Vegan Napoleon Cake
Creamy Vanilla Diplomat Cream sandwiched between three flaky layers of puff pastry. Diplomat Cream is essentially custard mixed with stabilized whipped cream
Ingredients
- ½ Box Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets
For the Diplomat Cream
- 1¾ cup Plant Milk (415ml)
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar (100g)
- 4½ Tbs Cornstarch *see notes (42g)
- 1 teaspoon Agar powder *see notes
- 1 Tbs Vegan Butter (14g)
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (10ml)
- 1 cup Vegan Whipped Cream 1 cup
For the Icing
- ½ cup Confectioners Sugar (60g)
- ¼ teaspoon Almond extract
- 2 teaspoon Plant milk or water
- 2 Tbs Vegan Chocolate
For the Garnish
- 1 cup Sliced toasted almonds
Instructions
- First thaw the puff pastry (I do this overnight in the refrigerator) then unfold one sheet & cut it along the folds *see video tutorial
- Preheat the oven to 400°F
- Arrange the 3 rectangles of puff pastry on a parchment lined sheet pan & dock each one with a fork for steam vents
- Bake for 15 minutes in 400℉ 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
- Prepare the vegan whipped cream and reserve in the refrigerator until needed (whichever brand or recipe you are using you will need 2 cups of total volume whipped cream)
- Prepare the custard by whisking together the sugar with the cornstarch & agar powder then add that to the plant milk in a large sauce pot whisk evenly
- 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 & add the vegan butter & 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 but do not allow it to get fully cold or set
- Once the custard is cool enough. 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 & 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 & glaze the top with the confectioners sugar, almond extract & 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 & stripe the top then using a skewer make the design by dragging it through the chocolate striping
- Garnish the sides with sliced toasted almonds
Notes
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.
Acetate cake strips are very helpful when making cold preparation molded desserts like this one.
Storage 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
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
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!