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Crispy Napoleon Cake

For me, Napoleon cake is associated with something homemade, cozy, and familiar... Everyone in my family loves this cake, and there are many variations of it, starting from the layers to the choice of cream.

Today, I want to share with you the recipe for a crispy Napoleon cake. In this version, the layers are more flaky and crispy, something in between puff pastry and shortcrust. I use the simplest and most familiar cream, which is sweetened condensed milk and butter, but it turns out not too dense because there is more condensed milk in it. This cream does not soak the layers too much, keeping them crispy. I won't even mention how delicious this cream is, you already know...

So, for those who like to enjoy a crispy treat, I highly recommend it!

For the dough:

Flour

2 cups

Butter

1 cup (2 sticks)

Salt

a pinch

Sour Cream

1 cup

Egg

For the cream:

Butter

1 1/8 cups

Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 can (14 oz)

To make crispy Napoleon cake, combine flour with a pinch of salt and cold butter in a food processor. It should resemble coarse crumbs. If the processor is small, do this in 2-3 batches, then transfer to a work surface, briefly blend and mix again.

You can also cut the butter into the flour with a knife or grate frozen butter into the flour and then mix everything by hand into a homogeneous crumb.

Mix sour cream with an egg and add it to the resulting crumbs. You can do this directly on the work surface like I do, or in a suitable container.

Mix everything and shape the dough into a ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.

Then divide the dough into 11 small balls and cover them with plastic wrap to prevent drying out.

Roll out each ball thinly, cut out with a ring or lid (mine has a diameter of 8 inches). Prick the dough with a fork and bake in an oven preheated to 375°F until golden brown (8-10 minutes).

I got 3 extra layers from the dough trimmings, so I ended up baking 14 layers in total.

I crumbled 2 layers by hand, but you can also use a food processor for a finer and more uniform crumb.

Prepare the cream for Napoleon cake. It's very easy and quick, the main condition is that both the butter and sweetened condensed milk should be at the same temperature, otherwise the butter will separate. Beat softened butter with a mixer until white and fluffy, then gradually add the condensed milk in parts while continuing to beat.

You'll get a tender, smooth, shiny, and uniform cream.

If your butter has separated (formed lumps), don't worry, you can fix it. Heat the cream in a double boiler until slightly melted around the edges and beat again. Or heat 1/3 of the cream in the microwave until warm, pour it into the main cream, and beat again.