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Vegan Napoleon Cake

January 26, 2022 By Gretchen 27 Comments

The Classic Napoleon Cake

It’s origins haven’t been agreed upon, but some of the theories are quite amusing!

One theory suggests that the Emperor Napoleon ate too many of these luscious cream filled flaky pastries before a battle and the rest was history!

Well, wherever it originated I know where it ends up! Right here in my mouth!

Quite possibly the most fantastic pastry ever invented!

Vegan Napoleon Cake

Creamy Vanilla Diplomat Cream sandwiched between three flaky layers of puff pastry

Vegan Napoleon Cake

A thin sugar glaze with stripes of chocolate and toasted almonds really bring it all together!

Vegan Napoleon Cake

A very simple dessert to make because the Puff Pastry sheets can be bought in the frozen section of your grocery

Diplomat Cream we have already mastered in the recent Fraisier Cake

Also part of this Classic Cakes Veganized series!

Vegan Fraisier Cake

Today for the Napoleon Cake though,  you see I make the rectangle strip cake style

For me it is just way easier to cut a cake that is this size versus a cake that is double size

I also prefer the smaller portions that are easy to handle as finger food as well

Vegan Napoleon Cake

When I owned my bakery we sold Napoleon Cake pastry more than any other miniature pastry in the store!

Creamy vanilla custard and flaky pastry will become your new obsession!

Vegan Napoleon Cake

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE NAPOLEON CAKE

Vegan Napoleon Cake

Notes for success:

It is really important to find an agar brand that you like and stick with it.

Not all brands are created equally and you must know what strength you are working with to ensure consistent results every time

I use this brand in all my desserts with a gel strength of 900

If your brand is different be sure to adjust the recipe accordingly

Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume spoons measure

So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results.

Many times people have complained that their custard is like rubber and they don’t know why!

This is from a heavy measure of cornstarch when using volume measuring spoon vs the 100% accurate scale measure in grams.

The acetate cake strips are very helpful when making cold preparation molded desserts like this one.

I am using SILK brand whipping cream for the whipped cream portion of this diplomat cream *not sponsored

If you cannot get this product I have several other options that work equally great

CLICK HERE FOR VEGAN WHIPPED CREAM

Vegan Whipped Cream

Vegan Whipped Cream

For more classic cakes veganized, click the links below!

Dobos Torte~ The Original 7 Layer Cake

Fraisier Cake

Classic Opera Cake ~ Vegan

Dobos Torte~ The Original 7 Layer Cake
Dobos Torte
Vegan Fraisier Cake
Strawberry Fraisier Cake
Classic Opera Cake ~ Vegan
Opera Cake

Storage Information:
The Napoleon Pastry will start to absorb the moisture from the custard and also from general refrigeration, but this for me made it get better over time!

It was also easier to cut after the first day since the pastry was slightly softer and easier to handle

I also put some of it in the freezer with the icing and after 4 days and a thaw overnight the sugar glaze was still as perfect as it was on the first day!

Major wins all around for this Napoleon Pastry!

Re: Pepperidge Farm puff pastry being vegan?

Pepperidge Farm puff pastry contains mono and diglycerides, which can be animal-derived if not specified that it comes from a plant source.

But I found a statement on Campbell’s website (Pepperidge Farm’s parent company) stating that their puff pastry products are vegan:

Our puff pastries are vegan and Kosher certified, making them an offering for a larger range of patrons.

5.0 from 5 reviews
Vegan Napoleon Cake
 
Print
Prep time
2 hours
Bake time
15 mins
Total time
2 hours 15 mins
 
Serves: serves 8
Ingredients
  • ½ Box Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets
  • For the Diplomat Cream
  • Plant Milk 1½ cups + 3 Tablespoons (400ml)
  • Granulated Sugar ½ cup (100g)
  • Cornstarch 4½ Tablespoons (42g)
  • Agar powder 1 teaspoon
  • Vegan Butter 1 Tablespoon (14g)
  • Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoon (10ml)
  • Vegan Whipped Cream 1 cup (237ml)
  • For the Icing
  • Confectioners Sugar ½ cup (60g)
  • Almond extract ¼ teaspoon
  • Plant milk or water 2 teaspoons
  • Vegan Chocolate or chocolate chips 2 Tablespoons melted for the striping
  • Sliced toasted almonds for garnish *optional 1 cup
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
  2. First thaw the puff pastry (I do this overnight in the refrigerator) unfold one sheet then cut it along the folds
  3. Arrange the 3 rectangles of pastry on a parchment lined sheet pan and dock each one with a fork for steam vents
  4. Bake for 15 minutes then cool completely
  5. Lightly press each puff pastry rectangle to flatten them out slightly
  6. Arrange your standard loaf pan with acetate cake strips inside the pan to use as a molding vessel to build this cake *see video tutorial
  7. Prepare the vegan whipped cream *I use SILK brand whipping cream *not sponsored and reserve in the refrigerator until needed
  8. Prepare the pastry cream custard by combining the sugar with the cornstarch & agar powder and then add that to the plant milk in a large sauce pot
  9. Bring everything to a full rolling boil over medium to high heat whisking constantly to avoid scorching
  10. Once it comes to a full boil remove from the heat and add the vegan butter and the vanilla extract, whisk smooth
  11. Transfer the hot custard to a large mixing bowl & whisk to release the intense heat.
  12. Continue whisking every so often until the custard is slightly cooler than body temperature, once it is cool add the vegan whipped cream in 2 additions, whisking & folding gently to incorporate
  13. Pour half of the diplomat cream over the first layer of puff pastry in the pan and then place the second pastry rectangle over that, pressing gently to compress.
  14. Add the remaining custard over the pastry and top it with the last layer of pastry
  15. Freeze until set *approx 1 hour
  16. Take the cake out of the loaf pan, remove the acetate cake strips and glaze the top with the confectioners sugar, almond extract and water glaze, making a very thick glaze that is still spreadable *you may have to adjust the amount of water needed to make a thick spreadable glaze
  17. Melt the vegan chocolate and stripe the top then using a skewer make the design by dragging it through the chocoalte striping
  18. Garnish the sides with sliced toasted almonds
Notes
Napoleon pastry must be kept refrigerated & will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 1 week
It is best served on day one though, because the flaky pastry will start to absorb the moisture from the custard over time though and lose it's crispness.
I have frozen the assembled (*un-iced) napoleon cake for 2 weeks
3.5.3251

Filed Under: All Recipes, Cake Recipes, Classic Cakes Veganized, Individual Desserts, Layer Cakes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. irene Collini

    January 27, 2022 at 12:32 pm

    I tried to click on the link for the tutorial, but no luck,

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      January 27, 2022 at 1:08 pm

      Hi Irene, it’s not ready yet! 😀
      I just finished filming it all day yesterday,
      I still have to edit and that usually takes me about 6 hours, so I’ll be working on that all day today, video will be up on YouTube tonight

      Reply
  2. Irene

    January 27, 2022 at 1:11 pm

    not a problem, just thought maybe there was a glitch. Take your time it’s worth the wait

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      January 27, 2022 at 1:39 pm

      Yes! thank you for letting me know, sometimes there are glitches!

      Reply
  3. Af

    January 27, 2022 at 7:45 pm

    What will be the best knife to cut this with?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      January 27, 2022 at 9:21 pm

      A serrated knife works. I have a video tutorial showing the cutting, but it is still processing on YouTube, maybe another hour until it’s done

      Reply
  4. Sandra Jackson

    January 27, 2022 at 11:33 pm

    Hi Gretchen, love how beautiful this dessert looks! I am in California. I used to live in Florida. 🙂 What brand of vegan whipped cream do you use?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      January 28, 2022 at 1:42 am

      Hi Sandra! I am using SILK brand whipping cream it is a time saver! I LOVE IT!

      Reply
  5. Natasha

    January 28, 2022 at 6:07 pm

    It looks delicious! Is there is way of making the dough from scratch?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      January 28, 2022 at 9:44 pm

      Yes of course! I believe there are many tutorials for puff pastry on the internet!

      Reply
  6. Danielle

    January 28, 2022 at 6:13 pm

    What a beautiful cake!!!!

    I love it that you are veganizing all the classic cakes. Do you think you could consider doing a Paris Brest cake? They are so beautiful and I love praline. I love all the French classics. Eclair of course, and profiterole, so yummy. I made a Dobos torte once in my vegetarian days, and am so happy that you veganized it.

    I used to also make Linzer torte all the time, wondering if you might veganize that one? I know you have already a Linzer cookie and a Linzer mouse cake. I’ve always loved the classic torte.

    I just wanted you to know you are truly appreciated, and all your talent and hard work. Everyone needs to know how easy and delicious it is to be vegan.

    Reply
    • Ann

      January 29, 2022 at 2:28 pm

      Do you think parchment would work in place of acetate?

      Reply
  7. Toni

    January 29, 2022 at 11:43 pm

    Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets are not vegan…

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      January 29, 2022 at 11:55 pm

      Hello.
      Pepperidge Farm puff pastry contains mono and diglycerides, which can be animal-derived if not specified that it comes from a plant source.

      But, after a lot of research, I found a statement on Campbell’s website (Pepperidge Farm’s parent company) stating that their puff pastry products are vegan:

      Our puff pastries are vegan and Kosher certified, making them an offering for a larger range of patrons.

      Reply
  8. Deb

    February 6, 2022 at 10:59 pm

    Hi Gretchen. Just made this today and dessert hour cannot come close enough! It looks soooo good. Thanks for the recipe & tutorial!

    Reply
  9. Danielle Durand

    April 28, 2022 at 6:25 pm

    Hi Gretchen! I have been wanting to make this recipe for a while… we will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary, this is perfect. One question, you mentioned your agar strength is 900… I have the same brand but 700… do you have any advice as far as how much should I use. Next time I will be buying the 900 strength, but this is what I have now… I hope I can use this. How much of the 700 would you use? Thanks a million! I hope you have an idea, I don’t use this very often. Thank you for this wonderful recipe and video! 🥰

    Reply
  10. Sheree

    July 25, 2022 at 6:14 pm

    Hi Gretchen, This looks absolutely amazing! I’ll definitely be making this recipe very soon. Just so you know in the US granulated sugar is not vegan, it’s processed with bone char. Is there a substitute for this?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      July 25, 2022 at 9:29 pm

      Yes I do know that. I use Zulka brand granulated sugar in all my recipes. It’s vegan/organic

      Reply
    • Tracy

      November 12, 2022 at 6:46 pm

      if you buy organic sugar in the US, it is vegan, in order to use the organic label, they cannot do the bone char processing.

      Reply
      • Gretchen

        November 12, 2022 at 6:55 pm

        Correct

        Reply
  11. Soul

    October 16, 2022 at 1:28 am

    For the Silk Whipping Cream, do you add one cup out of the carton? Or do you actually whip it up and then add one cup of it whipped? Also, do you add sugar or anything to it if you do whip it before adding or just whip it plain? Thanks

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      October 16, 2022 at 11:58 am

      Good question, this is the total WHIPPED volume, not liquid.
      I did not add sugar to this one since the rest of the recipe already has sugar in it, BUT If I was using it for a whipped topping for a dessert, I would add some sugar.

      Reply
      • Soul

        October 16, 2022 at 8:20 pm

        Thank you! <3

        Reply
  12. Meg

    November 12, 2022 at 3:07 pm

    Hi I have wanted to make this Napoleon dessert for a long time (a childhood favorite). I notice that the agar powder is made from seaweed which I am allergic to. Is there any substitution that would work in place of the agar powder? Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      November 12, 2022 at 4:58 pm

      Hey there! hmm, I’m not aware of another substitute for agar that works exactly the same. You can of course add another Tablespoon on cornstarch instead to the custard this will help to firm it!

      Reply
  13. Tracy

    November 12, 2022 at 6:47 pm

    This looks amazing! I have a corn allergy, do you think arrowroot would work as well as cornstarch?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      November 12, 2022 at 6:54 pm

      Yes! Same quantity

      Reply

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Yep, it's me Gretchen~ Owner of Gretchen's Bakery. Well, I no longer own a physical bakery since I sold mine in late 2014 & since 2016 I make nothing but the best vegan recipes! Read More…

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