🍰 Napoleon Cake with Plombir Cream

📝 Ingredients

For the dough:

For the cream:

Grate the frozen butter into the flour on a coarse grater and quickly mix it until crumbly.
In a separate bowl, mix the egg, salt, vinegar, and water.
Pour the liquid mixture into the crumbs and quickly knead the dough. Do not knead for too long.
Wrap the dough and refrigerate it for 1 hour.
Divide the chilled dough into 12 equal parts. Keep the pieces you are not using in the refrigerator.
Roll each piece out very thinly into a circle about 22 cm in diameter.
Bake each layer in a preheated oven at 200°C until lightly golden.
If desired, trim the baked layers while still warm to make them even. Save all the scraps for decorating the cake.
Let the cake layers cool completely.
To make the cream, heat the milk in a saucepan until hot, but do not boil heavily.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, and starch until smooth.
Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick.
Remove from the heat, add the butter, and stir until smooth.
Cool the custard completely.
In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft or medium peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled custard until smooth. The plombir cream is ready.

Place the first cake layer on a serving plate, cake board, or flat platter.
Spread a thin, even layer of cream over the entire surface.
Place the second layer on top and press it down very lightly so it stays level.
Repeat the process, layering cake and cream until all the layers are used.
If some layers are uneven or cracked, do not worry — just spread the cream evenly and continue assembling.
After placing the final layer, cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining cream.
Crush the reserved baked scraps into fine crumbs.
Sprinkle the crumbs over the top and sides of the cake, pressing them on gently if needed.
Refrigerate the finished cake for at least 6–8 hours, or overnight, so the layers soften slightly and absorb the cream.
Slice and serve chilled.

Use very cold or frozen butter for the dough so the layers bake up flaky and crisp.
Work quickly and keep the dough cold. If it gets too soft, return it to the refrigerator before rolling.
Do not over-knead the dough, or the cake layers may turn out dense instead of flaky.
Roll the layers very thin for the classic Napoleon texture.
Bake the layers one at a time and watch them carefully, since they brown quickly.
Save all the baked scraps — they are used to make the crumb coating for the cake.
When making the cream, pour the hot milk into the egg mixture slowly while whisking so the egg does not scramble.
Cool the custard completely before folding in the whipped cream.
Use heavy cream with 33–35% fat so it whips properly.
Spread the cream evenly between the layers and over the top and sides.
Press each layer only very lightly so the cake keeps its delicate structure.
This cake needs time to rest in the refrigerator so the layers soften slightly and absorb the cream.
Napoleon cake tastes even better the next day.

Napoleon cake is a layered pastry cake made with thin, flaky sheets and cream between each layer.
Plombir cream is a rich custard-based cream lightened with whipped cream, inspired by the flavor of classic vanilla ice cream.
Heavy cream is the American term for cream with 33–35% fat.