🍰 Napoleon cake

Name: Napoleon cake
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Russia · Eastern Europe
Ingredients: 800 g puff pastry; Pastry cream: 700 ml milk, 4 egg yolks, 150 g sugar, 40 g flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 50 g butter; 1 tbsp sugar for dusting

Origin: Russia · Eastern Europe

366kcal

per serving · 120 g

305kcal

per 100 g

6 gProtein5 g / 100 g

22 gFat18 g / 100 g

38 gCarbs32 g / 100 g

Napoleon cake is a tall layered dessert of many thin, crisp sheets of puff pastry sandwiched with vanilla pastry cream, then covered with crushed pastry crumbs. After resting overnight the layers soften slightly and the cake becomes tender and creamy while keeping a flaky texture. It is a classic celebration cake in Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet countries, cut into tall slices.

Diets

✓

Vegetarianno meat or fish in a typical recipe

✓

No pork

Not veganbecause of: pastry cream

Contains glutenbecause of: puff pastry

Contains dairybecause of: pastry cream

Not keto32 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Eggs ⚠ Milk

What it is made of

puff pastrypastry creamvanillasugar

Recipe

12 servings120 min

Ingredients

800 g puff pastry
Pastry cream: 700 ml milk, 4 egg yolks, 150 g sugar, 40 g flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 50 g butter
1 tbsp sugar for dusting

Method

Make the cream: whisk yolks, sugar and flour, add hot milk, then cook stirring until thick; stir in butter and vanilla and cool.
Heat the oven to 200 °C. Roll the pastry thin and cut 8 circles of 24 cm; prick well.
Bake each layer 8–10 minutes until golden and crisp; keep the trimmings.
Stack the layers, spreading cream evenly between each and over the top and sides.
Crush the baked trimmings and press them over the cake; dust lightly with sugar.
Refrigerate at least 8 hours before slicing.

How to make it lighter

Cut thin slices: a 12-slice cake can easily give 16 portions.
Make the pastry cream with less sugar — vanilla carries the flavour.
Serve with fresh berries to make a smaller slice feel like more.

History

Napoleon cake is the Russian and Eastern European take on the French mille-feuille. A popular story links its name to the centenary of Napoleon's defeat in 1812, celebrated in Russia in 1912, but this is not documented. It became a home baking classic in Soviet times and remains a favourite birthday cake today.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Napoleon cake and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

Download on the App Store

Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →