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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
Hi Natasha, I’m a little confused. In the recipe you say 1/2 Lb butter = 8oz (you put 2 sticks) .Now each stick has 8ozx 2 = 1 Lb ??
Marimar, stick of butter that I use has a 4oz weight. They usually come in the pack of four (1 lb).
Thank you so much for always answering, you are very professional. I am obsessed with your recipes
My pleasure! 😀
Hi Natasha I loved your recipes. I havea question this cream is the same as pastry cream?
Hi Marimar, yes this is basically a simplified version of pastry cream.
Yum! How long does this cake stand and when is it best served?
Hi Julia, this cake is best served the next day after it has had a chance to soften with the cream.
Natasha, how are you today? I want to try and make this cake. I have mastered Tiramisu so great that my husband doesn’t order it in the restarants any more and his business partners make special requests. Now, I want to master Napoleon, our country symbol.
Tel me please, are your cake cream measurements for 2 pastry sheets (8 rectangular pieces) or only 1 sheet? I am trying to see if I need to double them from your cream description. Since you say cream should be layered generously, I want to have enough. After all, cream is what makes Napoleon to stand out from all other pastry cakes!
Also, I looked through some other recipes, their cream is white. In my life I have seen Napoleon with white and golden beige color creams, all tasted good. But I keep thinking that yours is much closer to the real deal, the one we are used to in old Soviet Union 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Mila! I’m so glad you are enjoying the Tiramisu! This cake is for 2 pastry sheets or 1 lb package of Puff Pastry (Pepperidge Farm brand). If you use 2 boxes of puff pastry (2 lbs), you will want to double the cream.
Natasha, thank you.
But what about cream? Is your description for cream for 2 pastry sheets (8 rectangular pieces)? I want to follow the instructions the way you described:
2 eggs and 1 cup light brown sugar, 1 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, 2 sticks of unsalted butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla powder, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.
Only need to know if I use that much cream on 2 sheets of pastry or less?
Sorry if I got you confused.
Thank you.
Natasha, I will just go ahead and use your exact recipe for 2 sheets and if I need more cream I will repeat the whole 2 eggs and 1 cup sugar process. Will play by ear.
Thank you!
Hi Mila, yes, it is as you described for 8 pieces (2 large pastry sheets sliced into 8 total pieces). You will want to double the cream if doubling the amount of puff pastry. Also, I think I should update and overhaul this recipe to make it more clear. Thanks for asking and bringing that to my attention. 🙂
I originally came to your website when I googled Napoleon cake. I have since fallen in love with your website. I tried this recipe (among many others of Napoleon) and I find it the closest to the “real” deal. All the recipes in Russian weigh the ingredients and they give everything in grams and some people use condensed milk which isn’t really the “real” thing. But your cream tastes the best. The puff pastry, I end up buying the long thin sheets in a speciality store so that it has more layers and they are thinner so the cake is more most (in my humble opinion). But in a pinch I have the pastry sheets you use too and I’ve made your recipe with those too and they taste just as good. 🙂 Thank you again! Please keep them coming!
Hi Ksenia, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful review! 🙂 I bet the long sheets are nice to work with!
Would a store bought pie crust work for this recipe?
Hi Vika, honestly I’ve never tried that before but you would end up with a completely different cake using pie crust.
My pastry cream ‘broke’ (separated and looked grainy, although didn’t taste gritty). I found a solution online that worked for me – I gently warmed about 1/3 cup of heavy cream in a pot over med-low heat and then whisked the broken cream in one large spoonful at a time. It turned out glossy and smooth. Just in case anyone else runs into this problem – you don’t have to start over!
Than you so much for sharing your tip!
Can I make it a day ahead ?
Anna, yes.
I like the cake. Hope i can make I did once studying in Voronezh 1994. Want to make it again,
Thanks
I hope you love it!
Hello Natasha!
I have a quick question about the creme. I made it ahead of time and I’m wondering if I should keep it at room temperature or put it in the fridge?
Delicious creme! My kiddo was all over the mixing spoon 😜
Hi Korolina, How far ahead of time did you make it? If it’s just a couple hours, you can leave it at room temperature. If it’s a day ahead, I’d put it in the fridge and bring it back to room temperature before using it – or just until it’s spreadable.
I made this cake last night and let me tell you I’m glad I did my husband said it’s going to be his almost favorite cake. What I did notice though is that 12 min was too much time for the dough one of my rectangles burnt so I kept it for 9 min my second round and it came out perfect 🙂 . Today we enjoing this cake with some coffee !
Thanks again for your wonderful recipes 🙂
You are welcome Irina and thank you for the great review :).
Hi Natasha- beautiful recipes you have here! Keep up the good work! Anyways, I was at my sis-in-laws baby shower and the cake looked very similar to this one you posted here, except it had crushed pistachios in it as well (and what seemed like honey bc it had a sticky texture??). The cake was AMAZING, and so I was wondering if you know of that cake, or if it is perhaps this same recipe with just pistacios, honey, etc. added to it. I know its hard for you to realize since you didn’t try the cake but I am only asking because I know the cake baker is born and raised in Russia! 🙂
hmm… it almost sounds like you are describing baklava. That would be delicous to create a baklava-type of napoleon cake. Here it is if you haven’t seen it yet.
Well now there is only one way to find out- I’ll have to make that baklava! Thank you so much for your truly inspiring recipes.
I’m sure this cake is lovely, but my cream did not turn out, its so thin, I don’t know how I will apply it on the cake. Any advice? I need to thicken it up, its kind of watery :/
Thank you!!
Hi Olga, did you let the cream cool for the full 15-20 minutes before adding the butter? Also, was it thick like pudding when you turned the heat off? It should thicken slightly as it cools. You could refrigerate it temporarily to thicken it up if it’s very watery. The cream wasn’t very thick for me either and that is how you want it (see photo after step 6). I hope that’s helpful.
Very good I really like your webside.
Thanks Lu! 🙂
Natasha, thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. How do you rollout the pastry on parchement paper without having it slip and slide all over the counter?
Carefully ;). To be honest, I haven’t found an awesome method for preventing sliding. It helps somewhat when I place the parchment paper over my large cutting board which is a slightly less slick surface. 🙂
Hi Natasha, I made the individual layers for the cake and am wondering if l should leave the layers in a bag over night and then assemble the cake tomorrow? Or would that not be good for the cake?
Hi Emmy! You can absolutely put the cooled cake layers in a plastic bag and leave them out at room temp overnight 🙂
I am a fan of Natasha’s recipes. We tried borscht a few weeks back and it was to die for. Unfortunately I am a bit disappointed with this recipe. Although, it is nice it’s not really what the traditional Russian Napoleon cake is like. I think that making the holes in the pastry is probably unnecessary as it stops the pastry from rising and as a result the cake does not have the fluffiness that Napoleon cakes usually have. It’s nice, but I was expecting something else.
I’m so happy to hear that you are a fan of my recipes :). Thank you Elsa! I’ve tried without poking the holes in it and it was way way way too fluffy and difficult to assemble, and it also became mis-shappen. It may be an issue with store-bought puff pastry. I posted this recipe quite a while ago and I do think it’s time for me to re-visit it and see what improvements I can make. Thanks for taking the time to provide feedback 🙂
Hi, I’m trying to make this cake today and when i read in the ingredients for the cream it says 2 sticks of butter but in your picture there is 4 sticks, did you double the cream for the cake?
thanks
Yes the pictures double all of the ingredients because I was making it for a church potluck (I believe there is a note in there somewhere). I have to re-do the pictures on this recipe. Sorry for the confusion.
Hi Natasha, I want to try this, but a confused a little:
how many layers of pastry should it be, without doubling?
If you make the recipe without doubling it, you will have a cake that is 4-layers high. You’ll end up with a total of 8 squares of puff pastry that you will stack and place next to each other to get a rectangular cake.
I’ve never had this before. Is it supposed to served warm the day it’s made or chilled and served the next day? Thanks!
It’s best overnight after the flavors meld and the layers soften. You can refrigerate overnight but serve it at room temp 🙂
Natasha, I am planning to double the recipe, so I’ve bought 2 packs of dough. I am wondering if it’s ok to cut the rolled dough in half instead of 4 pieces? So this way I would have a large cake instead of two side by side cakes? What is your thought of this idea?
Thank you for taking your time answering!
Tanya, Chicago IL
I still cut it into 4 pieces when making the large cake and then put them side by side before frosting them. This way they will rise more evenly. Keep a close eye on it since they tend to get dark quickly! 🙂 The cake will soften with time and you won’t be able to tell it was “pieces” of cake ;).