Cake Napoleon of the Soviet era: the most delicious classic recipe. Napoleon cake". The most delicious recipes with custard at home

Good afternoon friends!

Today, we are preparing a classic Napoleon cake from custard and multi-layer cakes. There are a lot of cake recipes. However, the real, most delicious recipe, tested over the years, from the Soviet era.

Then this cake was baked according to only one recipe, skillful bakers baked huge, table-sized, lush, layered, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth Napoleons, and sold them by cutting them in large pieces. It was impossible to find out the recipe for making a cake, I learned it many years later, and I want to share it with you today.

If you don’t have time to make a cake at all, but you really want something sweet, prepare an easy recipe. Cakes for Napoleon can be baked from ready-made puff pastry; use condensed milk or sour cream as a cream. But, of course, such a cake will be different from the one prepared at home.

Ingredients:

To prepare the test we need:

flour - 750 grams
butter - 600 grams
egg - 2 pieces
ice water - 300 ml
salt - 1 teaspoon
vodka - 2 tbsp. spoons

To prepare the custard:

eggs - 4 pieces
sugar - 200-350 grams
milk - 1 liter
butter - 200 grams
vanilla - 1 pod
flour - 4 tbsp. spoons
cognac - 2 tbsp. spoons

Step by step preparation:

The main condition for preparing the right dough is that all ingredients must be chilled.

Sift cold flour through a fine sieve onto the table, you can sift it 2-3 times, the more it will be saturated with oxygen and the product will turn out to be more airy.

We rub the frozen butter on a coarse grater, directly into the flour. I want to note that it must be fresh and of good quality. The specified amount of oil in the recipe can be taken less, just remember that the more it is, the more magnificent and airy the dough turns out.

Each time we dip the butter into flour, and quickly rub it so that it does not melt from the heat of the hands.

Constantly mix the grated butter with flour.

In a separate bowl, break 2 eggs, add salt to taste, two tablespoons of vodka and water. We mix everything with a whisk. Adding a small amount of vodka makes the dough airy and dry. Then, in small portions, pour the resulting liquid into the butter-flour mixture and mix.

The dough should not be strongly kneaded, it must be mixed, collected in a large lump.

We got the dough not very steep, it does not stick to hands.

We wrap the dough in cling film and send it to the refrigerator for 2 hours, and in the meantime we will prepare the cream.

Cooking custard

The custard prepared according to this recipe turns out to be very delicate and soaks the cakes well.

Pour milk into a small saucepan, add sugar, vanilla pod and put on a small fire and stirring constantly, dissolve the sugar.

In a separate bowl, break eggs, add flour, cognac and mix well until smooth.

Pour the prepared mixture in portions into hot milk, mix and bring to a boil, but do not boil. Then reduce the heat and, stirring with a whisk, evaporate the mixture until it thickens.

Remove from heat, add softened butter and beat cream until smooth. We have a beautiful, thick, delicate custard. Pour it into a bowl and cool to room temperature.

sour cream

You can quickly prepare sour cream from any sour cream and sugar. It does not even require heat treatment.

We have prepared the dough and cream, you can start baking cakes.

We lay baking paper on the table and roll out a very thin dough on it, 3-4 mm thick and the size of a baking sheet. Using a fork, make pricks all over the surface of the cake.

Then, with a sharp and thin knife, cut the rolled cake into six equal parts. Carefully transfer them on paper to a baking sheet and send them to the oven, heated to 200 degrees.

Baking cakes is better on the middle grate. You should not rebake, as soon as the dough has risen and browned (3-5 minutes), we take out a baking sheet and send the next one. Thus, we got 24 thin, crispy puff cakes.

We begin to collect our delicious cake Napoleon. We coat each cake with a layer of cream. Then we smear the cream on top and on all sides. We donate one cake and turn it into crumbs, which we sprinkle our dessert on all sides. We leave for impregnation at room temperature for five hours, then we send it to the refrigerator for the night.

In the morning we cut a piece of cake for tea. A well-soaked and melt-in-your-mouth dessert prepared according to a classic recipe. Enjoy your meal!

Here is such a long and detailed recipe for making an amazingly delicious homemade Napoleon cake from the Soviet era. I would like to know your opinion about the recipe, write in the comments. If you liked it, click "Class" and share links to the article with your friends on social networks.

Napoleon cake

A step-by-step recipe for making a Napoleon cake with a photo and video description. Detailed instructions on how to make grandmother's custard Napoleon cake

5 h

5/5 (1)

Kitchen appliances and utensils: oven, mixer, knife, rolling pin, fork, whisk, sieve, grater, deep bowl - 2 pcs, glass.

Probably, in every family, an old grandmother's recipe for making a Napoleon cake with custard is passed down from generation to generation. But sooner or later there comes a moment when you want to experiment and bring something of your own, or even cook according to a new recipe.

There are many options , how to make custard for napoleon cake. But with the addition of condensed milk the cream is very airy and spicy. I like to cook this cake because it turns out very satisfying and with a pleasant aftertaste. calories Napoleon cake with custard and condensed milk is quite high - about 500 kcal per 100 grams of cake.

Required products

Cake Ingredients:

For cream:

Butter - 250 grams.
Milk - 200 ml.

Egg - 2 pcs.
Starch - 1 tbsp. with a hill.
Vanilla sugar - 1 sachet.

How to choose the right ingredients

At the time of buying condensed milk carefully read the composition: only milk with sugar must be indicated there. No additives, namely: thickeners, vegetable fats, etc. in high-quality condensed milk should not be.
When choosing butter give preference to oil with a high percentage of fat content and good quality.

Let's start cooking Napoleon cake with custard according to a step-by-step recipe with a photo.

Napoleon cake step by step recipe

Cooking the dough

Flour - 500 grams.
Butter - 250 grams.
Egg - 1 pc.

Cold boiled water - 200 ml.
Baking powder for dough - 1.5 tsp
Salt - a pinch.

Below in the recipe will be described in detail step by step, how to make custard with condensed milk for Napoleon cake.

Cooking cream

Butter - 250 grams.
Condensed milk - 1 can (not boiled).
Milk - 200 ml.

Egg - 2 pcs.
Starch - 1 tbsp. with a hill.
Vanilla sugar - 1 sachet.

1st stage of cream preparation

At this stage, I will tell how to cook custard for Napoleon cake.

Pour starch into a glass or bowl, dilute it with a small amount of milk and stir until a homogeneous mass is obtained without lumps.
Pour the milk into a saucepan, put on a minimum heat and bring almost to a boil.
Take a deep bowl and add eggs to it. Beat them with a whisk and pour in the diluted starch. We continue to beat with a whisk.
Then So slow Add hot milk, while continuing to stir with a whisk. It is not necessary to quickly pour in hot milk, as the eggs may curdle.
Pour our egg-milk mixture back into the pan and put on the stove with the fire turned on to a minimum. Cook until thickened at high continuous stirring. When the cream thickens, add vanilla sugar and mix.
Ready custard transfer to another bowl to let it cool down to room temperature.

2nd stage of cream preparation

And now I'll tell how to connect two prepared creams.

The butter, which has become soft at room temperature, is transferred to the mixer bowl and begin to beat it. Beat the butter before purchasing white.
Without stopping the whipping process, gradually add condensed milk and keep on beating. When all the condensed milk has been added, beat the mixture for another minute.
Now we will gradually add our cooled custard into an oil base. Turn on the mixer again and, gradually adding the custard, beat everything well.

Assembling the cake

Set the cream aside layer by layer Let's start making the cake. We take a serving plate on which we will serve the cake, and put the first cake on it. We begin to grease it with cream, while putting more cream on the edge of the cake so that the cake is not dry. We coat all the cakes in this way, periodically pressing them lightly together.

We do not coat the last cake- we will use it for decoration, after crushing it into small pieces.

If you want to get a more even cake, then proceed as follows:

We coat all the cakes, except for the last one (leave it without cream).
Place a dry, clean cutting board on top of it.
We put a jar of water for 1 hour. The cake will look more even.

Thereafter grease the sides of the cake and the top layer with cream. Sprinkle crumbs on the top and sides of our cake. We leave for 1 hour at room temperature so that the cake is soaked and becomes softer. Then you can put it in the refrigerator.

Let's start decorating the cake. I like it when the cake is decorated with chopped strawberries and mint leaves, and in winter I like to sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar and spread walnut halves around the circle. You can also sprinkle cocoa powder on top.

Napoleon cake video

Cooking Napoleon cake with custard and condensed milk is shown in the video with a step-by-step recipe.

The cake is quite sweet, so in my family we make black tea with lemon and mint or black coffee for this cake. I recommend serving the cake right away. cut into bite-size pieces.

To cook "Napoleon" according to the classic recipe of the Soviet era, you need to tinker. Make the dough, bake a lot of cakes, cook the cream, assemble the cake, let it soak. It's a whole story. But the result is a delicious, tender, melt-in-your-mouth cake, worthy of the most exquisite holiday table. You won't make this every day. And if you want? Then there are quick recipes. Today there will be everything - both traditional and its two simple relatives.

Cake "Napoleon": a recipe with custard, the most delicious

In my opinion, this is a very successful homemade cake recipe. The dough for cakes will be chopped, custard. I tried to make the most detailed step-by-step photos so that it would be clear to everyone who will bake for the first time.

Cake Ingredients:

flour - 2.5 cups * (400g);
sugar - 2 tbsp. (50gr);
salt - a pinch;
butter - 300g;
water - 6-7 tbsp. (110-120ml).
Cream Ingredients:
egg yolks - from 4 eggs;
powdered sugar - 8 tbsp. (200gr);
milk - 400 ml;
butter - 150g.

* a glass with a capacity of 250 ml.

How to cook "Napoleon" at home:

First of all, we take out the butter, cut off 150 grams for the cream and leave it on the table. We need it softened. By the time we cook the cakes, it will melt. And for the test you need frozen.

I will show you how to cook chopped dough, but I’ll be honest right away - I myself rarely cook it like that. I usually use a blender or grater. However, let's go in order.

On a cutting board, sift the flour with a slide, put the salt.
Frozen butter (300g) cut into medium-sized pieces arbitrarily. I put them in flour.
We arm ourselves with two knives, one in each hand, or with such a special tool that you see in the photo, and begin to chop the butter, while mixing it with flour.
As a result, a mixture similar to wholemeal flour should form in front of you with small inclusions of pea-sized pieces of butter. This is the correct consistency. If you chop all this in a blender bowl, then it will turn out like this without any problems. If you grate the butter, then try to do it as quickly as possible so that the butter does not melt in your hands. The presence of frozen butter in the dough determines its friability after baking. If the butter melts before the oven, you will get a dry sole instead of cakes.
For the same reason, we will add very cold water (6-7 tablespoons) to our mixture.
Kneading the dough with your hands for a long time and until smooth is not something that is not necessary, but categorically impossible! Quickly mix, crush, so that a little bit of a lump sticks together and that's it.
Then we give it the shape of a log, put it in a plastic bag and send it to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
While you can do the cream. Separate 4 egg yolks into a bowl, pour powdered sugar.
Mix with a whisk.
Pour milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil. In a thin stream, without ceasing to interfere, pour the hot milk into the egg-butter mixture.
Then pour everything into a saucepan in which the milk was heated, and return to the fire. With low heat, stirring constantly, cook the mixture until we feel that it has begun to thicken, and the whisk leaves traces on the surface.
Remove from stove and continue stirring for another 2-3 minutes. Then pour the mixture into a deep bowl.
Cover with cling film so that it lies directly on the mixture. So the surface does not dry out. We leave to cool.
We return to the test. Remove from refrigerator and cut into 10 or 12 pieces. In a real Napoleon, there should be no less number of cakes.
Bake cakes ideally on a silicone mat. If not, on baking paper. We will roll out immediately on them. To do this, put one piece of dough in the center, cover with a plastic bag and roll out thinly with a rolling pin, no more than 2mm.
In order for the future cake to be the correct round shape, we put a plate on top and circle around the edge. Don't throw away the dough scraps. Saving them and then rolling out another full-fledged cake will not work, but then baking them for sprinkling is just right.
To prevent the dough from puffing up in the oven, prick it often with a fork. I have such a tool.
We bake one at a time in an oven heated to 200 ° C for just a few minutes. Therefore, do not go far, as they are browned - take them out. Ready put on a towel.
If the cream mixture has already cooled down and become warm, you can continue with it. Put softened butter.
Beat with a mixer until smooth and uniform.
When everything is baked, you can proceed to the assembly of the cake. Lubricate all layers with cream, do not forget to leave for the top and sides.
You can decorate the cake with the crumbs that we get when we bake the dough scraps. Sprinkle them on the top and sides. Additionally, you can sprinkle with finely chopped hazelnuts and powdered sugar.
The cake must be kept in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours for impregnation.

From such a classic "Napoleon" of the Soviet era!

Napoleon from ready-made cakes with condensed milk cream

As you understood from the previous recipe, the longest and most effort-consuming process is baking. The cream is prepared relatively simply and quickly. Therefore, for a quick option, we buy ready-made cakes. I can say from my own experience that they are quite good. The cake is ready in 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

cakes - 1 pack (380g, 6pcs);
condensed milk - 1 can;
butter - 150g.

How to make a cake from ready-made cakes:

I am satisfied with the result. Of course, the taste is far from the first, real one, but the cooking speed is definitely a huge fat plus.

Puff pastry cake with sour cream

This one is also faster than the classic version, although it requires baking. But ... if you make a rating of recipes, then puff is in last place. Also tasty, but still not the same. The option is suitable for the case when you need it quickly and there are no store-bought ready-made cakes.

Ingredients:

puff pastry without yeast - 1 kg;
sour cream at least 20-25% - 200g;
boiled condensed milk - 1 can.

How to cook:

Here are three Napoleon cake recipes, from complex to simple, for all occasions and situations. Print yourself step-by-step photos, experiment and please your family and friends.

Napoleon cake is a favorite delicacy in many families. It is always cooked with great pleasure. Because they know for sure that if there is a store-bought version and a home-made cake on the festive table, then it’s not even worth guessing which one will be eaten first!

But not everyone knows that this recipe was not always as accessible as it is now.

When we lived in Uzbekistan in the 80s, cakes in the store were a rarity. And so a lot of recipes for various desserts of our own production went from hand to hand. Each hostess certainly had a notebook with recipes for their preparation.

Since there was always a special attitude to their preparation, the notebook was usually separate, only for them - loved ones. In Uzbekistan, any housewife cooked pilaf, shurpa, lagman, manti, samsa ... and everything else with ease. But the one who knew how to cook a real tasty Napoleon was considered a real culinary specialist.

And there were special reasons for this. First, it was difficult to buy enough good butter. Margarine was mainly used for baking, and for Napoleon cake, margarine is by no means suitable.

But there was also a more compelling reason. The recipe was kept a huge secret. The thing is that since it was almost impossible to buy a good cake, and for the holidays everyone wanted to surprise the guests and feed them deliciously, Napoleon baked, you can say on a commercial basis, but more simply - for sale.

Of course, they baked other cakes, but this one always came first. It was not easy to order. Not less than a month, there was a queue for its baking.

It is clear that the craftsmen who baked such cakes kept the recipe under lock and key with seven seals. The people went, of course, recipes, but Napoleon according to these recipes turned out to be not so tasty. And I couldn't find that recipe.

But when we left Uzbekistan, they simply gave it to me. I will not waste your time and tell how it happened.

Today I want to offer you this “secret” recipe. I really hope you like it too!

We will need:

For the test

flour - 5 cups
butter - 300 gr. 82%
egg - 1 pc.
sour cream - 0.5 cups
water - 0.5 cups
vodka - 2 tablespoons
salt - 1/3 of a teaspoon

For custard

egg - 3 pcs.
milk - 1 liter
flour - 3 - 4 tbsp. spoons
sugar - 1 cup plus 3/4 cup more
butter - 170 gr. 82%
cognac - 2 tbsp. spoons.
vanillin - 1 teaspoon (without a slide)

For sour cream

sour cream fat, thick - 1.5 cups
sugar - 3/4 cup

Test preparation:

1. Sift the flour through a sieve into a large bowl. It is necessary to sift it, preferably even twice, so that the flour is saturated with oxygen. Then the cake will turn out really tender and tasty.

Cut the cold butter into pieces into flour. Rub everything with your hands until crumbs form. Try to rub quickly so that the butter does not have time to melt.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with salt.

Add boiled cold water, sour cream and vodka. Stir everything until smooth, you can whisk. Vodka is an essential ingredient; without it, the cakes will not be so tender and layered.

3. Add the resulting mixture to the flour, and knead the dough. This must be done quickly so that the butter does not have time to melt. It is not necessary to form an even bun, the main thing is that everything is mixed and the dough does not stick to your hands.

4. When you have achieved the desired state, cover the dough with a napkin and leave for 30 minutes.

5. After 30 minutes, put the dough in cellophane, or wrap it in cling film. Put in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

6. Then we take it out, knead again and cut into sausages, which in turn we divide into 12-15 identical parts, roll up the balls.

We put the balls in a bag so that they do not stick together and send the bag to the refrigerator.

7. We put the oven to warm up. We need a temperature of 200 degrees.

8. We take out one ball at a time from the refrigerator, roll it out very thinly. It is better to use parchment for this, and now baking paper is also sold. We roll right on it. A thinly rolled sheet without paper will be difficult to transfer to a baking sheet later.

9. We put a template on top in the form of a large plate, and cut out an even circle on it. I have a plate with a diameter of 24 cm.

10. We make punctures with a fork all over the sheet so that the finished product does not bulge, but remains even, and set to bake directly on paper.

11. Each sheet will be baked for 3-4 minutes. We need light baked cakes. No need to bake until brown. The color of the cakes should be light.

12. While the cake is baking, roll out the next sheet, and so on until the end. While the cakes turned out bumpy and uneven. It's because of the vodka and oil. But we need it, it's good that they are. When impregnated with cream, the layering we need will appear. Each layer will be soaked and this will give the delicacy an impeccable taste.

13. Knead the trimmings with cakes again until smooth, roll out thinly, and also bake. This cake can be of any shape. We need it for decoration.

14. Or you can bake the cakes first, and then cut them into shape. But that's how they crumble. Therefore, I always use the first method.

Cooking custard

1. While the dough is gaining strength, first on the table, and then in the refrigerator, you can cook the custard.

2. Beat eggs with sugar until foamy, add 1.5 cups of milk, mix.

3. Add flour and cognac. Mix well until lumps disappear.

4. Boil the remaining milk in a separate saucepan. When it boils, make a funnel in the milk with a whisk and gradually pour the resulting mixture into the center of the funnel. We stir constantly. This is a very important preparation step.

5. It is necessary to cook the resulting mixture to a creamy state, but the mixture must not be allowed to boil. If it boils, the cream will lose its delicate texture, thicken greatly, and then the cakes will not be able to soak in it. And this is very important for the finished cake.

6. Without letting the cream boil, cook it until it thickens, then remove from heat.

7. Cool the cream.

8. Beat room temperature butter until creamy.

9. Mix the cream with butter, adding a little vanillin. It should turn out not too thick, but not a liquid mass, so that it is convenient to coat the cakes with it.

sour cream

1. It is better to take sour cream rustic, thick and oily, so that there is no liquid in it. If you use store-bought sour cream, I’ll tell you a little further how to make cream from it.

2. Grind sugar into powder.

3. Put the sour cream in a deep bowl, put the bowl in cold water. It is better to cool the water in advance in the refrigerator. It will help to achieve a more airy cream.

4. We start whipping sour cream, slowly adding powdered sugar. Beat for 15-20 minutes (preferably with a mixer, the whipping time is reduced by 2 times). But it is better to beat at a low speed.

5. The cream should not be liquid, and not thick. The thicker the sour cream, the thicker the cream.

Now that the cakes have completely cooled down and two creams are ready, we begin to collect the Napoleon cake.

How to properly assemble a cake

we take a flat dish, or if the cakes are very large, you can use a tray.
We spread the first cake on it and generously grease it with custard.
then lay out the second cake and again grease with custard
on the third cake, spread the first layer of sour cream, and the second - custard

then again grease 2 layers with custard

and the sixth layer again with two creams
that is, every third cake is smeared with two creams
when the turn reaches the last layer, we also lubricate it with cream. If there is sour cream left, you can smear it with it.
There was a lot of cream, if you now put pressure on the cakes, then it will literally crawl out from under them. But we are not pressing anywhere yet, but we leave this not yet quite beautiful and even mass in this form.

leave the cake, let it stand for 30 - 60 minutes in this form, during which time it will soak all the cakes
then put baking paper on the last cake in size
take a large flat plate, and preferably a cutting board, put it on the finished product, and pressing a little, crush the cakes. They are already slightly soaked, and should not break. Do not press hard so as not to break the cakes
leave it under the board for a while, so it will settle a little more
remove the paper, remove the remaining cream from it, put it back on the top layer
we report on the last layer as much cream as necessary
we make crumbs from the last cake, which was made from scraps
sprinkle on top

leave for 10 - 12 hours at room temperature, soak
then refrigerate for 12 hours
then we take it out, cut into pieces and eat with pleasure

The taste of our Napoleon is simply the most delicate. I must say that this cake is not too sweet. And this is good, not only the taste of sweetness is felt, but also the whole variety of tastes!

Secrets and features of making Napoleon cake

After the advent of the Internet, I met many different Napoleon cake recipes. Some of them were similar to those that we once cooked, and complained that our Napoleon's taste was not the same anyway.
Later, analyzing what was the matter, I realized one thing. Apparently the whole main secret is in only two things - the dough contains vodka, and the cream is used not one, as in the classic version, but two. Thanks to this, the finished product has a distinctive taste and incredible tenderness.
An important aspect is that the cakes are moderately thin, and there is enough cream on them. I always make a cream with a margin, according to the principle "let it be better than not enough." And always in such cases, I remember a joke about pies ... What you need for pies to be tasty - you don’t have to feel sorry for the filling! So the cream is also not to be regretted. Our cake should be well-soaked and not dry.
She promised to tell me about store-bought sour cream. If you can’t find fat and thick sour cream, then take a colander, put gauze in it in two layers, and put sour cream there. Place the colander in a bowl or saucepan. Put the whole thing in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours, excess water will go through cheesecloth to the bottom of the bowl. In such sour cream, you can additionally add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream.

There is another delicious recipe according to which this delicacy turns out to be very tasty. This

She told me everything, tried not to forget anything. Now the matter is small. Take and cook a Napoleon cake according to an old recipe that was kept a big secret for a very long time.

Enjoy your meal!

At the request of the workers, today I went non-stop - I was preparing Napoleon cake, beloved by many. I can’t say that this is a classic cake recipe, but it is the one that makes the most delicious Napoleon (for our family, of course). Quick puff pastry and custard Ice cream - a fabulous combination that you fall in love with once and for all!

Traditionally, the Napoleon cake is prepared with custard and in this regard, I did not deviate from the original. But in addition, butter is added to it (many hostesses do this, right?) And whipped heavy cream - the highlight of the Plombir custard. It really tastes like melted ice cream from our childhood.

The finished homemade Napoleon cake is impressive both in size and weight. 20 centimeters in diameter, 10 centimeters in height - a whole 1 kilogram 850 grams of an amazing dessert. Such a cake is definitely enough for a large and friendly company, so do not be lazy - cook Napoleon for the Old New Year.

Ingredients:

Quick puff pastry:

Custard Plombir:

Cooking step by step with photos:

I propose to break the products necessary for making homemade Napoleon cake into 2 parts: for dough and for cream. First, let's start preparing quick puff pastry, for which we will need the following ingredients: premium wheat flour (the total weight is indicated including flour for rolling), butter (fat content of at least 72%), ice drinking water, chicken egg (I have a large, net weight of about 55 grams), table 9% vinegar and a little fine salt to balance the taste. I never use margarine or spread instead of butter when making cakes, as well as in general these products in my kitchen!

Then add 150 milliliters of ice (very cold) water to the egg mixture. You can navigate by the volume of the glass - add so much water that literally 5 millimeters are left to the edge. Again, mix everything thoroughly with a fork and put the glass in the refrigerator.

You can knead such puff pastry both in a bowl (I prefer it in a bowl) and on a work surface. Sift 570 grams of premium wheat flour into a suitable bowl to loosen it and remove possible debris.

Then we cut 400 grams of butter directly into flour, which should be not just from the refrigerator, but directly from the freezer. Some hostesses prefer to chop the butter on a coarse grater, but I prefer to chop it with a knife. I must say right away that I don’t make quick puff pastry in a food processor, so I’m not responsible for the result.

First, cut the butter quite large, after which we try to chop it as finely as possible. The size of the pieces of butter is desirable that they be no larger than hazelnuts.

In about 10 minutes (if you try, you can do it faster) butter with wheat flour will turn into such an oily crumb. Outwardly, it will not look like a crumb, but like small pounded pieces of butter in flour.

Then transfer the contents of the bowl to the work surface. You see, the test still seems far away, but it's not at all.

We work quickly and accurately, preventing the oil from overheating from the heat of the hands. With palms, quickly collect large crumbs into a ball. Do not knead for a long time, do not try to achieve smoothness and uniformity - here they are not only not needed, but contraindicated! If you mix such puff pastry, products from it will not turn out layered. If you feel that the dough does not want to stick together, add a little more ice water. I always use Lida flour, so I know how much is needed for each specific recipe, and you should focus on yours. As soon as the crumb has gathered in a lump, form a rectangle or sausage out of it so that it is convenient to cut it into pieces.

Using a knife or scraper, cut the dough into 8-12 pieces (I have 11) so that they are approximately the same size. I deliberately did not weigh them, so I can not say the exact weight. The number of pieces of dough depends on the desired diameter of the future Napoleon cake.

Quickly and quickly we crush the pieces of dough, giving them a more or less rounded shape. We tighten with cling film and send the blanks to the refrigerator for 1.5-2 hours. During this time, the butter will harden and it will be more convenient to work with the chilled dough.

While the quick puff pastry is cooling, let's prepare the custard for the Napoleon cake. Products needed for this: milk of any fat content (I used 2.5%), cream (30-33% fat content), butter (at least 72% fat content), granulated sugar and vanilla sugar (I have homemade), medium chicken egg size and cornstarch. All possible substitutions I will write in the course of the recipe.

In a separate container, we combine 200 grams of granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar (I have homemade with natural vanilla), 40 grams of cornstarch and 1 chicken egg. You can flavor the custard with vanilla, natural vanilla, or vanilla extract - use what you have in your kitchen. Of course, it is better not to replace corn starch, but if there is nowhere to take it, use potato or wheat flour.

When the milk almost boils, we begin to gradually pour it into the egg mass. It is important not to rush and pour it in a thin stream, while constantly actively stirring the contents of the bowl. If hot milk is poured in quickly and immediately, the eggs may curdle.

Gradually, the mixture will become thicker and eventually begin to gurgle - the cream has boiled. Be sure to boil it on the quietest fire for about a minute after boiling, if we use wheat flour (such cooking helps to remove the characteristic mealy taste).

The result is a very tasty, tender, fragrant, smooth and thick custard buttercream. Of course, if you wish, you can add less butter or not add it at all, but believe me, the taste of the cream will be different, and much more so. In addition, this amount of puff pastry is designed specifically for this layout of products for cream, so the exclusion of butter or cream will lead to an increase in the rest of the products for making custard.

To cool the custard for the Napoleon cake, transfer it to a separate bowl. You see, the relief remains, so the cream turned out to be thick.

We cover the cream with a piece of cling film or a new bag back to back - this is necessary so that during the cooling process a crust does not form on the surface. We leave to cool first to room temperature, after which you can put the cream in the refrigerator or take it out to the balcony.

If you are very tired, rest a little, after which we will continue to work with the dough. I bake puff pastries on a Teflon mat (I have 2 of them), but a silicone mat or parchment paper works great. At this stage, we need the remaining wheat flour (in fact, the less the better): 70 grams was enough for me to roll out the dough, and you should be guided by your experience. I rolled out the blanks right on the rug, and you can on a piece of parchment. Sprinkle it with flour, flatten a piece of dough with the palm of your hand, roll in flour.

The diameter of the workpiece depends solely on your desire, but keep in mind that during the baking process, the puff cake shrinks by a couple of centimeters. Next, you need to cut the layer to get an even circle. Personally, it is most convenient for me to do this with the help of a culinary ring - I made exactly 20 centimeters in diameter (ready-made puff cakes were 17.5-18 cm). Alternatively, you can cut the dough with a pot or pan lid, as well as a regular plate and knife.

In any case, you should get an even circle and a small amount of trimmings, which we collect from each piece of dough into a separate lump. Be sure to prick the dough with a fork so that during the baking process it does not swell and turn into a ball.

We bake the puff pastry until a beautiful pale golden color. I won’t tell you the exact baking time in this recipe, as well as the temperature in the oven. I only note that the oven must be well warmed up! It is very important to understand that the baking time can be very different from that indicated in the recipe: it depends not only on the oven (I have a gas oven, but you can have an electric one), but also on its nature. My baking conditions: temperature 250 degrees, lower heating. There is no simultaneous top-bottom mode in my Hephaestus stove, and there is no talk of convection. I baked each cake for 5 minutes on each side: since the top of the oven does not turn on at the same time as the bottom, the surface of the cake turns out to be pale. It is important that the workpiece is completely baked, layered, crispy and crumbly.

Thus, we prepare all the cakes - in the end I got 12 pieces (11 prepared pieces plus another full-fledged one from scraps). It is very convenient to do this at the same time: while one cake is baking, we roll out the second and so on. In the end, I already got the hang of it and rolled out the dough faster than it baked. By the way, you can bake such cake layers in advance, cool them completely, then wrap them tightly with cling film and store in a dry place for 2-3 days.

We collect those scraps that remain even after rolling out 12 cakes in a lump, roll it out and bake it in the same way, only we make the cake a little rosier, trying to dry it properly. We will need it later for sprinkling homemade Napoleon cake.

While the puff cakes are completely cooling, we will finish preparing the ice cream cream. The custard with butter had already cooled and thickened even more - I deliberately scooped it up with a spoon to show the consistency.

In order for whipped cream to intervene better and faster, we beat the custard for a short time (literally half a minute) with a mixer.