Classic Napoleon Cake Recipe: Flaky Layers with Creamy Custard Filling

There are endless options for Napoleon cake recipe on the Internet: soaked or crispy, with many layers and not so much, low and high, airy and dense, vanilla and chocolate, with berries and caramel – for every taste.

Here in this post we’ll figure out what the classic version of Napoleon cake recipe consists of, how to make it, what and how you can change it, and, in the end, find your perfect combination.

So, to begin with, let’s distinguish 2 components in this cake: cake layers and frosting. They both have an equal impact on the taste and texture of the future cake.

Pastry for the Napoleon cake

The classic version of the dough for Napoleon cake recipe is unleavened puff pastry. You can buy it ready-made, but we will make it ourselves. In this recipe, I use the simplest version of puff pastry – in Ukraine we call it “chopped dough“. The active stage of cooking takes about 10-15 minutes, plus time for rolling out and baking the crusts (about 1-1.5 hours). Take high-quality butter, do not replace it with margarine, as it affects the taste and structure of the dough.

The puff pastry we will prepare can be stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 1 month in the freezer. It is convenient to prepare it for future use: you always have a blank for puff pastry buns, pie, cake, or any other puff pastry dishes at hand. I have 2 more recipes for puff pastry, but they are more complex and worthy of separate articles, so let’s start with a simple one.

The Napoleon cake frosting

According to the classic Napoleon cake recipe, it is made with custard. If you like a well-moistened Napoleon cake, this version will suit you.

And for those who like more crispy Napoleon cakes, I would advise you to try Diplomat frosting. This is a frosting based on custard, to which either whipped cream or whipped butter is added. Depending on what is added (cream or butter), Napoleon cake will be softer or crispier. Actually, the formula is not complicated: the more fat the frosting contains, the more crispy the Napoleon cake will be.

So, take the following recipe for the Diplomat frosting as a basis, and modify it as you wish:

• do not add whipped cream – get a well-soaked Napoleon cake;
• replace the whipped cream with whipped butter to get a crispy Napoleon cake;
• or cook everything strictly according to the recipe without changing anything – you will get a medium-soaked Napoleon cake: the pastry layers are soft but textured, not crispy, but not moist either.

How to make a Napoleon cake look perfect

1. Bake crusts of the same size.
   This is problematic because puff pastry tends to shrink and lose its shape during baking. That is, for example, you can cut out a circle of dough with a diameter of 16 cm (6 inch), and after baking, you will get a 12×14 cm (4.7×5.5 inch) oval. This option is more suitable for baking large cakes, where the difference in size will not be so noticeable due to the general size of the crust.
2. Cut out the desired shape of the crust immediately after baking.
   This is a more reliable way to get the crusts of the required shape. Before baking, I advise you to outline the contours on the crusts, along which you will then cut out the shape you need. Leave the scraps to decorate the cake.
3. Cut off the excess from the finished cake.
   A square cake will not be a problem at all, but a round cake will require a little bit of work.

The given amount of products makes a cake about 7-10 cm (2.8-3.9 inch) high and 18 cm (7.1 inch) in diameter.

Ingredients for the Napoleon Cake Recipe

Chopped puff pastry

• all-purpose flour
• unsalted butter
• egg
• cold water
• apple cider vinegar (or rice vinegar)
• salt

The Diplomat frosting

• milk
• vanilla extract
• eggs
• sugar
• cornstarch
• unsalted butter
• whipping cream

How to make a Napoleon Cake

Sift the flour, combine with the cold butter and cut into fine crumbs. It is most convenient to do this with a food processor.

Beat the egg into a glass, add cold water, 1 tbsp of vinegar and 2 pinches of salt, stir with a fork and add this mixture to the flour and butter. Quickly knead the dough until all the ingredients are combined, do not knead for a long time. This process is just as convenient in a food processor – until the dough comes together into a ball.

Wrap the formed dough ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1–2 hours.

At this time, make the custard.

Pour milk into a saucepan, add vanilla extract, bring to a boil.

Combine eggs with sugar and cornstarch, mix with a whisk.

Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture in a thin stream, stirring it with a whisk.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until thickened (it takes about 10–15 minutes).

Remove the custard from the heat, strain through a sieve and add the diced butter, mix thoroughly until the butter is completely melted and combined with the custard.

Cover the hot custard with film so that it touches the frosting (“in contact”), cool slightly to room temperature and refrigerate for 1–2 hours.

While the custard is cooling, you can bake the crusts.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (390°F). Divide the dough into 10 equal parts (for 9 crusts + 1 crust for cake decoration) and return them to the refrigerator.

The dough should not be kept warm for a long time, otherwise the butter in it will start to melt, so the best (and fastest) way is to bake one crust and roll out the next one while the rest of the pieces are in the fridge. And so bake all the crusts one by one.

Roll out each crust to a thickness of about 1-2 mm and prick it with a fork (this is necessary because it will deform less during baking).

Bake the crusts in an oven at 200°C (390°F) for about 10 minutes (depending on the size) until well browned, then cool the crusts on a wire rack. Make sure that the crusts are baked, they should be well golden.

When the custard we prepared earlier has completely cooled down, you can finish preparing the Diplomat frosting.

Whip the cold cream until medium peaks form (when the whisk leaves soft marks in the cream). Stir the custard with a whisk (to restore its smooth creamy texture) and gently combine it with the whipped cream with a spatula. That’s it, the Diplomat frosting is ready, you can start assembling the cake.

Spread 1.5-2 tbsp of the frosting on the crust, spread it evenly over the entire area, put the next crust on top, then the frosting again, crust, and so on. Leave 1 layer for decorating the cake. Cover the sides and top of the cake with the Diplomat frosting. Here are a few tips for smoothly forming the Napoleon cake.

So, cover the formed cake with film or some larger dishes and send it to soak in the refrigerator overnight (or at least for 5 hours).

Crush the excess crust into coarse crumbs. After soaking, sprinkle the cake with crumbs and decorate as desired and to your liking. Store the cake in the refrigerator and try to eat it quickly, because anything related to natural custard has a very short shelf life.

If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out! Share your experience or any creative twists you made in the comments below. Let me know if you have any questions. Your feedback helps me create even more delicious content. Enjoy your homemade treat and happy baking!

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