Napoleon Cake with Puff Pastry

Thaw the unleavened puff pastry for about 30–40 minutes. If you bought pastry rolled into a log, carefully unroll it and cut it into several pieces. If you like, you can roll the dough out a bit in one direction. In my case the pastry came as 8 thin individual sheets, so I didn't roll or cut anything beforehand. I simply placed the sheets on a baking pan and pricked each one with a fork so they wouldn't puff up during baking.

Bake the pastry in an oven preheated to 200°C (400°F) for about 15–25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Let cool completely.

Make the cream. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla sugar in a bowl and whisk together thoroughly. Add the flour and about one cup of milk, and stir until completely smooth.

Pour the remaining milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat until hot. While stirring, pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan.

Cook the cream over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 10–15 minutes, or until it thickens considerably.

Allow the cream to cool for about 10–20 minutes, then add the pieces of butter and stir well until the butter is completely melted. The cream is ready.

I cut each baked sheet in half so that the layers in the cake would be thinner and the cake would soak through better. If you rolled the dough out before baking, you may not need to do this.

It's best to assemble the layers on a deep baking sheet so all the crumbs stay contained.

Assemble the cake. Place two half-sheets on a plate, concave side facing up.

Spread a generous layer of cream on top.

Continue layering all the remaining sheets this way (set one sheet aside for the topping). Before spreading cream on the final layer, gently press the cake down with a cutting board.

Spread cream on the sides of the cake as well. Crumble the reserved sheet by hand right over the baking sheet. Use the crumbs to coat the sides and top of the cake. If you plan to decorate with fruit like I did, leave the center uncoated. Refrigerate the cake to soak for 8–24 hours.

Decorate with fruit or berries. I used orange segments, kiwi slices, and blueberries, with an orange rose in the center. If you like, brush the fruit with cake jelly glaze using a pastry brush. You can also decorate the cake with chocolate shavings, chopped nuts, or anything else you enjoy.

And here's a look at the inside.

Napoleon Cake made with puff pastry turns out absolutely delicious, and the best part is that it's incredibly easy to make. I hope you'll delight your family or guests with this wonderful masterpiece, just as I did!