Prepare a Napoleon cake from a ready-made puff pastry under the power of every housewife. This amazing tasty pastry from childhood is not often present in the home kitchen, except on holidays. It's all about the test, which takes a lot of time and effort, and it doesn't always turn out to be an ideal structure. However, now the task of making the cake has been facilitated by manufacturers of puff pastry - ready-made, ideal density, from which you can make Napoleon dessert with different creams and taste.
Material Content:
Classic recipe
Puff pastry for classic Napoleon can be yeast and yeast free. This is all a matter of taste: from the dough with yeast, the cakes will be lush, soft and tender, and from the usual - dry, crispy. The taste and texture will for the most part depend on the cream chosen and the time of impregnation.
Test preparation
For the preparation of the cake follows a dough weighing 1 kg (1 large or 2 small packages). The dough is initially sold in frozen form, so first you need to defrost it by removing it from the package and leaving it for 15-20 minutes.
While the store dough is being prepared, you should turn on the oven for heating, choosing a temperature of 20 degrees (depending on the oven, the temperature may vary up or down by several degrees). After that, you should remove the oil from the refrigerator so that it melts slightly at room temperature - it is necessary for the cream.
Thawed dough must be cut into several equal rectangular parts and moistened with cold water.
So that it does not become covered with bubbles during baking, it is recommended to pierce it with a toothpick over the entire surface during processing.
Each layer should be baked in the oven, setting the time 12-18 minutes (depending on the capacity of the household appliance). Ready cakes should have a browned surface and a characteristic aroma. If yeast dough was used, the cake as a result of baking will become more magnificent and larger in volume.
Finished cakes can be cut into several parts to get more layers. While they cool, it's time to cook a delicious and airy classic cream.
DIY cream cake
Cream for dessert is being prepared from:
- milk - 500 ml;
- eggs - 2 pcs.;
- flour - 1.5 tbsp .;
- butter - 20 g;
- granulated sugar - 150 g;
- cream with a high percentage of fat content - 150 ml;
- vanilla sugar - 0.5 pack.
Pour milk into a suitable container, warm and pour the right amount of sugar. Boil the milk over low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Separately, in a deep bowl, mix sugar with flour and pour in 0.5 tbsp. hot (not boiling water) milk with sugar, and then pour into the mixture in the cooking mass over a fire.
Cook until completely thickened, constantly interfering, so that the mixture is homogeneous and without lumps. The finished mass is removed from the stove and butter is introduced into it.
For quick cooling of the finished cream, it can be put in cold water.
When it has completely cooled, it should be combined with pre-whipped cream.
Grease the resulting cream in turn all the cakes, except the last - it is used as a sprinkle. Do not forget to grease the sides. The finished cake is sent for impregnation in a cold place (preferably for 24 hours).
With custard
The ingredients for custard are taken almost the same as for the classic, with the exception of some products.
A dessert is being prepared from:
- vanillin - 1 tsp;
- cow's milk - 800 ml;
- sugar - 200 g;
- eggs - 3 pcs.;
- good butter - 30 g;
- finished dough;
- sifted flour - 60 g.
Prepared dough should be cut into equal parts and rolled with a rolling pin until thin crusts are obtained. They should be baked on a baking sheet in an oven heated to 185 degrees. While the cakes are baking, in an enameled container on the stove, heat the milk with sugar and introduce the egg-flour mixture into it. Stir constantly while stirring until bubbles begin to appear on the surface of the dense mass. After removing from heat, add the recommended portion of oil and vanilla, beat. Custard should be applied to the cakes cooled down.
Tasty recipe: custard for napoleon
On a large flat plate, put the first cake and carefully grease it with cream. Do the same with the rest of the blanks. Turn the last cake into crumbs and decorate the entire surface of the cake, including the sides.
With butter cream
To prepare the cream you will need the following products:
- fat cream - 200 ml;
- condensed milk - 350 ml;
- packing butter.
Preparation of the finished dough is the same as in the classic version. The prepared dough should be cut into 8 equal parts, and then with the help of a round shape, turn the seams from square to round. Part of the remaining scraps can be used to make another cake, and part is laid aside (baked and used for crumbs). Dough is baked at a temperature of 200 degrees, until cooked.
Condensed milk and softened butter should be beaten with a mixer until a homogeneous consistency is obtained. The cream is whipped to a dense foam, after which it is mixed with condensed milk and butter. Cakes are smeared with butter cream, sprinkled with crumbs and sent to soak for 10 hours.
With butter cream
Square layers of puff pastry are baked in the oven, on a greased baking sheet.
To prepare the cream, you should take:
- butter - 200 g;
- fat sour cream - 1 tbsp .;
- condensed milk - 1 jar;
- granulated sugar - 180 g.
It is better to bake a cake according to this recipe from the finished dough, cut into even squares.Bake it at a temperature of 195 degrees, for 15 minutes each cut. To make the cakes smooth, they should be pierced with a fork or a toothpick before baking.
While the dessert is preparing, we will take up the preparation of a gentle cream. For this, sour cream with sugar is whipped into a homogeneous mass. Separately, a mixture of condensed milk and oil is prepared. All components are eventually connected and sent to the cold.
The cooled cakes are smeared with cream and set aside for soaking. The longer the cake stays, the more it will soak in the cream and become more juicy, tender. On top you can decorate with chocolate chips or coconut.
Lazy Napoleon with Strawberries
Quick to prepare, lazy Napoleon from ready-made puff pastry will be a real find if you suddenly need to quickly figure out a dessert for tea or something stronger. To cook it, you should stock up with puff pastry - 500 g and strawberries in the same amount.
For the preparation of cream is used:
- powdered sugar - 5 tbsp with a slide;
- homemade cream - 400-500 ml.
Previously thawed and cut into squares dough layers are alternately baked in the oven, heated to 190 degrees. Spread the dough on parchment, if there is none, the bottom of the pan should be greased with oil and sprinkled with breadcrumbs.
Separately, in a container, beat 2 tbsp. cream, gradually adding powdered sugar.
It is forbidden to add all the powder at once, otherwise the cream cannot be whipped into a thick foam.
The strawberries are washed separately, cleaned of leaves and legs, and then cut into beautiful plates.
Ready cooled cake is laid out on a dish, smeared with cream and covered with strawberries. The same is done with the remaining cakes. The top is made out with cream and crumbs from the last cake.
With mascarpone and cherry
A delicious original cream for classic Napoleon is prepared from:
- powdered sugar - 200 g;
- granulated sugar - 160 g;
- real mascarpone cheese - 450 g;
- sour cream - 400 ml;
- Cherry - 250 g.
If the cake is small, the cream is prepared in smaller quantities. Puff pastry, previously divided into cakes, is baked in the oven at a temperature of 200 degrees. In parallel with baking, a cream is being prepared. To do this, use a blender to chop ripe cherries, previously washed and stoned.
Separately combine cheese, sour cream and icing sugar. With a mixer, all this is whipped to a thick creamy consistency. The lower cake and all subsequent ones are smeared with cream and a layer of cherry. The top and sides of the cake are coated with cream and decorated with golden crumbs.
With cheese cream
A gentle light cream is prepared from:
- coconut flakes - 120 g;
- milk - 1100 ml;
- vanilla sugar - 1.5 sachets;
- eggs - 3-4 pcs.;
- salts;
- white chocolate - 550 g;
- flour - 100 g;
- Mascarpone cheese - 450 g.
While the cakes from the store dough are baked, milk should be heated in a special container on the stove. In a separate bowl, eggs are beaten, slightly sprinkled with salt (literally on the tip of a knife). After the flour is introduced into the egg mixture and everything is whipped until a homogeneous consistency. 1 tbsp. Is also pouring here. heated milk, everything is mixed and combined with the main part of the cow product cooked on the stove.
When the liquid begins to boil, you need to remove it from the fire and add vanilla sugar with chocolate. Mix everything thoroughly and combine with cheese, thoroughly whipping everything until smooth. All cakes, starting from the bottom, are smeared with cream. Decorated with crumb and coconut flakes on top (you can choose color, creating an interesting pattern on the baking surface).
With custard on semolina
A delicious and nutritious cream for the cake with the addition of semolina is obtained.
To cook it, you should stock up:
- sugar - 0.5 tbsp .;
- milk - 2 tbsp .;
- condensed milk - 250 ml;
- semolina - 80 g;
- butter - 160 g;
- lemon.
While the round cakes of puff pastry are baked, we will take up the preparation of the cream. To do this, milk is heated in a stewpan and semolina is poured (with a thin stream so that there are no lumps).Constantly stirring, the mixture is cooked for 4 minutes, after which it is removed from the heat and combined with lemon juice and zest.
Rubbing the zest, you need to make sure that the white part of the skin does not get in, giving unpleasant bitterness.
Separately, beat the sugar with butter and gradually add the condensed milk with the semolina mixture. Cakes are spread with the finished cream, and a cake is formed.
With condensed milk
Cream recipes with condensed milk for Napoleon cake are not enough. All of them differ in the method of preparation and the presence of additional components.
To prepare a simple cream with condensed milk you will need:
- butter - 200 g;
- condensed milk of good quality - 1 can;
- packaging of vanilla sugar;
- a handful of peeled nuts (approximately 200 g).
Using a mixer, beat the butter, gradually adding condensed milk to it. After the mixture must be put on a slow fire and cook, stirring constantly. Add chopped nuts and vanilla to the prepared and slightly cooled mixture. After complete cooling, the cream is used to smear the cakes.
With whipped cream
To prepare an airy cream, you will need:
- milk - 600 ml;
- sugar - 220 g;
- fat cream - 1 tbsp .;
- chicken eggs - 2 pcs.;
- starch - 30 g;
- vanilla sugar - 12 g.
In a small pan, bring the milk to a boil (do not boil), and then add sugar, starch, eggs and a small amount of milk taken from the container into it in advance. Cream should be prepared until it becomes thick, then remove and set to cool.
When the cakes from the dough are ready, beat the cream, combine them with the cream and grease the cake. Baking will be ready for use after 3-4 hours.
