- For the Pastry Layers
- 750 grams -Flour
- 600 grams Butter
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 5-7% – 1.5 tablespoons of Vinegar
- 220 milliliters of Water
For the Custard Filling
- 1 liter-Milk
- 300 grams-Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 120 grams-Flour
- 320 grams-Butter (room temperature)
- 10 g -Vanilla
Steps to Make It
For the Pastry dough
Let’s make puff pastry for Napoleon cake. We will make instant puff pastry. First of all, prepare the liquid. Break 2 eggs into a measuring cup, add one teaspoon of salt, 1.5 tablespoons of 5-7% vinegar, mix. Add about 220 milliliters of ice water and mix well. In total, we should get 375 milliliters of liquid. Chill liquid in fridge.
2. Pour 750 grams of sifted flour onto the table. e dipping frozen butter into flour, rub it on a coarse grater. Lightly mix the grated butter with flour. In total, we need to grate 600 grams of frozen butter.
3. Collect the sides of grated butter with flour, make a well. Take out the prepared liquid from the refrigerator, pour it into the well. Quickly fold the puff pastry. The dough cannot be kneaded. Gently raise the dough from different sides to the middle, fold it in layers and press. Remove the dough aside and collect the leftovers, adding them to the main piece of dough.
4.Wrap the dough in a plastic bag and send it to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, it is better to keep the dough in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours. Puff pastry for Napoleon cake is ready. Instant puff pastry can be stored in the refrigerator for several days, and in the freezer for several months. It is better to defrost puff pastry in the refrigerator.
Custard Filling
On high heat in medium pan mix together one liter of milk and 320 grams of sugar constantly stirring until sugar is completely dissolved, reduce the heat to medium and leave the milk to heat (do not boil).
2.Break 4 eggs into a bowl, add 120 grams of flour, mix with a mixer (do not beat, just mix) until incorporated
3.Pour one cup of hot milk with sugar into the egg flour mixture , mix, add 1 more cup of milk,once milk is incorporate, place over medium heat and continue whisking frequently until thickened and it just starts to boil Remove from heat.
4.Add 20 grams of butter to the cream, mix, pour the cream into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to cool to room temperature.
5. When cream is cooled to a room temperature,in a separate bowl beat 300g of butter when butter is fluffy add the custard cream to a butter mix together with electric hand or standing mixer. Your cream is ready to use.
Pastry Layers
Heat the oven to 375 F
1.Take out the pastry dough. Divide the pastry dough into 10 pieces. Roll out each portion of dough directly on the prepared baking sheet into a very thin 12-inch circle.
Pierce with a fork about every 1 inch – this will prevent large bubbles from forming as it bakes.
2.Bake each puff pastry cake layer for 5-7 minutes or until lightly golden. Then, remove from the oven and place a 10-inch plate or lid on top and cut around it with a sharp knife collecting all scraps to a bowl. Allow to cool. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
3.Top each cake layer with a generous amount of frosting and spread it around evenly.
4.Smooth out the frosting over the sides and top of the cake.
5.Place the cake layer scraps into a large ziplock bag. Use a rolling pin to crush them into fine crumbs. Press the crumbs over the sides of the cake and sprinkle them evenly over the top of the cake.
6.It is best to refrigerate the cake overnight, so that the frosting soaks into the cake layers and gets really soft and tender.
Let it stand a room temperature for 30 minutes or so before serving.