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!
Creamy Vanilla Diplomat Cream sandwiched between three flaky layers of puff pastry
A thin sugar glaze with stripes of chocolate and toasted almonds really bring it all together!
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!
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
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!
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE 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
For more classic cakes veganized, click the links below!
Dobos Torte~ The Original 7 Layer Cake
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- Dobos Torte
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- Strawberry Fraisier Cake
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- 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.
- 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
- Preheat the oven to 400°F
- First thaw the puff pastry (I do this overnight in the refrigerator) unfold one sheet then cut it along the folds
- Arrange the 3 rectangles of pastry on a parchment lined sheet pan and dock each one with a fork for steam vents
- Bake for 15 minutes then cool completely
- Lightly press each puff pastry rectangle to flatten them out slightly
- 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
- Prepare the vegan whipped cream *I use SILK brand whipping cream *not sponsored and reserve in the refrigerator until needed
- 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
- Bring everything to a full rolling boil over medium to high heat whisking constantly to avoid scorching
- Once it comes to a full boil remove from the heat and add the vegan butter and the vanilla extract, whisk smooth
- Transfer the hot custard to a large mixing bowl & whisk to release the intense heat.
- 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
- 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.
- Add the remaining custard over the pastry and top it with the last layer of pastry
- Freeze until set *approx 1 hour
- 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
- Melt the vegan chocolate and stripe the top then using a skewer make the design by dragging it through the chocoalte striping
- Garnish the sides with sliced toasted almonds
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
I tried to click on the link for the tutorial, but no luck,
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
not a problem, just thought maybe there was a glitch. Take your time it’s worth the wait
Yes! thank you for letting me know, sometimes there are glitches!
What will be the best knife to cut this with?
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
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?
Hi Sandra! I am using SILK brand whipping cream it is a time saver! I LOVE IT!
It looks delicious! Is there is way of making the dough from scratch?
Yes of course! I believe there are many tutorials for puff pastry on the internet!
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.
Do you think parchment would work in place of acetate?
Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets are not vegan…
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.
Hi Gretchen. Just made this today and dessert hour cannot come close enough! It looks soooo good. Thanks for the recipe & tutorial!
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! 🥰
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?
Yes I do know that. I use Zulka brand granulated sugar in all my recipes. It’s vegan/organic
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.
Correct
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
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.
Thank you! <3
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!
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!
This looks amazing! I have a corn allergy, do you think arrowroot would work as well as cornstarch?
Yes! Same quantity