What every housewife could not do was that the dessert recipe was not publicly available. Buy delicious cake it was impossible to do it in a store back then, and it was difficult to do it at home due to the reasons described above. Those who knew how to make Napoleon at home often always sold it.

In addition to this delicacy, other cakes were also produced, but Napoleon was the most popular delicacy at all holidays. The dessert in those days consisted of many cakes, which were 30 cm in diameter. Each was soaked in cream.

There were those who managed to accidentally obtain the recipe for making Napoleon. In this case, the hostess kept it secret from the others.

Homemade Napoleon cake with custard - a classic recipe

Napoleon cake was popular in all Soviet-era families; at any big celebration you will definitely find this dessert on the table. Our family is no exception - we also prepare it often. We do it the old fashioned way every time. traditional recipe, which in my opinion is the most successful.


Cooking requires skill and enough time. To make a delicacy, you will have to set aside about 4 hours from your personal time. Experienced housewives divide the cooking over several days: on one day they bake the cakes, and on the second they prepare the cream. You do as you wish!

Ingredients:

For the cakes:

  • premium quality wheat flour 0.7 kg.
  • butter 250 g (you can use margarine as a cheap option, but the taste will deteriorate significantly).
  • salt on the tip of a knife.

For cream:

  • chicken egg 6 pcs.
  • high fat milk 1 l.
  • granulated sugar 0.5 kg.
  • premium quality wheat flour 4 tbsp.
  • butter 250 premium quality room temperature.
  • vanillin 1 g.
  • vanilla sugar 1.5 tsp.

Preparation

1.First of all, we will prepare the cakes. To do this, combine flour and butter in a deep bowl.


2.Now you need to grind the mass to a crumb state. Personally, I chop the components with a knife.


3. Beat 1 chicken egg in a glass, then add salt, fill with water to the top and beat the mixture again.


4. Pour the mixture into a bowl with flour and begin kneading the dough. First mix the liquid with the flour with a spoon, then continue kneading with your hands.


Preparing the cream

1. We place the dough made earlier in cling film and put it in the refrigerator.

Now let's start creating the cream. We are looking for a 3 liter saucepan, pour out the milk and put it on the stove. In the meantime, you need to beat the eggs and sugar, add vanillin and flour to them. Then beat again until the lumps disappear completely.


2.Add to egg mixture about 250 ml of milk, whisk, then pour the mixture into a saucepan.


3.Wait for the cream to thicken. It will take a long time to cook and should be stirred constantly. If you don't do this, the cream will burn. The whole process takes about 20 minutes. If a trail remains from the spoon, the cream is ready; if the cream is liquid, continue cooking.


4. Temporarily set the cream mass aside on the table until it has cooled completely. Meanwhile, take the cooled dough out of the refrigerator and cut it into 8 pieces. Activate the oven and bring to a temperature of 200 degrees.


5. We will need one part, put the remaining 7 in the refrigerator. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and turn it into a very thin crust.


The easiest way: place parchment on the work surface, place the dough on top and cover with a second layer of parchment. Roll out with a rolling pin until you obtain the desired shape.

6. Place the dough together with parchment on a baking pan, make holes with a fork so that the dough does not swell during baking.


7.This step will take an average of 10 minutes. It all depends on the power of your oven. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the cakes. Personally, I made 12 cakes; your quantity may vary slightly.



8.Continue to work with the cream. Beat the butter until white (or knead with a spoon). Gradually add cream to it and create a homogeneous mass.


9.Now let’s start assembling our cake: lay out the cake layers one by one, grease each one with cream. Personally, I use about 3 tbsp for each layer. Along the way, I try to level all the cakes, breaking off unnecessary parts. Later they will be useful for decorating dessert. Important: set aside one cake layer right away - it will be needed later to decorate the dessert.


10. The pieces that were cut from the cakes should be crushed together with the last cake, then sprinkle the top layer of the cake and sides with shavings. Ready.


Napoleon should absorb the cream, this will take about 6 hours.

The dessert will turn out soft and very tasty!

Cake decoration

In my case, the cake was made for a child's birthday. The boy asked to draw a car. I don't have much experience with fondant, but surprisingly I got some results! I did this:


1.Took about 100 g of marshmallow and melted it, mixed with 1 tbsp. butter and gradually added powdered sugar. You should get an elastic mass.

2.I used food coloring to give it the desired color.

3. I molded the shape of the car with my hands.

The cake began to sell out in the morning, because you can’t hide it from a child! Napoleon turned out very tender!

Rules for assembling the Napoleon dessert

1. Find a tray or dish.

2. Place the cake on it and spread with a middle layer of cream.

4. We coat the next one first with sour cream, on top of the custard.

6.The next two are of two types.

7.Spread the last cake layer with a thin layer.

8.The cake should stand for half an hour and absorb all the cream.

9.Cover the top crust with baking paper.

11.Remove the baking paper and coat the top cake with cream again.

12.Crumble additional cake onto the top of the cake.

13. Let the cake stand for about 10 hours at room temperature.

14.Put the dessert in the refrigerator overnight. This time is enough for impregnation.

Now you can take a sample from Napoleon! Bon appetit!

A few useful secrets for housewives

1. As soon as I learned to use the Internet, I immediately became interested in searching for a recipe for Napoleon cake. All were similar to mine, but still there was something missing in my version.

2. Along the way, I began to understand the main secrets. It turned out that the classic recipe contains vodka - it is added to the dough. Regarding the cream, 2 types are required. It is these details that make the cake tender and incredibly delicious.

3. Try to make the cakes as thin as possible, but do not skimp on the cream. You can make it larger - even if it remains superfluous, but you will be absolutely sure that the cream will not run out at the most inopportune moment. So be sure to soak the cakes a large number cream!

4.Now I’ll tell you a few words about store-bought sour cream. Just imagine, you went to the market, but you were unable to buy full-fat sour cream. What to do? Take dairy product less fat, colander and cheesecloth. Place the sour cream on cheesecloth, place everything in a colander and let the excess water escape. Add a little butter or cream to the sour cream - this will save you in this situation.

There are quite a few versions of the appearance of this dessert, which has become traditional at all festive events. The most beloved in Russia is the one that talks about the presentation of the cake in 1912, when Moscow celebrated the 100th anniversary of the exile of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The most delicate layered delicacy, named after the French emperor, was served in the form of cakes cut into triangles. A similar shape was supposed to be associated with the famous three-cornered hat. The popularity of the delicacy was downright impressive.

Other sources confidently say that the cake originates from French cuisine. Legend has it that the cook, whose name was lost in historical chronicles, in an effort to impress the crowned ruler, cut the traditional national cake “Royal Galette” into portions. He smeared his cakes custard and strawberry jam mixed with whipped cream. The idea turned out to be very successful, and the cake itself was sold all over the world under the name “Napoleon”.

Now every self-respecting sweet tooth knows the taste of the popular dessert. We have collected a selection of his most original and interesting recipes.

Classic Napoleon cake with custard - video recipe

With explanations and video instructions from Grandma Emma, ​​a popular culinary blogger on the Internet, you can easily master the classic recipe for your favorite cake. Its basis is made of quick puff pastry cakes, coated with traditional milk cream.

Homemade Napoleon cake made from puff pastry - step by step photo recipe

The essence of any Napoleon cake is a multi-layer base and custard. You can take a ready-made one for him puff pastry, but if you have a little time, it’s better to make homemade puff pastry. If you don’t have the time or desire to bother with milk and egg custard, you can make a regular one butter cream. For homemade Napoleon cake you need:

Your rating:

Cooking time: 3 hours 0 minutes


Quantity: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • Flour: 3 tbsp. + 1/2 tbsp.
  • Water: 1 tbsp.
  • Egg: 1 large or 2 medium
  • Salt: a pinch
  • Sugar: 1 tbsp. l.
  • Soda: 1/2 tsp.
  • Vinegar 9%: 1/2 tsp.
  • Butter: 250 g
  • Condensed milk: 1 can
  • Vanilla: a pinch

Cooking instructions

    The dough for “Napoleon” is kneaded according to the principle unleavened dough for dumplings. Sift 3/4 of the flour into a large bowl. Collect it in a slide. Make a funnel in the flour. Pour in the egg, add salt and sugar. Gradually pour in a glass of water. Quench the soda with vinegar and add to the dough. Knead the dough.

    Wrap it in film and leave for 40 - 45 minutes.

    If the puff pastry is intended for a cake, then for further convenience it is better to divide the dough into three parts. You can also do this if it will not be used all at once. Roll out each piece no thicker than 0.3 - 0.5 mm. Grease it with a thin layer of oil. To make it easier to spread the butter on the dough, you need to remove it from the refrigerator in advance.

    Fold the dough in half and in half again. If the dough is divided into parts, then do the same with all parts.

    After this, wrap all the parts in film and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Then repeat the procedure of rolling, folding and cooling in the freezer twice.

    After this, roll out one part no thicker than 0.5 cm. Trim the dough, giving it the shape of the future cake. Set the cut edges aside.

    Transfer the dough to a baking sheet. Bake in a hot oven. The temperature in it must be kept at + 190. Thus, prepare two more cakes. Bake all trimmings separately.

    While the cakes are cooling, prepare a cream from condensed milk and butter, add vanilla to it, if you don’t have natural vanilla, then vanilla sugar to taste.

    Grease the first cake with cream.

    Then place all the remaining cakes, and also grease the top with cream.

    Crush the baked scraps into crumbs and sprinkle over the top of the cake. All that remains is to submit homemade cake"Napoleon" for tea.

    How to make a delicious Napoleon cake with condensed milk - the best cream for those with a sweet tooth

    The main highlight of this recipe is the very sweet, but quick to prepare cream.

    Required ingredients:

  • 0.3 kg flour;
  • 0.2 kg of quality margarine;
  • 2 eggs;
  • 50 ml water;
  • 1 tbsp. fat sour cream;
  • a can of store-bought condensed milk;
  • a stick of butter;
  • lemon zest, vanillin.

Cooking procedure Napoleon, beloved by all sweet tooths:

  1. Cut the margarine into small pieces and give them a quarter of an hour to soften a little. When this happens, use a mixer to bring it until smooth, then add the eggs, continuing to knead.
  2. In small parts add flour into the butter-egg mixture, and then water and sour cream.
  3. Set aside the mixture until smooth and set aside for 30 minutes.
  4. We have to make 6 cakes from the resulting dough, so we divide it into the appropriate number of parts.
  5. We bake the cakes rolled out in the shape of a circle, after piercing them in several places with a fork, in a hot oven. Try to brown them, but not to dry them out; usually a quarter of an hour is enough for this.
  6. While the first cake is baking, we begin to roll out and pierce the second one with a fork, and so on.
  7. From the six prepared cakes, choose the most unsightly one in your opinion, leaving it for dusting.
  8. Let's start preparing the cream. Everything here is extremely simple: mix condensed milk with slightly softened butter, beat with a mixer. The addition of zest and vanilla will give the cream pleasant and harmonious notes.
  9. Place the bottom cake on a dish, generously grease with cream, cover with another cake, repeat the described process. Finely crumble the rejected cake and sprinkle it generously over the top and edges of the cake.

The most delicious Napoleon cake made from ready-made dough

When the desire to please guests and loved ones is great, but there is no desire to bother with kneading dough, the right decision is to bake your favorite cake from ready-made dough.

Required ingredients:

  • 1 kg of ready-made puff pastry without yeast;
  • can of condensed milk;
  • 0.2 kg butter;
  • 1.5 tbsp. 33% cream.

Cooking procedure simple, tasty and very high Napoleon:

  1. Carefully unroll the defrosted dough. We cut each of the half-kilogram rolls into 4 parts, i.e. in total we will have 8 pieces.
  2. Roll out a round cake from each, cut out an even circle from it using a plate of a suitable size (22-24 cm in diameter).
  3. Lubricate the rolling pin used for rolling and the work surface with oil.
  4. Prick each cake with a fork and then transfer to a baking sheet lined with wax paper. We put the trimmings aside.
  5. Baking each cake in a hot oven takes about a quarter of an hour.
  6. We do this with each cake, baking the scraps separately.
  7. Now you can pay attention to the cream. To do this, beat the slightly softened butter with condensed milk at low speed. Separately whip the chilled cream; when it begins to hold its shape, transfer it to the cream, carefully mix with a wooden spoon until smooth.
  8. Next we start assembling the cake. Without saving inappropriately in this case, we grease the cakes with cream and stack them on top of each other. Grind the trimmings to crumbs and sprinkle them on the sides and top.
  9. Before serving, it is advisable to place the cake in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours. During this time, he will have time to soak in perfectly.

Napoleon cake made from ready-made cake layers

To prepare this more than acceptable alternative, completely homemade baked goods, you will have to look at the nearest large supermarket and buy:

  • ready-made cakes;
  • a stick of butter;
  • 1 liter of milk;
  • 2 eggs;
  • 0.3 kg granulated sugar;
  • 50 g flour;
  • vanilla.

Cooking procedure:

  1. Break the eggs into a saucepan, add sugar and flour, stir until smooth and put on the stove.
  2. Gradually add milk, continuing to stir all this time. When the mass begins to remind you semolina porridge, remove it from the heat, cool it and put it in the refrigerator.
  3. Add softened butter and vanilla to the completely cooled cream and beat.
  4. We generously grease each of the finished cakes with cream and arrange them on top of each other. Finely crumble one of the cakes and sprinkle the top of our lazy Napoleon.
  5. Place the almost finished cake in the refrigerator to soak for 6 hours.

How to cook Napoleon cake in a frying pan

Required ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp. fat sour cream;
  • 1 + 3 medium eggs (for cakes and cream);
  • 100 g + 1 tbsp. sugar (for cakes and cream);
  • ½ tsp. baking soda,
  • ¼ tsp. rock salt,
  • 2 tbsp. + 2 tbsp. flour (for cakes and cream);
  • 0.75 l milk;
  • 2 tsp starch;
  • A stick of butter.

Cooking procedure:

  1. We start with the cakes. To do this, beat the egg with sugar and salt until smooth.
  2. Separately mix flour and soda, add sour cream and beaten egg. Gently knead the dough, the result should not stick to your palms.
  3. From this amount of dough we have to make 6-7 cakes, divide it immediately into the appropriate number of parts and put it in the refrigerator for at least 35-40 minutes.
  4. Preparing the cream. Pour a glass of milk and set it aside for now.
  5. Pour the remaining milk into a saucepan, add sugar and bring to a boil. We make sure that the milk does not run away from us.
  6. Beat the eggs separately.
  7. In another container, mix flour with starch and milk set aside in step 4, add beaten eggs, knead thoroughly. Pour the boiled sweet milk into the resulting mixture, mix again and return to the heat for another 5-7 minutes until thickened. Don't stop stirring for a minute.
  8. Remove the cream from the heat, when it has cooled, beat in the softened butter.
  9. Let's return to our test. It should be taken out of the refrigerator, each part should be rolled out to the size of your frying pan. The taste of the future cake depends on how thin the cakes are. Trim the cakes using a frying pan lid. You can use the scraps to form additional cakes or leave them to crumble.
  10. We bake in an ungreased frying pan. Brown the shortbreads on both sides. Turn over when the dough is just beginning to change color.
  11. Grind the worst flatbread in a blender for decoration.
  12. Grease each of the cakes with cream and place them one on top of the other. Coat the top and sides.
  13. Sprinkle the top with the resulting crumbs.
  14. The cake is not served immediately, but after keeping it in the refrigerator overnight, otherwise it will not soak through.

Snack cake Napoleon

Napoleon - traditional sweet dessert. But let's try to let go of our imagination and prepare a snack option with unsweetened filling. We prepare the cakes ourselves according to any of the above recipes or buy ready-made ones. In addition to this you will need:

  • 2 carrots;
  • 3 eggs;
  • 1 garlic clove;
  • can of canned fish;
  • packaging of curd cheese;
  • mayonnaise.

Cooking procedure:

  1. We do not drain all the liquid from the can of canned food. Knead it with a fork.
  2. Peel the boiled eggs and grate them, do the same with the boiled carrots, only mix them with garlic passed through a press and a small amount of mayonnaise.
  3. Let's start assembling the cake. Grease the bottom cake with mayonnaise and place about half of the fish mass on it.
  4. Place the second cake layer on top, on which the spicy carrot mixture is laid out.
  5. Place eggs on the third cake layer greased with mayonnaise.
  6. On the fourth - the remaining fish.
  7. On the fifth - curd cheese, we grease the sides of the cake with it.
  8. If desired, you can sprinkle with crumbled cake and place in the refrigerator to soak.

A very simple recipe for Napoleon cake

Required ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp. + 2 tbsp. flour (for cakes and cream);
  • 0.25 kg butter;
  • 0.1 l of water;
  • 1 liter of fat milk;
  • 2 eggs;
  • 1.5 tbsp. Sahara;
  • vanilla.

Cooking procedure unusually simple, but tasty and tender Napoleon:

  1. Let's start preparing the cakes. To do this, rub butter from the freezer into the sifted flour.
  2. Grind the resulting crumbs with your hands and pour water into it.
  3. Without wasting time, mix our dough, form a lump out of it and put it in the refrigerator for half an hour. The dough is ready. Agree, it’s much easier than puff pastry!
  4. While the dough is chilling, prepare the necessary tools: a rolling pin, wax paper, a plate or other form with which you will cut. By the way, the shape of the cake does not have to be round, it can be square.
  5. From the resulting volume of dough we make 8 cakes, so we divide it into as equal pieces as possible.
  6. Preheat the oven.
  7. Sprinkle a piece of wax paper with flour, place a piece of dough on it, carefully roll out a thin flat cake, which we pierce with a fork.
  8. Together with the paper, transfer the cake to a baking sheet and put it in the oven.
  9. Baking the cakes happens quite quickly, in just 5 minutes. We try not to dry them out.
  10. We do the same with the rest of the cakes.
  11. While the cake is still hot, we cut it according to the template, and then use the trimmings for decoration.
  12. Let's make the cream. To do this, pour half the milk into a saucepan and put it on the fire.
  13. Mix the remaining milk with sugar, vanilla, eggs and flour, beat with a mixer until smooth.
  14. After the milk boils, pour it into the whipped products, return the future cream to the heat and cook until thickened for 5-7 minutes, stirring all the time.
  15. Cool the hot cream, then put it in the refrigerator to cool completely.
  16. Generously coat the cakes and place them on top of each other. We traditionally crumble the scraps onto the top.
  17. Let the cake brew thoroughly and enjoy with the whole family.

  1. When preparing cakes, it is better to give preference to butter rather than margarine. Moreover, the fattier this product, the tastier the end result.
  2. The dough should not stick to your palms, otherwise the quality of the cakes may suffer. Add some flour.
  3. When placing the fresh crust on top of the greased one, do not press too hard, otherwise they may break and become tough.
  4. The cake acquires its true taste only after a day. Try to be patient and give him this time.

We look forward to your comments and ratings - this is very important to us!

by Notes of the Wild Mistress

Napoleon cake is one of the best cakes homemade, and, probably, every housewife has her own recipe for “Napoleon”. The cake, in addition to taste, has a number of other advantages: if “Napoleon” is made in accordance with the recipe with custard, it turns out low-fat, and also does not require a lot of time during production. And, what is also important, the layers for the Napoleon cake can be baked several days before the celebration, and at the right time you just need to prepare the cream and coat the cake.

To prepare Napoleon, cakes made from puff pastry should be coated with cream 5-6 hours before serving. If the dough is not puff pastry, but there are 8-10 cake layers, then the cakes should be spread at least 8-10 hours before the guests arrive. This time should be enough for the cakes to become saturated with cream.

There are several recipes for Napoleon. Cake cakes made according to any of the recipes below can be coated with custard or butter cream, each individually or alternately, spreading one cake with custard and the next cake with butter cream. If you grate lemon zest into any cream on a fine grater, the Napoleon cake will acquire a very pleasant taste and aroma.

PREPARATION OF CAKES FOR NAPOLEON CAKES

Napoleon's first recipe

Products for the test: 200 g butter or margarine, a tablespoon of vodka, 1/2 cup water, 2 cups flour, a pinch of salt.

To prepare the dough for Napoleon cake according to this recipe, pour vodka into a glass half filled with boiled water, add salt and stir everything. Pour the required amount of flour onto a cutting board, cut the butter or margarine from the refrigerator into small pieces and chop it with the flour until crumbs form. Then collect the crumbs in a heap, make a funnel and gradually pour in liquid from the glass, continuing to chop until a dough forms.

Place the finished dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours, then divide into 4 parts and roll out a layer of 3-5 mm thick from each. The number of cakes depends on the size of the mold or baking sheet. If the mold is small, then you can make 5-6 cakes.

Second recipe for Napoleon

Products for the test:

For this recipe for Napoleon cake dough, make two doughs: one will use 200 g of soft margarine and 1 cup of flour, and the other will use 1 cup of sour cream and 1 cup of flour.

Lightly sprinkle flour onto a cutting board and place sour cream dough and make cuts on it. Roll out the dough in four directions using an envelope. In the middle of the envelope, place margarine dough, rolled out on a board to the desired size. Cover the butter dough with the sides of the sour cream dough envelope and begin rolling out this layer, pinching the edges. There should be a lot of flour on the board so that the dough does not stick to the board anywhere.

Roll out this filled layer from the middle so that no voids form in the sour cream dough along the edges. Having rolled out the dough into a rectangle 10 mm thick, fold it in four, cover it with a napkin and let it stand for 5 minutes, then roll the dough into a rectangle again (you need to roll from the middle to the edges and from the edge to the middle) and fold it in four again. Do this 4 times to get many layers.

When the dough is rolled out for the last time, fold it to form a bar and cut it into pieces according to the number of cakes. From this amount of dough you will get 6 cakes in a regular form and 4 cakes the size of a baking sheet. After you have marked and cut the block, cover it with a napkin and put it in the cold for 2 hours. After this time, you can begin making the cakes.

Sprinkle a cutting board generously with flour and place one piece of dough the same way it was in the refrigerator on a plate, without turning it over, otherwise the puff pastry will break. Roll out the dough to the desired size. Grease a mold or baking sheet with margarine and place the layer on a hot baking sheet or mold so that the dough “runs” less. You need to prick the entire surface of the dough with a fork lengthwise and crosswise.

When placing the dough in the mold, lift it a little on the side - the dough will certainly “shrink” in the oven, and after baking the size of the cake will be equal to the size of the bottom of the mold. Cakes are baked in hot oven until golden color appears. Handle the cakes carefully as they are very fragile.

The third recipe for Napoleon cake

Products for the test: 100 g creamy margarine or butter, 150 g sour cream, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 eggs, 2.5 cups flour.

To prepare the dough for “Napoleon” according to this recipe, grind eggs with granulated sugar, add soft butter or margarine, continuing to grind until smooth, then add sour cream, stir it into the mixture and add 2 cups of flour (pre-sifted). Mix the flour with the mixture, add the rest of the flour one tablespoon at a time, kneading the dough. Make a bar from the finished dough and divide it into 7-8 parts for large cakes (on a baking sheet) or 9-10 for a regular shape.

Roll out the crust dough thinly. Grease a mold or baking sheet, slightly heated in the oven, with margarine, place the rolled out dough and prick it with a fork along and across the cake. The rolled out dough, as we have already mentioned, is convenient to transfer to a baking sheet by wrapping it around a rolling pin. Stroke the rolling pin and the surface of the dough with your hand “dipped” in flour. When placing the rolled out cake on a baking sheet, roll it off the rolling pin.

The cakes are baked in a hot oven for only 5-8 minutes, so be careful not to burn them.

Cake cakes prepared this way are best coated with custard. Do not put a lot of cream on the cake - it will soak the cakes, the cake will become “wet”, and this will deteriorate its quality.

The fourth recipe for "Napoleon"

Products for the test: 200 g creamy margarine, 1 cup sour cream, 2 cups flour.

Place a mound of flour on a cutting board, cut the margarine from the refrigerator into the flour and chop with the flour until crumbs form. Add sour cream little by little to the crumbs, continuing to chop. Make the dough. If the dough sticks to your hands, add a little flour to the board and knead it. Form the dough into a bar and make cuts on its surface with a knife, indicating the number of cakes. Place the dough on a plate, cover with a napkin and put it in the cold for 1.5-2 hours, after which you can roll out the cakes.

With this method of preparing dough for Napoleon, the cut part can be turned over and rolled out on either side. This amount of dough makes 4-5 large cakes and 5-6 regular ones.

Fifth recipe for Napoleon cake

Products for the test: 350 g of creamy margarine, 2 cups of flour, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of cold boiled water.

Place flour on a cutting board, finely chop the margarine from the refrigerator and chop until crumbly. Pour into a glass raw egg, shake it, add a teaspoon of vinegar, add salt, stir, adding cold boiled water to the edge and stirring so that the liquid in the glass is homogeneous. Pour the liquid from the glass into the crumbs little by little, continuing to chop until a dough forms.

Divide the finished dough in the form of a bar into 5-6 parts for large cakes or 7-9 for small ones. Place the dough in the cold for 2-3 hours, after which it can be rolled out.

@header CREAM RECIPES FOR “NAPOLEON” CAKE

To layer the cakes, use custard or butter cream, but you can coat the cake with both at the same time.

Making custard for Napoleon

Products for custard: 1/2 liter of milk, 3 eggs, 1 glass of granulated sugar, 100 g of butter, 2 tablespoons (with top) of flour, vanillin.

Ingredients for butter custard: 2 glasses of milk or cream, 1 glass of granulated sugar, 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons (slightly topped) of flour, vanillin (on the tip of a knife), 50-70 g of butter.

To prepare custard for Napoleon cake, pour milk into an enamel pan with a thick bottom and place it on low heat. While the milk is heating, grind the eggs with granulated sugar until the mass becomes homogeneous, then add flour to this mass and stir it so that there are no lumps. Pour hot milk in small portions into the prepared mass, stirring constantly.

Place the pan with the cream on low heat and stir all the time so that the cream does not burn and the flour is brewed without lumps. You need to stir the cream not with a spoon, but with a wooden spatula - it fits more tightly to the bottom of the pan. When the cream thickens to the desired consistency, remove it from the heat, add the butter and stir the cream until the butter melts. Let the cream cool and only then add vanilla.

Custard without vanillin is not as fragrant, although its nutritional value remains unchanged. You can add lemon or orange zest to the custard, or grate chocolate.

Preparing buttercream for Napoleon

Products for buttercream: 300 g butter, 1 can of condensed milk with sugar, vanillin.

To make the buttercream, take the butter out of the refrigerator a few hours in advance to soften it. Beat soft butter with a mixer until fluffy. Then, without stopping whisking, you need to add condensed milk with sugar, 1-2 tablespoons each (condensed milk should also be at room temperature).

The cream is whipped until the entire portion of condensed milk is used and the mass becomes homogeneous and plastic.

If the cream becomes pockmarked while whipping, heat it slightly and beat again.

@header PREPARATION OF NAPOLEON CAKE

After the cakes are baked, the cream is prepared, both are cooled, you can spread the cakes and decorate the cake. Before greasing the cakes with cream, cut off any excess dough from the main size of the cake with a sharp knife. This mainly applies to large cakes that were baked on a baking sheet. Cakes baked in a mold will have less waste. Grind these trimmings or waste - this will be powder for the cake. After you have coated all the cakes with cream, the ends of the cake on all sides should also be greased with cream, and the top and sides of the cake should be sprinkled with powder. You can decorate the cake with nuts or grated chocolate.

If the cakes are not very even, coat them with a thin layer of cream and let stand for 2-3 hours, then use a sharp knife to cut a narrow strip around the entire perimeter of the cake - the Napoleon cake will become even, and then spread the cream on the ends of the cake.

Place the finished Napoleon cake in the refrigerator for several hours so that it is well soaked in the cream.

Bon appetit!

Elena: | December 14th, 2018 | 7:04 pm

You Have It Written “...Gently gather the LIQUID dough (kneading it a little) forming it into a bar...”
Is this a typo?
Answer: Elena, at this moment we add liquid to flour mixture and at the first stage, the dough is really liquid, so it is written there: “(mixing it a little) forming it into a bar or ball.”. Mixing means adding a little flour, but not too much.
Therefore, everything is correct, not a typo.

Elena: | June 15th, 2018 | 7:27 am

The irradiated cake was very tasty, I made it strictly according to the recipe. It stood in the refrigerator for 16 hours, the cakes are soft, the cream is airy and tender. The only thing is that I sprinkled it between each cake. coconut flakes, the tenderness only doubled. The first time I made Napoleon, but now it will be my favorite cake. Thanks for the recipe!
Answer: Elena, great!!! Thanks for your feedback! An interesting addition with coconut flakes)))

Svetlana: | April 13th, 2018 | 7:21 pm

Thank you for great recipe! Everything worked out. Made it for my husband's birthday. This is his favorite cake) I often make cakes, but he liked this one the most. I cooked it in two days. The first day - I replaced the dough and baked the cakes. The second day – I prepared the cream and assembled the cake. On the third day, it was already eaten. Relatives asked them to come and make such a delicious cake again😅
Answer: Svetlana, thanks for the comment! Thank you for sharing)))

Elena: | February 6th, 2018 | 2:04 dp

Once upon a time, I also found the most perfect Honey cake, but my dream became the perfect “Napoleon” cake, and so, studying Grandma Emma’s recipes, I took her recipe and that’s it, my search is over! This is what the doctor ordered, this cake reminded me of that delicious cake from my youth, which my team once received for third place in KVN, ordered at a local restaurant. So this recipe completely corresponds to my ideal Napoleon! It’s better to make the dough in advance, knead it the first evening, put it in the refrigerator overnight, bake it the next day, and then in time, if you want to do it right away with cream, if you want to coat the finished cakes the next day. And overnight for soaking, I leave it on the table where it’s not very warm, in the morning in the refrigerator, it will definitely need to be cooled, it will be delicious. Good luck to everyone in making your dreams come true!
Answer: Elena, thanks for the comment!

Daria: | December 17th, 2017 | 12:02 pm

Good afternoon, please tell me, is it possible to do without apple cider vinegar or replace it with regular or wine vinegar?
Answer: Daria, you can use 9% table vinegar and take 1 tablespoon.

Lia: | December 23rd, 2016 | 11:08 pm

This is just a super recipe, today I decided to repeat it, it turned out quite delicious. Thank you! I will read this site regularly.))
Answer: Lia, bon appetit!

Irisha: | February 13th, 2014 | 7:44 pm

Hello girls!
I also decided to take part in the marathon. I thought for a long time about what kind of cake to make. At the beginning, I honestly admit, I wanted to cheat and choose something simpler, something that I had already prepared. And then…. In general, I opened all the tabs for cakes in front of my husband and said:
- Choose any one.
– Are there any options? Of course “Napoleon”! You've been promising me to learn how to cook it for a year now! - answered the husband.
Well, I had no choice but to agree. To be honest, Napoleon always scared me with puff pastry. I thought that the only way to prepare this dough was to roll it out until the housewife turned blue ;-), until there were at least a hundred layers. ;-) But it turned out to be much simpler! I didn't even expect it myself.
The promising active cooking time of 1.5 hours encouraged us to start, but everything turned out to be not so fast. :-)
I cooked for at least 3 hours, all because of the cake layers. There were 10 of them, each of which did not want to bake faster. in less than 15 minutes. That is, I found myself tied to the oven for 2.5 hours. (although at the same time I managed to fry cheesecakes for my hungry husband and my beloved).
Everything went smoothly with the cream. Not cloying and incredibly tasty!
The husband, who demanded that the sample be taken immediately, received only a spoonful of cream and left in the hope of drinking tea in an hour. His disappointment knew no bounds when it turned out that he would have to wait until this morning. I had to practically guard the refrigerator with the cake so that it would not be dealt with ahead of time.
In general, this morning I got up before everyone else (I promised to come to my mother for the whole day) and was the first to take a sample: the cake turned out to be simply delicious! And when I returned home, an empty tray of crumbs and the satisfied faces of the household were waiting for me.

Natalya: | February 10th, 2014 | 6:30 pm

I decided to try “Napoleon” only because my husband really likes it. But now find a normal cake in the store with the right cream almost impossible. But I don’t have much time during the week, and I had another cake planned for the weekend - I wanted to bake “Prague”. In general, I cheated a little and baked this cake using ready-made puff pastry. There were no problems with the cream. It really turned out very light and airy (and this is taking into account the fact that I haven’t made custard before).

If there are people who are as “lazy” as me, then a couple of tips: roll out the dough as thin as possible (I had a 500 g package and I made 4 cake layers. It could have been 6 or even 8). I did not bake a separate cake layer for the topping. When the main cakes were baked, I simply put them all together and trimmed them evenly along the edges. These scraps were used for sprinkling.

In the end, the cake turned out just wonderful. All the household (and most importantly the connoisseur-husband) really liked it. I’ll take note of the recipe and next time I’ll definitely try it with the original dough.

Maria: | February 8th, 2014 | 11:36 am

That's it, the cake is over! I'm preparing a second one :) for Monday for my husband's colleagues.

Maria: | February 8th, 2014 | 7:09 am

I enjoyed baking the cake. I’ve been wanting to try “Napoleon” for a long time. At the last stages we had to improvise with the finishing, because... my son got to the scraps and ate everything :) (I don’t know how to attach a photo, and the comment from Facebook is not reflected in messages)

Tatiana: | February 5th, 2014 | 8:12 am

oh, I think I'll share a photo

Tatiana: | February 5th, 2014 | 6:12 dp

I made the cake, but it took about three hours, if not more. As usual, I made 20 cakes. The cream turned out the second time, the first time, apparently, either I didn’t bring it to a boil, or I didn’t put in enough flour. The cake is soaked. Whether it’s tasty or not, I’ll find out today after work. Although, if it’s very tasty, I’ll find out only from words. Three men at home)))

Tatiana: | February 5th, 2014 | 6:09 am

I also decided to take part in the marathon. I am many years old, but I don’t know how to cook. With your help I decided to learn. So far, of course, there are many failed recipes and the family periodically asks not to experiment) But I still made my favorite “Napoleon” cake. I left it to soak overnight. And now after work I find out whether I liked it or not: if there is no cake, then that’s what I need. If you just tried the cake. So it’s time to make “The Count’s Ruins”

P.S. How can I attach a photo?)

Answer: Tatyana, you can leave the link, I’ll attach it myself.

Hope: | February 5th, 2014 | 5:39 dp

Yesterday I made it for my husband to work at D.R. My colleagues ate everything and wanted to do this more often)))

Maria: | February 4th, 2014 | 12:18 pm

Good afternoon, I am a vegetarian and cannot use eggs. Can I make a vegetarian option?

Answer: Maria, to be honest, I haven’t tried it without eggs. But in this recipe, it seems to me that they must be present.

Dana: | February 4th, 2014 | 7:20 am

A wonderful cake, a recipe familiar from childhood. The cake is delicious and loved.

Napoleon cake is always a holiday in our family! If anyone has a different opinion regarding this famous dessert, I can say with complete confidence that you have not tried the real Napoleon. All the quick options don't even come close to it. Tasty, but not that good.

Unfortunately, in our time, the store-bought equivalent bears little resemblance to the classic Napoleon cake, so the only option is to try the real, most delicious layer cake with delicate custard, there will be an option self-cooking at home. It's a hassle, but it's worth it!

I hope my step-by-step photo recipe is useful to you.

Cake Napoleon

classic recipe with custard

To prepare you will need very simple and affordable products:

For the test:

  • Wheat flour (premium grade) - 6 cups,
  • Margarine or butter – 2 packs (200 grams each),
  • Chicken eggs - 2 pieces,
  • Salt – 1 teaspoon,
  • Water - 450 ml.

For the custard:

  • Chicken eggs – 4 pieces,
  • Granulated sugar – 0.5 kg,
  • Butter – 0.5 kg,
  • Wheat flour – 4 tbsp. spoons,
  • Cow's milk - 1 liter.

Prepare the ingredients for the dough.

Please note that the cake dough must be kneaded using a knife. This way, cold butter will not melt from the warmth of your hands and will take the amount of flour that is needed. Otherwise, if you overdo it with flour, you risk getting a very hard dough. Whereas ideally thin cakes should be crispy and at the same time tender.

Lightly freeze margarine or butter, this will make it easier to work with. Sift flour onto a work surface. Finely chop the frozen butter into the flour with a knife, adding it from the edge to the center. As a result, you should get dry crumbs.

Now take a half-liter jar and break two chicken eggs into it, fill the rest of the jar with water. Shake the contents thoroughly with a fork, adding salt.

We form a slide from the resulting flour crumbs, make a depression in it and begin to add liquid from the jar.

Again everything will need to be “chopped” with a large knife,

those. You don’t even have to get your hands dirty in the dough.

We add the liquid mixture in parts until it runs out and work with a knife all the time.

Before your eyes, the sand crumbs turn into a homogeneous dough.

As a result of this work, you should get a homogeneous lump.

The finished dough for the Napoleon cake needs to be divided into 16 equal lumps, placed on a board, wrapped in cling film or a bag, and placed in the refrigerator for 20 - 30 minutes. Or freeze slightly in the freezer.

Then we take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll each lump into a thin flat cake, using a minimal amount of flour to sprinkle the table.

The cake should be as thin as possible, literally translucent. Any form. It's easier to roll out rectangles to fit the baking tray. With round cakes it is a little more difficult; they need to be trimmed when raw or finished form, and their number will be greater.

The dough is quite elastic, don’t be afraid to tear it when transferring it to a baking sheet. Even if this happens, there is nothing terrible about it.
The cakes can be pricked with a fork in several places so that they swell less.

Place the baking sheet in the oven, which needs to be preheated to 180 - 200 degrees. Bake the base until a beautiful golden color. While one cake is baking, roll out the next one.

As a result, you should have 16 rosy puff pastries rectangular or slightly more round.


Custard for Napoleon cake

Don't look best recipe, I assure you, this one is perfect!

To prepare it, you need to beat it in a deep bowl. chicken eggs and wheat flour until smooth. It's easier to use a blender.

In a separate tall saucepan with a thick bottom, heat the milk and dissolve in it granulated sugar. There is a lot of cream, the dishes should be capacious. And under no circumstances use an enamel or aluminum saucepan. In the first it will burn, in the second it will color the cream gray when whipped with butter.

Pour the egg mixture into the hot milk and sugar in a thin stream. Stir constantly while doing this. Cook the custard over low heat with constant stirring.

Cook until pureed. Cool the custard mixture to room temperature. Stir several times while cooling to prevent a crust from appearing.

The butter must be taken out of the refrigerator in advance so that it becomes soft.
Before combining with the cream, the butter must be whipped until smooth.

Only then add the cooled cream to the butter in small portions. Not the other way around!

Beat with a mixer until smooth.

All that remains is to assemble our gorgeous cake.

Assembling a puff Napoleon

I'll show you how to make sure your cake plate stays clean when you assemble it. A sheet of baking paper - this small detail is the little secret of your accuracy. Line the bottom of a dish or tray with parchment or paper.

Grease the first cake with custard, cover with the second and press to make the cake denser.

Repeat until all layers have been laid down. Don't forget to compact it. Napoleon must be tight!

It's time to remove the sheet of paper, hold the cake with one hand and pull out the sheet with the other.

You need to make crumbs from scraps or one cake. You can crumble them with your fingers, or you can put them in a bag and roll it with a rolling pin. Sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with the resulting crumbs. My sides are not sprinkled with anything.
To this crumb you can add chopped walnuts or grated chocolate into crumbs, this will not make the cake any worse.

We leave the finished cake in the refrigerator for soaking and hardening of the cream, this may take at least 3 hours, it is better to wait overnight.


I think I’ve convinced you that making Napoleon at home is quite simple and affordable, the main thing is that you have the desire!

In the Guinness Book of Records, sweet Napoleon is mentioned as the largest cake weighing 1.5 tons, it was baked by culinary specialists in the city of Zelenograd.

This layer cake can be found in many cuisines around the world, but it will be called differently. For example, in England you will be served a “vanilla slice”, but in Italy and France you can order at any Mille-feuille cafe and they will bring you a piece of the airy multilayer cake, known to you as “Napoleon”, by the way, translated “millefeuille” means “A Thousand Layers”. But Americans, like us, know this layer cake called “Napoleon”.

There are a great many stories about the creation of this famous dessert, but I would like to tell you one of the most unusual and, in my opinion, the most piquant. As you know, Bonaparte was a big fan of hitting on pretty girls. So one day, while flirting with another cute maid of honor, his wife caught him. And in order to get out of this very spicy situation, Napoleon told her about how he whispered in the ear of a beautiful girl about his newly invented recipe for a delicious cake, which, it turns out, is what made the girl so flushed! The wife pretended to believe her husband, but demanded proof. Bonaparte hastily dictated the recipe for the cake, a complete improvisation. Of course, Bonaparte's cook made some adjustments to the recipe. As a result, for breakfast, the couple had an extraordinary cake on the table, which got its name - Napoleon, in honor of its author.

Well, if we talk about the plausible history of the creation of the cake beloved by many, it was baked for the first time in 1912 by Moscow confectioners for the 100th anniversary of the victory over the French and gave it the name.

All you have to do is defeat your “Frenchman” in the kitchen; the step-by-step photo recipe presented today will help you. Perhaps this cake will become your signature sweet dish, like mine. I have been baking it for more than 10 years, and I thank Natalya Pyatkova for the recipe.

Best regards, Anyuta.

Enjoy your family tea parties!