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One of my readers, Natalia wrote in with this old family recipe for Napoleon cake (Mille-feuille). I doubled this recipe to make a large Napoleon cake for our Mother’s Day church potluck and there was not a slice left! Thank you Natalia for sharing this family recipe!
I don’t claim to be a professional cake decorator, so I’m sure you can make it much prettier than mine, but non-the-less, it was смачненьке (delicious)!! This cake is best served the following day after the cake layers have had a chance to soften from the cream.
Ingredients for Napoleon Cake:
1 lb package of Puff Pastry (Pepperidge Farm brand), thawed according to package instructions.
2 eggs
1 cup light brown sugar (or 1/2 brown sugar, 1/2 white sugar)
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour *measured correctly
1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla powder, optional
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
You will need:
1 large sheet of parchment paper.
How to Make Napoleon Cake Cream:
1. Whisk 2 eggs and 1 cup light brown sugar in a medium sauce pan – do not beat, just mix.
2. Whisk in milk and flour and put the pot on medium-low heat
3. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally – (stir more often towards the end so it doesn’t get lumpy) until it becomes thick, like pudding (approx 15-17 minutes).
4. Remove from heat and let it cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Prep the puff pastry in the mean time.
5. Once the mixture has cooled a little, add softened butter to the cream and beat the mixture on medium/high speed for a few minutes. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla powder. The cream is ready.
How to Make Napoleon Cake Layers:
Preheat the oven to 400 ˚ F.
1. Roll 1 of the puff pastry sheets onto a large sheet of parchment paper until the dough is double in size and nearly see-through. Thinner is better!
2. Cut the rolled out sheet into 4 equal squares (about 6″x6″ each).
3. Poke Holes all over the top of the pastry or it will puff up. Make sure to really poke all the way through the dough.
4. Place the parchment paper with dough onto a large cookie sheet. Bake at 400˚ F for 12-13 minutes or until tops are golden. These are easy to burn so keep an eye on them! Set pastry aside, and place the same parchment paper on a cool surface. Re-use the paper to roll out and bake the next sheet of pastry. Repeat steps 1 through 3 for the second sheet of pastry dough.
5. Once the frosting is finished, assemble the cake by placing 2 sheets of pastry side by side and spreading a generous amount of cream over the top. Repeat with all of the pastry. Before glazing the top, gently press down on the cake to make it more compact.
6. To make the topping, Trim the edges of the cake to make it more uniform. Crumble the cut-off sections and sprinkle over the top. (If cut-off pieces do not crumble easily, you may need to bake them until they are browned). Sprinkle 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts evenly over the top.
Notes: My photos are for a double size of this cake. This recipe is for a smaller rectangular cake. You can make a larger cake by exactly doubling the ingredients.
Cover and refrigerate the napoleon cake overnight then let it stand at room temperature about 2 hours to soften prior to serving. This cake is best served the following the next day after the cake layers have had a chance to soften from the cream overnight.
Napoleon Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb package of Puff Pastry, Pepperidge Farm brand, thawed according to package instructions.
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup light brown sugar, or 1/2 brown sugar, 1/2 white sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1/2 lb unsalted butter,, or 2 sticks butter, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder, optional
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Whisk eggs and sugar in a medium sauce pan - do not beat, just mix.
- Whisk in milk and flour and put the pot on medium-low heat.
- Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally - (stir more often towards the end so it doesn't get lumpy) until it becomes thick, like pudding (approx 15-17 minutes).
- Remove from heat and let it cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Prep the puff pastry in the mean time.
- Once the mixture has cooled a little, add softened butter to the cream and beat the mixture on medium/high speed for a few minutes. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla powder. The cream is ready.
How to Make Napoleon Cake Layers:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Roll 1 of the puff pastry sheets onto a large sheet of parchment paper until the dough is double in size and nearly see-through. Thinner is better!
- Cut the rolled out sheet into 4 equal squares (about 6"x6" each).
- Poke Holes all over the top of the pastry or it will puff up. Make sure to really poke all the way through the dough.
- Place the parchment paper with dough onto a large cookie sheet. Bake at 400°F for 12-13 minutes or until tops are golden. These are easy to burn so keep an eye on them! Set pastry aside, and place the same parchment paper on a cool surface. Re-use the paper to roll out and bake the next sheet of pastry.
- Repeat steps 1 through 3 for the second sheet of pastry dough.
- Once the frosting is finished, assemble the cake by placing 2 sheets of pastry side by side and spreading a generous amount of cream over the top.
- Repeat with all of the pastry. Before glazing the top, gently press down on the cake to make it more compact.
- To make the topping, Trim the edges of the cake to make it more uniform. Crumble the cut-off sections and sprinkle over the top. (If cut-off pieces do not crumble easily, you may need to bake them until they are browned). Sprinkle 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts evenly over the top.
Notes
I have used this recipe for the last 5years or so. Thank you for publishing it as its a great location to come back to 🙂 The cake reminds me of my childhood.
Thank you so much, Katya! So happy you love this recipe.
Hi Natasha
I mage this last night and put it in fridge, but the cream came out a little grainy. Is that normal? And it not so sweet. The light brown sugar didn’t make it very sweet. I didn’t add vanilla powder,
Want to ask why the recipe for brown cream and not white
I’m worried that it’s not going to be good
Hi Irina, was your butter room temperature when it was added? Adding butter that is too cold could cause it to separate. I would suggest beating a little more to see if it comes together better, but if the frosting tastes good, it should still work just fine for the cake even if it is a little grainy. I hope that’s helpful.
I just ordered all the stuff for this recipe. Wife Marina’s birthday is next week. She *loves* Napoleon. I plan to make the cream in my Thermomix cooking blender. It’s got a “thicken” mode which starts out at a low temperature and slow stirring. Then it gradually raises the temperature and speeds up so the sauce will not be lumpy.
Don’t know whether to use the “egg based sauce” mode or the “flour based sauce” mode, because it’s got both of them.
Hi Jerry! I am not familiar with using a Thermomix cooking blender to know how to advise. Sorry I can’t be more help.
Cake was delicious, however it should be disclosed that the brown sugar changes the color in the cream, you get a lot of questions why it looks brown, also when recipe is updated to reflect doubling the recipe in the printing section it changes the butter quantity to the wrong amount, also the wording could be better “1/2 pound or 2 sticks” makes it easier to understand the recipe.
HI Sam, thank you for pointing that out. I completely agree with you and it should read 1/2 lb or 2 sticks of butter – I have updated the recipe card to make that more clear.
Your cream filling for the no bake napoleon is delicious. Could it be used with this puff pastry napoleon recipe?
Hi Oksana! I think that would work fine. 🙂
is the cream filling what is used to “glaze” the top? Or is that a difference mixture of powdered sugar etc?
Love your recipes. All come out exactly as pictured! Will custard from your no-bake Napoleon work with these layers?
Hi Marina, I haven’t tried that custard here so I can’t say for sure. Possibly?
Tried. Came out really good! Wish could attach the picture. One thing to note- it seems the quantity of that other custard is at least double of what you have in this recipe. I had enough to generously layer the cake and cover all the sides. If use the custard from this recipe, will there be enough to cover the sides?
Thank you again!
Love all of your recipes, especially this one
Made this cake many times. But this past time made it without the nuts and added a can of cooked condensed milk to the cream. It was so so good! Everyone loved it so much!
So wonderful to hear that! Thank you for your great feedback, Inna.
I made this today for Father’s day. I am Brazilian and my husband is Ukrainian, and we live in US. I will tell you that Ukrainians have very high standards for food lol but everyone loved the cake. I made it 48 hours ahead and it was great. Thanks for the wonderful recipe Natasha. Every time I try something from your website it always turns out awesome. BTW I am loving the tips you are sending to be a better cooker 💓
Wow, that is a great compliment. Thank you so much for sharing that with us and for giving this recipe an awesome review!
Hi…how long is the cream good in the fridge till I use it for the cake? I want to do it ahead of time as much in advance as possible. Thankyou
Hi Ali, this cake is best when it is made and assembled a day ahead. I usually add the cream right away. I think it would be ok to refrigerate but if it firms up, you might let it sit at room temperature before using or until it’s soft enough to spread over the cake layers.
Hi. Keen to try this. How long will it last in the fridge (assembled)? And, how far in advance could I make the cream before assembling? TIA.
Hi Tanya, If it’s a day ahead, I’d put the cream in the fridge and bring it back to room temperature before using it – or just until it’s spreadable. We have made this more than 24 hours prior to serving and it was perfect. I have not tested it days ahead however.
Hi Natasha,can I use regular white sugar instead?thank you
Hi Angela, I have only tested it with 1/2 light brown and 1/2 white sugar or all brown sugar – the brown sugar has molasses which adds nice color to the cream, but it should still work with all white sugar.
Can I add vanilla essence instead of vanilla powder? If so, how much?
Hi RG, I haven’t tried that with vanilla essence so I won’t be able to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Hi can I use a thick store bought ready made custard and had thick cream to it, instead of making the pastry cream?
Hi Deb, without experimenting with the specific custard cream myself, it is difficult to recommend that. You might add the cream to it in a small batch to make sure it incorporates and doesn’t curdle. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes.
This was beyond delicious!!! I can’t wait to make it again and possibly use a coconut or chocolate or custard.
First, i want to say that cake tastes delicious) and quite easy to make)
Yum!!!
My 9 year old daughters favorite cake is Napoleon) so she helped me make it. We all liked how it tasted. Thank you!
Question:
Should i put it in the fridge right after assembly? Or let it sit on the counter room temp so it softens? Cuz it doesnt say in the directuons. I put it straight in the fridge and it didnt get soft until i took it out and let it sit in the counter for a bit. Hope it makes sense)
Ps. Hristos Voskres!🙂
Hi Viktoriya, He is Risen Indeed! 🙂 To answer your question, we usually cover and refrigerate the napoleon cake overnight then let it stand at room temperature about 2 hours to soften prior to serving. I added that tip in the instructions. I’m so glad you loved the cake!
Dear, in your printer version decription, you wrote:
this spartak cake…..
Did you mean:
This napoleon cake?
Love your recipes!
Be blessed)
Hi Viktoriya, thank you for catching that 😀. I just updated the recipe.
Hi Natasha, I have a party on Saturday evening. Can I make it Thursday night for Saturday? That’s like 2 days ahead.
Hi Anie, That will work great since this cake is best served after the cake layers have had a chance to soften. I would keep it covered and refrigerated until Saturday.
Hi Natasha ! I absolutely love this recipe! I been adding a extra step to mine and love it. I beat heavy whip topping with little sugar. Then frost the cake with the original and the whip topping. Then add fresh berries on top. After a few hours, it’s well adsorbed and super yummy! Thank you, you make being a mom such much easier! 😀
It’s my pleasure Tanya! I’m glad you love the recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review with other readers!
Hi Natasha, do i have to cut the pastry in 4’s if im doubling the recipe, or can i just do whole sheet for 1 layer?
Hi Julie! I have found that the pastry bakes the most evenly when I cut it into 4’s. If you do try 1 whole sheet of pastry, make sure you poke all around with a fork so it doesn’t rise unevenly.