Napoleon cake recipe from Yulia Vysotskaya. Cake Napoleon: a step-by-step recipe with a photo (classic of the Soviet era)

The name of the person who invented how to bake a Napoleon cake, unfortunately, has not survived to this day. But on the other hand, we absolutely know Napoleon's recipe. This classic cake is made with lots of thin, savory puff pastry layers that are soaked in custard or buttercream.

Home Napoleon is divided into 2 varieties - this is the so-called "wet" cake and "dry". To prepare the “wet” version, you will need custard, and lovers of a denser and crispier consistency choose oil. Which option to prefer is a personal matter for everyone, but you need to try to bake a Napoleon cake at least once. Only by preparing it at home, you can appreciate its delicious taste.

Although it is believed that making a Napoleon cake on your own is very difficult, it is not. The process of preparing this dessert is rather painstaking and time-consuming, but even a novice cook can master it. And step by step instructions will make your work much easier.

Napoleon cake - a classic recipe

According to this recipe, a Napoleon cake is prepared with. Cooking a cake begins with kneading the dough.

Ingredients:

• butter - 400 gr;
• eggs - 2 pcs;
• cold water - 1 tbsp;
• wheat flour - 700 gr;
• table vinegar 9% - 1 tsp;
• fine salt - a pinch.

Cooking method:

1. In one bowl, mix vinegar with water, in another - eggs with salt. Then mix all the ingredients in a common bowl.
2. Flour and butter must be turned into a kind of crumb. This goal can be achieved in 2 ways:
   - the flour is sifted on the table, the softened butter is cut into small pieces, placed in a loose mass and finely chopped with a knife with energetic movements;
   - the flour is sifted into a cup, the frozen butter is rubbed on a fine grater to twist the ingredient, the butter lambs should be regularly mixed with flour, at the end the mass is rubbed between the palms.
3. We collect the butter-flour mass in a hill, make a recess in the middle, carefully pour the liquid ingredients into it.
4. Mix everything together and begin to knead the elastic dough.
5. We divide the resulting dough into 15 equal parts, roll balls out of them, put them in bags and place in the freezer for 1 hour.
6. Napoleon cake layers are baked at a temperature of 180°C.
7. After 1 hour, we begin to take the dough balls out of the refrigerator one by one and roll them into thin cakes. We select a plate of the required diameter, put it on top of the rolled out dough and cut a circle around the circumference.
8. Carefully transfer the cake to a baking sheet, prick in several places with a fork (so that it is less deformed) and bake until golden brown, about 6 minutes.
9. While the 1st cake is being baked, we begin to perform similar manipulations with the second ball of dough, then with the third, and so on.
10. Lastly, we bake the dough scraps, but more browned. A real Napoleon cake is sprinkled with crumbs from such remnants of cakes.
11. Ready cakes must be allowed to cool. And only after that they can be smeared with cream and collected in a cake.

For custard:

• milk - 1 l;
• sugar - 1.5 tbsp;
• butter - 300 gr;
• eggs - 3 pcs;
• wheat flour - 3 tbsp;
• vanillin - 1 sachet;

It is convenient to start using cream while the dough is resting in the refrigerator.

Custard preparation:

1. In a saucepan, carefully combine the eggs, sugar and flour. Slowly add milk, stir again and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened, stirring occasionally with a spoon. We don't boil.
2. Beat room temperature butter with a mixer for 4-5 minutes, add vanillin and custard, mix again for 3-4 minutes. We remove the finished cream in the refrigerator.

Cake assembly:

1. We put the 1st cake on a plate, soak it with 2-3 tbsp. custard.
2. Put the 2nd cake on top, pressing it lightly.
3. So we do with all the cakes.
4. After the processing of the last cake is completed, the sides of the cake must be smeared with cream.
5. Grind the dough trimmings baked to a dark golden color with a blender or just a rolling pin and sprinkle them liberally over the entire surface of the cake, not forgetting about its sides.

As you can see, the Napoleon cake recipe is quite simple. It should not cause difficulties with preparation, even when using it for the first time.

This cooking method is as close as possible to the classic recipe of the Soviet era.

Napoleon cake with butter cream, step by step recipe

These cake recipes differ only in the preparation of the cream, while the cakes are baked in the same way.

For buttercream you will need:

• butter - 300 gr;
• condensed milk - 1.5 cans;
• vanillin - 1 sachet.

Cooking:

1. The butter softens to room temperature and is whipped with a mixer for about 3-4 minutes.
2. Vanillin is poured in and condensed milk is gently introduced. The total whipping of all ingredients is approximately 8 minutes.

The method of collecting cakes and oiling them with cream is the same as in the classic Napoleon cake recipe described above.
Now you know how to make Napoleon cake at home.

In addition to the 2 above recipes, there are a great many others. The fastest option is to bake a cake from ready-made store-bought dough or use puff pastry instead of cakes.

In addition to the usual condensed milk, boiled or caramelized milk can be added to the butter cream. The cakes themselves can be modified if cottage cheese, marscapone or cocoa are introduced into their composition.

The dough can be yeast, shortbread, cooked in a pan. As a layer, along with cream, you can use various berries and fruits.

The surface of the cake can be decorated not only with cake crumbs, but also with chopped nuts, chocolate or coconut chips. But all these options, of course, are far from the Napoleon cake recipe according to GOST.

The classic Napoleon cake recipe is made from a specific set of products. However, there are a few little tricks that will make it easier to prepare:

• butter in the recipe can be replaced with margarine;
• ready-made cakes can be stored for 2-3 days, so they can be baked in advance;
• to reduce the baking time of the cakes, try placing them 2 pieces on one baking sheet;
• cakes really “love” the cream, do not feel sorry for it;
• in order for the cakes to soak really well, the finished cake must stand in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, and preferably 24.

Now that you know all the secrets and nuances, and the delicious Napoleon cake is ready, we wish you bon appetit!

Hello! Do you like Napoleon cake? Do you want to make it for tea? Consider yourself lucky. In this article you will find not only a good Napoleon cake recipe at home, but also some of the subtleties of cooking.
And you need to know them, believe me, in order to achieve the perfect combination of unleavened cakes with sweet cream. After all, it is for this incomparable zest that we love dessert, right?

For beginner confectioners, a Napoleon cake recipe video will be useful. And experienced chefs will be able to get acquainted with new recipes for cake dough.

I had less luck in my time. There was no Internet, at least not available to everyone. I had to elicit the secrets of goodies from my friends. Find the best option by trial and error. That did not work Napoleon, and that's it. Sometimes it came to the ridiculous, because the cake is actually simple.

This I tend to the fact that - you would carefully read all the stages of preparation. Then everything is guaranteed to work. A step-by-step Napoleon cake recipe with a photo will help you.

The most delicious Napoleon cake recipe

I'll make a reservation right away that I wouldn't offend anyone. The most delicious Napoleon cake recipe in the world, of course, in my opinion. But I think you will like it too. Its advantage is 2 creams, custard and oil. The finished product is amazing. Try it here and you will see for yourself.

Briefly about what we need to do.

• Make quick puff pastry.
• Refrigerate it for one and a half to two hours. This is at least. If you prepare the dough in advance, then honor and praise to you.
• Brew cream for impregnation.
• Whisk buttercream.
• Bake the cakes.
• Collect cake.

Preparing for the test

• Margarine 400 gr. (you can use butter if you want)
• Eggs 4 pieces
• Flour 4 tbsp. (by weight 750 gr.)
• Lemon juice 2 tablespoons (you can take vinegar 7 - 9 percent)
• Water 0.75 st. (st.200 ml)
• Salt a pinch.

Custard Ingredients

• Milk 350 ml.
• Sugar 100 gr.
• Butter 30 gr.
• Vanilla sugar 2 tsp
• Corn starch 30 gr.
• pinch of salt
• Eggs 2 pcs.

Butter Cream Products

• Condensed milk 250 gr.
• Butter 200 gr.

I note right away that margarine should be very chilled. You can even put it in the freezer for a while, so that it would be better rubbed on a grater.

Step by step dough kneading and cake baking

Allow baked cakes to cool. You probably paid attention to the fact that the edges of the cakes are uneven? There is such a thing. If you want to trim, it is better to do this after creaming and soaking. Otherwise, the cakes will simply break. After all, they are so fragile and thin.

Cooking custard

Butter cream cooks much faster. You just need to beat soft butter with condensed milk. Three minutes - and the cream is ready.

And now it's time to reveal the secret of the two creams. Custard is the main one. Without it, puff cakes will be dry. It literally soaks them through. A fatty oil enriches the taste. The combination of creams makes the taste of Napoleon cake exquisite and unique. Truly the most delicious in the world.

Custard and butter cream should be combined and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until a homogeneous consistency is obtained.

Napoleon cake assembly

• Stack the cakes neatly but tightly on top of each other. The cream will then spread to the edges. To do this, put a little more in the middle.
• In order for the cream to be enough for uniform coating of all layers, divide it conditionally by the number of cakes.
• If some shortbread is broken, put it in the middle, no one will notice the error.

The handsome man is ready. Happy tea!

The phrase "Soviet Napoleon cake" is a kind of quality mark, forgive me the younger generation. But since the name of the recipe flashes on the Internet, it means that it has stood the test of time and is worthy of your attention.

So, - the Soviet recipe for Napoleon cake at home in the present.

The test will require

• Butter 400 gr.
• Flour 600 gr.
• Salts 0.5 tsp
• Water 150 ml.
• One egg
• Vinegar 9 percent 1 tbsp.

For cream you need to prepare

• Milk 1 l.
• Eggs 4 pcs.
• Sugar 350 gr.
• Flour 4 tbsp
• Butter 150 gr.
• Vanillin 1 pack.

Step by step preparation of puff pastry

Cream recipe step by step

Cake baking and cake assembly

Now you can invite to the table and treat loved ones with delicious treats. The recipe will be appreciated, be calm. The Soviet version just melts in your mouth.

Homemade Napoleon Cake Recipes

The recipes listed above can be called classic. The dough is cooked on the water. Homemade recipes for the famous dessert involve the use of dairy products. Why cakes become more interesting in taste.

The dough is prepared in the usual way. Flour is ground with butter or margarine, then liquid ingredients are added, and the dough is kneaded, which must be kept in the cold for 2 hours.

Option 1. Milk dough recipe

• Margarine 250 gr
• One egg
• Milk 1 tbsp (std 200 ml.)
• Sugar 1 tbsp.
• Soda 0.5 tsp (quenched with vinegar)
• Flour for dough 0.5 kg.
• Flour for dusting 300 gr.

Option 2. Dough for Napoleon on sour cream

• Margarine 250 grams
• Flour 3 tbsp.
• Sour cream 1 tbsp.
• One egg
• Soda 1 tsp (extinguish with vinegar).

I have personally tried the homemade ones. The cakes are exceptionally delicious. Get ready and don't hesitate
How to lubricate the cakes? I recommend the delicious ice cream.

To prepare the custard "Plombir" you will need

• Milk 400 ml.
• One egg
• Starch 40 gr.
• Sugar 200 gr.
• Butter 100 gr.
• Cream 200 gr.

A video recipe will help to prepare an unusual cream. Please take a look, it's interesting. Here is a detailed description of the preparation of the cake at home.

Now you are fully equipped. You can start baking. Enjoy your troubles and delicious, delicate cake on the table!

Cake "Napoleon" is one of the most delicious desserts that is loved all over the world. In Italy and France it is called "Thousand Layers", and in Belgium and the Netherlands there is a similar recipe for the "Tompus" cake, but with whipped cream and pink icing. Interestingly, it is often associated with Soviet times, when it was difficult to buy confectionery, so many housewives learned in practice how to cook a Napoleon cake at home. That is why so many homemade recipes for the Napoleon cake appeared, because each family had its own secrets for preparing this delicacy.

How did the Napoleon cake come about?

In 1912, Russia was getting ready to celebrate the centenary of the victory over Napoleon, and on this occasion, confectioners created a new triangular-shaped puff pastry cake with custard cooked in milk and butter. The French, on the other hand, assign authorship to themselves, adhering to two main versions of how the most delicate dessert was born.

The first story tells how a cunning court cook decided to please Bonaparte and, having bought an ordinary pie, cut it into many layers and smeared it with whipped cream and strawberries. In the second story, the author of the recipe was Napoleon himself, whom Josephine convicted of treason, and he had to come up with a reason why he ended up in the arms of the lady-in-waiting. The recipe for the cake, which the maid of honor allegedly told him, became his alibi. Well, talented people are talented in everything!

How to cook homemade "Napoleon"

The main feature of the classic "Napoleon" is that the cakes are cooked without sugar, but they turn out to be very light, airy and extremely tasty. Not everyone knows what type of dough the Napoleon cake is made from, because in the context it turns out to be very layered. As a rule, puff pastry is used, although there are other recipe options. However, if there is not enough time, the dough can be prepared according to a fresh recipe, as for dumplings. Typically, cakes are made from ice water or milk, butter or quality margarine, salt, vinegar, which gives the cakes a puff structure, and sifted premium wheat flour. Sometimes sour cream, milk, eggs, vodka, beer and cottage cheese are added to the dough. From the finished dough, roll out cakes 1–2 mm thick and bake them for 8–15 minutes in an oven heated to 200 ° C. Most importantly, do not cut the cakes after baking so that they do not break. Trim the finished cake, smeared with cream, so that it turns out beautiful and neat.

Let's talk about how to prepare a cream for "Napoleon". For the cake, they usually make custard, sour cream, butter and butter cream, to which chocolate is sometimes added. After lubrication, the cake is left to soak for 10 or more hours. The finished dessert can be decorated with any nuts - it will become even tastier.

Cooking Napoleon cake at home: a few secrets

Do not add too much flour to the dough - it should roll out well, nothing more. Too steep dough will make the cakes harsh and not very tasty - the cake will lose its tenderness and will not soak well. The cakes should also be thin enough, but you should not feel sorry for the cream: the more it is, the tastier the cake.

Take fatty butter or margarine and be sure to refrigerate it before kneading the dough, but the butter should not be frozen, otherwise you will not be able to roll out the cake, it will begin to tear.

Cakes for "Napoleon" can swell, so pierce them with a fork before baking, then they will turn out perfectly even. If you want to get a tender and juicy cake, spread the cakes immediately after they are ready, and for a crispy effect, it is better to apply the cream on the cakes before serving.

Cake "Napoleon": a step by step recipe

And now check out the recipe for a delicious Napoleon cake with custard. It is not difficult to cook it, but how much joy your loved ones will receive! So, you will need the following products: for the test: water - 160 ml, sifted flour - 400 g, butter or margarine - 260 g, salt - ⅓ tsp, vinegar - 15 ml; for cream: sugar - 300 g, milk - 700 ml, butter - 200 g, chicken eggs - 2 pcs., starch - 20 g, vanilla to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Combine salt, flour and butter in a bowl and grind them until crumbly.

2. Mix ice water with vinegar.

3. Pour water into the oil crumb, stirring constantly.

4. Knead the dough very quickly.

5. Divide the dough into 10 or more equal pieces (it all depends on what size your cake will be).

6. Form koloboks, wrap them in cling film and place in the refrigerator for an hour.

7. Lay baking paper or a sheet of parchment on the table, grease it with oil and roll out each bun in turn.

8. Attach a plate or pot lid to the cake and cut off any excess. Mix the scraps with the next kolobok.

9. Make a few punctures with a fork on the surface of the cake.

10. Transfer the cake with paper to a baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes at a temperature of 200 ° C.

11. For cream, mix sugar with starch and vanilla in a small saucepan.

12. Add eggs to the saucepan and beat well.

13. Pour milk into this mixture.

14. Put the saucepan on the stove and cook, stirring constantly, until the cream begins to gurgle.

15. Add butter to the cooled custard mass.

16. Beat the cream well.

17. Lubricate the dish with cream, lay out the cake, cover it with 3 tbsp. l. cream. Repeat this with all the cakes, reserving one of the cakes for the topping.

18. Leave the cake for 2 hours to soak.

19. Spread cream on the sides of the cake and sprinkle it with crumbled cake.

20. Leave the cake for 10 hours.

The Napoleon cake master class is over, the amazingly tender and melt-in-your-mouth dessert is ready!

Unusual "Napoleon" on beer

A cake made from beer dough turns out to be unusually tender and crumbly and smells very appetizing.

Mix 400 g of sifted flour and 250 g of cold butter, cut into thin slices. Chop the butter with a knife, mix with flour and pour in 200 ml of cold beer. Knead the dough, if it turns out too damp, add more flour to the eye. Divide the dough into 10 pieces and refrigerate them.

Prepare a cream from 400 g of softened butter, cut into pieces, and 450 g of condensed milk - everything needs to be beaten well, vanilla can be added to the cream if desired.

Then take out the pieces of dough one by one from the refrigerator and roll them into cakes of the desired diameter, and then bake in the oven for no more than 10 minutes at a temperature of 180–210 ° C. Assemble the cake in the standard way, brushing the cakes with cream, sprinkle with crushed cake, and then put it in the refrigerator to soak. Decorate the cake with fresh strawberries before serving.

This is a real delicacy!

"Napoleon" from ready-made puff pastry

If you don't have time to make the cake from start to finish, you can use store-bought puff pastry. So, buy 1 kg of dough, defrost it, unfold and cut each layer into four parts, so that you end up with eight parts. Roll each part into a round cake with a greased rolling pin and trim the edges with a plate. Pierce the cake with a fork, and then bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes at a temperature of 180-200 ° C, checking the readiness with a wooden stick. Bake the trimmings together with the cakes too.

For cream, beat a jar of condensed milk and 200 g of soft butter in a mixer. Separately, beat 300 ml of heavy cream until it becomes thick, and then carefully fold it into the buttercream using a wooden spatula.

Spread the cakes without sparing the cream, sprinkle them with chopped scraps, chopped walnuts and refrigerate for at least 10 hours.

A cake made from ready-made store-bought dough turns out to be very layered - the way it should be!

Delicate curd "Napoleon"

Fans of cottage cheese sweets will be happy with this version of the cake. Its taste will not disappoint you!

Mix 350 g of cottage cheese with 1 tsp. salt, and grind 400 g of flour with 350 g of butter until crumbs form. Mix cottage cheese with butter and flour, knead the dough, adding more flour if necessary.

Divide the dough into 8-9 parts, roll into balls and refrigerate for an hour. While the dough is cooling, prepare a cream of 500 ml of fat sour cream and 200 g of sugar by beating the ingredients in a mixer.

Roll out the cakes from each ball, bake them on oiled parchment for 10–12 minutes at a temperature of 200 ° C. Spread the cakes with cream and sprinkle the chopped cake on top. It turns out spectacular and very tasty!

You can find a variety of recipes with a photo of the Napoleon cake on our website. If you also love this dessert, share your cake options and secrets with our readers. Sweets brighten up life and cheer up, so do not deprive yourself of desserts and pamper your loved ones more often!

I have been baking "Napoleon" according to this recipe for 10 years and this cake has become my signature dish!!! Napoleon cake is always a holiday in our family! If someone has a different opinion regarding this famous dessert, I can say with full confidence that you have not tried the real Napoleon. All quick options from ready-made puff pastry are not even close to it. Delicious, but not the same.

Unfortunately, in our time, the store-bought analogue is not much like the classic Napoleon cake, so the only option to try the real, most delicious puff cake with delicate custard will be self-cooking at home. Troublesome, but worth it!

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

For cooking, you will need very simple and affordable products:

Ingredients:

For test:
- Wheat flour (highest grade) - 6 cups,
- Margarine or butter - 2 packs (200 grams each),
- Chicken eggs - 2 pieces,
- Salt - 1 teaspoon,
- Water - 450 ml.

For custard:
- Chicken eggs - 4 pieces,
- Sugar - 0.5 kg,
- Butter - 0.5 kg,
- Wheat flour - 4 tbsp. spoons,
- Cow's milk - 1 liter.

Cooking cakes:

Please note that the dough for the cake must be kneaded with a knife. So the cold butter will not melt from the heat of your hands and will take the amount of flour that is needed. Otherwise, by overdoing it with flour, you risk getting a very tough dough. Whereas, ideally, thin cakes should be crispy and at the same time tender.

Lightly freeze margarine or butter, so it will be easier to work with. Sift flour onto a work surface. In flour, you need to finely chop the frozen butter with a knife, sprinkling it from the edge to the center. As a result, you should get a dry crumb.

Now we 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 there.

From the resulting flour crumbs, we form a slide, make a recess 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.

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

Before our eyes, the sand crumb turns into a homogeneous dough.

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

The finished dough for the Napoleon cake should be divided into 16 equal lumps, laid on a board, wrapped with cling film or a bag, sent to the refrigerator for 20 - 30 minutes. Or lightly freeze in the freezer.

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

The cake should be as thin as possible, literally translucent. Any form. It is easier to roll out rectangles to the size of the baking sheet. With round cakes it’s a little more difficult, they need to be cut in raw or finished form, and their number will turn out to be greater.

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

We send the baking sheet to the oven, which needs to be heated to 180 - 200 degrees. We bake the base until a beautiful golden color. While one cake is baking, roll out the next one.

As a result, you should get 16 ruddy puff cakes of a rectangular shape or a little more round.

Custard preparation:

Look no further for a better recipe, I assure you, this one is perfect!

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

In a separate tall saucepan with a thick bottom, heat the milk and dissolve the granulated sugar in it. There is a lot of cream, the dishes should be capacious. And in no case do not use an enameled 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 mass into the hot milk with sugar in a thin stream. In the meantime, stir constantly. Cook the custard on a quiet fire with constant stirring.

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

Butter must be taken out of the refrigerator in advance so that it becomes soft. Before you combine with the cream, the butter must be beaten until smooth.

Only then, in small portions, add the cooled cream to the oil. Not vice versa!

Beat with a mixer until smooth.

It remains only to collect our gorgeous cake.

Assembly:

I'll show you how to make sure that the cake plate remains clean during assembly. A sheet of baking paper - this little detail is a little secret of your accuracy. We line the bottom of the dish or tray with parchment or paper.

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

Repeat until all layers are laid. Don't forget to tamp. Napoleon must be tight!

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

From scraps or one cake you need to make a crumb. 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 crumbs. My sides are not sprinkled with anything. In this crumb, you can already add chopped walnuts or chocolate grated into crumbs to your liking, this will not make the cake worse.

We leave the finished cake in the refrigerator for impregnation and solidification of the cream, it can take at least 3 hours, it is better to wait overnight.

I think I convinced you that cooking Napoleon at home is quite simple and affordable, the main thing is that there is a desire!

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

This layer cake can be found in many cuisines of 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 Millefeuille cafe and they will bring you a piece of airy multi-layered cake, known to you as Napoleon, by the way, in translation millefeuille means "thousand layers". But the Americans, like us, know this puff cake called "Napoleon".

There are a great many stories of the creation of this famous dessert, but I would like to tell 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, flirting with another cute lady-in-waiting, his wife found him. And in order to get out of this very piquant situation, Napoleon told her about how he whispered in the ear of a beautiful girl about his newly invented recipe for a delicious cake, that, it turns out, from which the girl blushed so much! The wife pretended to believe her missus, but demanded proof. Bonaparte hastily dictated the cake recipe, a complete improvisation. Of course, Bonaparte's chef made some adjustments to the recipe. As a result, for breakfast, the spouses had an extraordinary cake on the table, which got its name - Napoleon, in honor of its author.

Well, if we talk about the plausible story of the creation of a cake loved by many, then 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 Napoleon.

You just have to 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 over 10 years, and I thank Natalia Pyatkova for the recipe.

Many housewives think that the Napoleon cake and its classic recipe from Yulia Vysotskaya are very difficult to prepare and do not even try to take it on. Trust me, this is a mistake!

In fact, you don't have to be an ace in cooking to bake this delicious dessert. Everything is so simple that you will wonder why you were so afraid to approach him. And the cooking itself will bring you a lot of pleasure! The main thing is to start this masterpiece on the eve of the day when you are going to serve it on the table.

The story of my "Napoleon"

The phrases “this is how my grandmother cooked” or “this is our family recipe” are heard quite often. I can say that in my cheerful family this amazing cake was first prepared by my grandfather. He took the recipe from the Rabotnitsa magazine, popular in Soviet times. After some time, he taught my mother how to bake this puff miracle. I refused to participate in all the culinary processes of our house until I was taken to "weak". As soon as I decided to move away from family traditions and ventured to cook another Napoleon cake, the classic recipe from Yulia Vysotskaya helped me a lot with this.

Required Ingredients

For the first test:

• Creamy margarine - 0.2 kg
• Wheat flour - 2/3 of a faceted glass

For the second kind of test:

• Chilled water - about ½ cup
• Egg - 1 piece
• Wheat flour - 2 cups
• Salt - 1 pinch
• Lemon juice - a few drops

For cream:

• Butter (fat content 82%) - 0.2 kg
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Egg - 1 piece
• Milk (fat content 3.2%) - 1/2 cup
• Vanillin - 4 grams (half a sachet)

How to cook dough

First we knead the first type of dough. To do this, pour flour into a convenient bowl, add margarine cut into pieces to it - it should be fresh from the refrigerator. With a knife, crumble the margarine as finely as possible, in the process of this it will combine with flour and you will get a mixture that resembles cottage cheese in consistency. Remember: the smaller the resulting crumb, the better. The resulting "curd" crumbs should simply be molded into a ball. Set it aside for now and take on the second dough.

First, take a third of the required amount of flour, drop lemon juice on it and add salt. Crack an egg into a glass and add cold water to it to 2/3 of the volume of the glass. Beat with a spoon, let the egg mix with water, pour the resulting liquid into the flour. It is easier to start kneading with a spoon, then transfer the dough to a table sprinkled with flour and continue the process. Gradually add the remaining flour. If you don't want a tough puff pastry, make sure it doesn't get tough.

Now roll it out in a not very thin layer - the dough should not tear - into an arbitrary rectangle. We take our first dough and spread it on the second. Roll up in an envelope. We put it on a plate turning over - the envelope seams should be at the bottom - put in the refrigerator for half an hour.

Pulled out of the cold, rolled out, rolled up again and put back in the cold for the next 30 minutes.

Repeat this step three times.

Of course, such a process takes time, but it can be put to good use: cook dinner for your loved ones. Remember the classic Stroganoff liver recipe, you will have enough time to cook it. Or take the time to study the issue: to cook julienne.

How to prepare cream. Start

Take the butter out of the refrigerator to get the desired softness.

Break the egg into a small saucepan, add the sugar and beat until white. Pour in the vanilla and stir. Pour in the milk and place the saucepan over low heat. Now do not be distracted by anything and gently stirring, bring the mixture almost to a boil. Be careful: if the milk boils, the cream will not be the same. Then leave the mixture to cool, it should thicken a little.

Cake baking

Divide the dough envelope removed from the refrigerator into 6-8 parts of equal size. The number of them depends on your form. With its diameter equal to 23 cm, 6 pieces are enough. Less will make more. If you bake on a baking sheet (this is convenient), you will also need 6 shares.

Preheat oven to maximum. Roll out the dough crumb and gently transfer it to the mold. By the way, it is also desirable to warm up a metal or cast iron mold. To prevent the rolled dough cake from tearing, wind it on a rolling pin, transfer it to the mold and unwind it.

Reduce the degrees in the oven to 160-170. The cakes will bake for 10-15 minutes. They should turn golden, brown and rise.

How to prepare cream. Continuation

Lightly beat the softened butter with a spoon. To make the cream homogeneous, smooth, with the correct creamy consistency, slowly, 1 tablespoon, we introduce the cooled egg-milk mixture. After each spoon, do not be lazy to beat the creamy mass, then your custard will turn out perfect.

The final

Assembling a cake is an exciting but very enjoyable process.

By eye, divide your delicate cream into the number of cakes: approximately 2-2.5 tablespoons are spent on each airy cake. Put the cake on the final dish and coat it. Put the next cake on top and lightly press it to the previous one. If it seems to spring under your hands, then in front of you is a real “Napoleonic” airy cake. Gradually lay them all out, layering with cream.

If the lines of the cake are uneven, don't be alarmed. Making them beautiful is easy: pinch off the protruding pieces of cakes and use them for the final topping.

Now the cake needs to be allowed to soak, the night before the holiday is the best time for this.

Any hostess is not immune from mistakes, especially if you are preparing this cake for the first time. This can happen when cooking any dish or baking. For example, I remember very well the surprises that he gave me. The main thing - do not give up and "Napoleon" will definitely submit to you!