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There is no baking required for this napoleon cake! It’s so easy and you’ll be surprised by the “cake” layers. It has all the same great flavors of a classic napoleon cake but it’s really easy to prepare.
This cake is beautiful served plain with the crumb coat but the ring of berries is strikingly beautiful and so easy to create – you’ll want to use it on all of your cakes! The layers soften under the custard cream as it rests overnight making it super simple to slice and giving it the look and taste of a classic napoleon cake.
P.S. If you don’t have a springform mold, by all means, assemble this as a 3 layer cake in a 9×13 glass casserole dish. It will still look really pretty because you can see the layers through the dish and you can even crumb coat the top before you refrigerate so it’s even easier :).
Ingredients for No-Bake Napoleon Cake:
800-900 grams Palmier or “elephant ear” cookies (we buy the 2 lb box from Costco)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 whole eggs + 3 yolks (from large eggs)
1/3 cup corn starch
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
3 cups milk (2% or whole milk)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
Berries to Decorate the top
What You Will Need:
9″ springform pan (or a 9×13 glass casserole dish)
Cake platter
How to Make No-Bake Napoleon Cake:
1. In a medium saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks and thoroughly whisk together 1 minute. Add 1/3 cup corn starch and whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1/2 cup condensed milk. Add 3 cups milk while whisking. Once milk is incorporate, place over medium heat and continue whisking frequently until thickened and it just starts to boil (8 to 10 min)*. Remove from heat right away.
*Tips for success: Stir custard often on the stove, and whisk constantly towards the end so it doesn’t get lumpy. As soon as you feel it starting to thicken, watch it closely since the boil can be hidden by the milk foam at the top.
2. Whisk in 1 Tbsp vanilla extract then add pieces of butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Cover the surface with plastic wrap so a film does not form and let stand at room temperature for one hour until just barely warm.
3. While custard cools, prep cookies and cut in half if they are large so you can fit more in the pan. To slice, stack a few cookies and saw carefully with a serrated knife. For the crumb coat, place 3-4 cookies in a large ziploc bag, seal and crush with a rolling pin.
4. Remove the base of a 9″ springform pan and place the tightened ring over the center of a cake platter. Spread 4 heaping Tablespoons of custard into the center, holding the ring steady. Arrange as many cookies as you can fit in a single layer into the bottom of the pan**. Cover with 5 heaping Tablespoons of custard and spread evenly with a spatula. Repeat with remaining cookies and custard until you have 4 layers of cookies. Spread remaining frosting over the top, sealing any gaps. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
**Add broken pieces of cookie to fill any large gaps.
5. Once you take the cake out of the refrigerator, run a thin spatula or knife around the edge to loosen it from the pan. Sprinkle crushed cookies over the top and sides, gently patting to get a good crumb coating. Arrange berries over the top in a ring and serve.
No-Bake Napoleon Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Napoleon Cake:
- 800-900 grams Palmier or "elephant ear" cookies, we buy the 2 lb box from Costco
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 whole eggs + 3 yolks, from large eggs
- 1/3 cup corn starch
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 3 cups milk, 2% or whole milk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 stick, 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- Berries to Decorate the top
What You Will Need:
- 9 " springform pan, or a 9x13 glass casserole dish
- Cake platter
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks and thoroughly whisk together 1 minute. Add 1/3 cup corn starch and whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1/2 cup condensed milk. Add 3 cups milk while whisking. Once milk is incorporate, place over medium heat and continue whisking frequently until thickened and just starts to boil (8 to 10 min)*. Remove from heat right away.
- Whisk in 1 Tbsp vanilla then add butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Cover custard surface with plastic wrap so a film does not form and let stand at room temperature for one hour until just barely warm.
- While custard cools, prep cookies and cut in half if large to fit more in the pan. To slice, stack cookies and saw carefully with serrated knife. For the crumb coat, place 3-4 cookies in a large ziploc bag, seal and crush with rolling pin.
- Remove the base of a 9" springform pan and place the tightened ring over the center of a cake platter. Spread 4 heaping Tablespoons of custard into the center, holding the ring steady. Arrange as many cookies as you can fit in a single layer into the bottom of pan**. Cover with 5 heaping Tablespoons custard and spread evenly with spatula. Repeat with remaining cookies and custard until you have 4 layers of cookies. Spread remaining frosting over the top, sealing any gaps. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Once you take the cake out of the refrigerator, run a thin spatula around the edge to loosen it from the pan. Sprinkle crushed cookies over top and sides, gently patting to adhere crumbs. Arrange berries over the top and serve.
Notes
**Add broken pieces of cookie to fill any large gaps.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
I hope you love this simple and yummy no-bake napoleon cake!
Hi Natasha,
Do you think it’s ok to make the custard a day ahead and assemble the next day?
Hi Lulu, the custard thickens with refrigeration so it’s really best to assemble before refrigerating.
Ok thanks! Glad I waited for your reply:) and if I’m going to make it in the 9×13 pan, is cutting the cookies necessary?
Hi Lulu, it depends on the size of your cookies. You can leave them whole and fill in with smaller pieces of cookie. I’ve found that cutting the cookies I had in half allowed me to fit an extra cookie with less spaces. 🙂
Wow. such a great idea. My husband loves Napoleon cake. but i dont bake very often, no time for baking layers. this is great idea. will try it.
Silvia, let me know how it turns out 😬
Hi Natasha, I want to make the Napoleon cake to go along with my kulich for Easter. Just wondering if I can make this ahead of time?
Hi Lena, this cake can be made a day in advance (max 2 days in advance). Happy Easter!
Would you suggest another cream for this cake instead of custard. I would love to give this cake a try but not a big fan of custard cream.
You might try the frosting on my Spartak cake. I think that would work well 🙂
I just made it and put it in the refrigerator to cool down. I am not sure if I can wait 24 hours to try 🙂
Julia, let me know how it turns out 😀
It turned out to be delicious!!! My dad and my my baby girl loved it especially 🙂
That’s great! I’m happy to hear the whole family enjoys the recipe!
I made the Blueberry-Lemon Cake yesterday and it was wonderful! I used frozen blueberries and had to improvise with some plain Greek yogurt since I did not have enough sour cream! It worked out very good!
I’m happy to hear that Mara! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi! Quick question about the custard. It seems a bit runny at the moment (its warm and has the consistency of buttermilk, maybe slightly thicker). Will it get thicker once it cools down?
Thanks for the help!
Hi Vitaliy, it should be the consistency of a thick putting when you take it off the stove and before it starts cooling down. Did you change anything about the proportions in the recipe, or make any substitutions?
I’ve been to 4 different stores including Costco can’t find the elephant ears, anything I could use instead?
Oh bummer!! Our Costco definitely had the best price on those. They get a little spendy when you try to buy them online. The next best thing would be to use frozen premade puff pastry. I have not experimented with any other cookies. you might check my other Napoleon recipe to get an idea of how to do it.
Walmart sells them in the Hispanic Food aisle! That was the only place I could find them.
I went to Costco and could not find them in the first place. And then I just found it on the costco online store and asked someone who works there. They directed me to the right place and found these elephant ears cookies 🙂 I suggest you ask, because in costco they always move their stuff around.
Oh my goodness. As a card-carrying LOVER OF NAPOLEONS, this cake looks like heaven to me. Thank you for the inspiration!
It is AMAZING! Please let me know what you think if you decide to make the recipe! 😀
Natasha, I made this cake for my daughters 1st birthday! I was very pleasantly surprised at how identical the flavors are to the “real” Napoleon Cake! And the berries add so much color and flavor and just enough zing to balance the sweetness of the cake!
This one is definitely a keeper. Especially for unexpected occasions when you just don’t have time to bake all the layers!
Thank you for the recipe! 👌
I’m so happy you enjoyed it and happy birthday and blessings to your baby girl!! 🙂
Loveee icebox cakes!I will definitely make this one so clever to use palmiers awesome idea! 😄🖒
Thanks Nina! Please let me know what you think!
Yum! I wouldn’t have thought to use Palmiers this way. What a good idea!! And love all the fresh berries on top. So bright looking 🙂
Thank you Lindsay! It tastes as good as it looks! 😀
Hi Natasha
I have if will make the cake Thursday is it going to be okay till Friday or Saturday ?
Yes that should work fine but I wouldn’t go longer than that. Also, Its best to put the berries on the same day you are serving.
Hi can you use arrowroot instead of cornstarch
Hi Lina, I haven’t tried that substitution so I’m not sure if you could substitute straight across in this recipe or if it would change the consistency. Without testing it, I really can’t advise on that.
Thank you for the reply
Can i use flour instead of corn starch?
Hi Kristina, it does work with flour – I’ve tested it, but the corn starch gives the custard a smoother consistency/texture. You can kind of tell that there’s flour in it if you use it – it has more of a pasty flavor to it which I didn’t think was as good.
So does the cake come out soft? And how sweet is it would you say?
Hi Alena, after resting overnight, the cake is soft and easy to slice. The custard softens the layers just right :). Also, it’s not overly sweet but very enjoyable. I’m not big on overly sweet cakes 🙂
Oh wow!! This looks so perfect. I love the process of making the custard. I often buy custard powder but it would be fun to make it from scratch.
What brand of custard to you buy? I wonder how that would work here – probably even easier! 🙂
I would never have thought of making a cake with those cookies! I’m intrigued! Now I just might have to give this recipe a try!
It really is a handy shortcut! I hope you love it! 🙂
Natasha! Stunning recipe!!! Can you post a recipe of the original Napaleon cake? I want to learn how to make the original cake layers and trust your recipes.
Hi Oksana, this is a more classic version of napoleon cake, although I used a store-bought puff pastry. You did just give me an idea though for a puff pastry recipe! 🙂 Thanks Oksana!!
Is your custard the same in that recipe as this one?
Hi Oksana, this one is quite a bit lighter and uses half of the butter. Both are very good though – also the cream on the other cake is slightly more caramel colored from the brown sugar.
Looks very unique. I’ll have to try it out.
It’s divine, you’ll love it! Let me know what you think Emily. 😀