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Napoleon puff pastry cake with milk cream

No-Bake Napoleon Cake with Milk Custard

Love Napoleon but short on time? This recipe is for you! I'm crazy about the classic Napoleon, but it's no secret that fussing with the pastry layers takes forever — and there's never enough time. When I heard about this version I was intrigued right away, though I didn't expect much. The result was a happy surprise: a worthy quick-fix stand-in for everyone's favorite Napoleon!

nasstin

Recipe author

Napoleon puff pastry cake with milk cream

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Puff pastry cookies (palmiers / 'elephant ears')

Milk

Eggs

Sugar

Butter

150

Flour

Vanillin

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 9 % 5 g

Fats 26 % 15 g

Carbohydrates 66 % 38 g

315 kcal

GI: 5 / 68 / 26

Cooking method

Cooking time: 40 min

Step 1:

Prepare all the ingredients. The palmier cookies ("elephant ears") should be puff pastry — store-bought or homemade. Mine have poppy seeds, but feel free to use plain ones. In this no-bake Napoleon, the only thing we actually cook is the custard. You'll need enough cookies for the layers plus extra for the crumb coating.
Step 2:

Crack three eggs into a deep bowl.
Step 3:

Pour in half the milk and whisk lightly.
Step 4:

Pour the other half of the milk into a saucepan and set it on the stove. If you have one, place a flame tamer under the pan.
Step 5:

Add the sugar to the egg mixture.
Step 6:

Add the vanillin or vanilla sugar.
Step 7:

Beat the egg mixture with a mixer until the sugar dissolves.
Step 8:

Add the flour, gently working it into the eggs. Keep the mixer from spraying flour everywhere — stir it in with a spoon first.
Step 9:

You should end up with a smooth, slightly runny mixture — absolutely no lumps!
Step 10:

Meanwhile, the milk on the stove is coming to a boil.
Step 11:

Pour the egg-milk mixture into the hot milk in a thin stream, stirring constantly.
Step 12:

Let the custard bubble for 4–5 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the thickening mixture up from the bottom so nothing scorches. Once it thickens, set it aside to cool.
Step 13:

In a separate bowl, beat the butter until it lightens in color and turns fluffy. Be careful not to overbeat it, or it will break.
Step 14:

Once the custard base has cooled, whisk it again to make it extra smooth.
Step 15:

Add the butter to the custard a little at a time, beating until everything is fully combined.
Step 16:

The fragrant, delicious Napoleon cream is ready! Pulse some of the cookies in a blender into crumbs.
Step 17:

Now assemble the cake. Lay down a first layer of cookies, filling any gaps with small broken pieces so there's no empty space.
Step 18:

Spread a generous layer of cream over the cookies.
Step 19:

Alternate layers until you run out of cookies and cream.
Step 20:

Coat the top and sides of the cake with the cookie crumbs you blended earlier. Refrigerate for at least 2–3 hours so it can soak through.
Step 21:

Enjoy with a cup of tea!