Today we're sharing with you our favorite cake recipe. The Royal Napoleon! Emperor of cakes, "delicious, delicate and unforgettable", in one word, the most amazing cake ever. This Napoleon is the first to leave the table, it's just too desired!
Give it a try now or next weekend. Save the date for his majesty as we hope you are ready for this royal challenge. It's worth every single moment spent cooking. In Lithuania we say, if you can bake a Napoleon, you are a true masterchef!
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
- 200 g butter
- 1 egg
- 320 g all-purpose flour
- 70 ml water
- 2 tablespoons cognac
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
For custard filling:
- 3 egg yolks
- 500 ml milk
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 100 g butter
- Few drops of almond essence
- 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
- Cranberry jam
*** Ingredients for a 20cm cake.
- Let's start with the custard filling. Whisk the yolks with the sugar (both regular and vanilla); add a few drops of almond essence and some cold milk to make whisking easier. Then add the flour and whisk well to incorporate the egg yolks. If it’s a bit too thick, add more milk. Put the milk into a medium saucepan. Stir right up until it almost starts to boil. Slowly pour the hot milk onto the eggs and sugar and whisk as you are pouring it. Transfer the custard to another saucepan, and set it over a medium heat. Stir the custard constantly with a spoon, until the cream has thickened slightly and coats the back of your spoon. Add the butter and mix it in as it melts. Now the custard filling is ready. Leave it to cool.
- While your custard is in the refrigerator, it’s time to prepare the pastry. Whisk an egg; mix it with 70 ml water, cognac, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Incorporate the cold butter into the flour. Combine it in a stand mixer. Add the egg mixture prepared beforehand and make some puff pastry. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and put it into the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Take out your pastry from the refrigerator and knead it gently. Split it into 10 parts. Roll it out thin on a sheet of parchment paper, then, use a plate (18-20 cm) to cut out a disk shaped piece, and set aside the leftover dough. Bake for 4-5 minutes until golden-brown, then allow it to cool on a cake rack. You will have to repeat the same process for all 10 pieces of the pastry. Don’t forget to bake leftovers which you can use for cake decorations.
- To assemble the cake, layer the pastry and custard filling on a platter. Evenly spread cranberry jam on some layers. Leave some custard to frost the sides and the top layer. Garnish the top and sides of the cake with the crumbles, and let it rest overnight (or better yet for 24 hours) in your refrigerator.
Serve it nicely decorated with the pastry crumbles and powdered sugar. Decorate your table with linen accessories and get ready for discovering the taste of the one and only Napoleon You can find some table decoration tips and the whole story of Lithuanian desserts here. All recipes have been taken from Renata's book "My Childhood Treats".