Napoleon Cake

Ingredients (Layers)

• 4 eggs (300 g)
• Sour cream (250 g)
• Butter (125 g)
• Sugar (125 g)
• Pinch of salt
• Flour (2 cups but have to make sure dough doesn’t stick to hands so add more if necessary)

Instructions (Layers)

Mix by hand until dough is ready (mixer has never been tried but might work). Roll out by hand using a smooth bottle or a large rolling pin. Make sure to make the layers as thin as possible (approx. 1mm thickness).

Place on the baking pan, dough will shrink a bit so use your fingers to stretch it to the edges of the pan. After the first layer is inserted, prepare the second layer on the 2nd pan and place on the bottom. This will prevent the top layer from burning up. Bake each layer at 370-380F for approx. 5 mins until it looks golden brown, then pull out the top layer, move the bottom layer on top and place a fresh layer underneath.

Repeat until done. This should yield 11-12 layers. Leave 1 layer (typically the last, not quite complete) to make crumbs for topping. In a bowl, crush the last layer until all crumbs are uniformly small.

Ingredients (Creme)

• 1 gal whole milk (reserve 200ml for later and drain 1/2l as not necessary)
• Butter (100 g) softened
• Flour (263 g) (King Arthur)
• 12-16 Egg yolks (depends on size, see instructions)
• Sugar (530 g)
• 3-4 Tbsp vanilla

Instructions (Creme)

In a large bowl mix sugar with eggs. The mixture needs to be similar to honey in consistency. If it is not runny enough, add more yolks. Slowly add flour and reserved milk (200 ml) to the egg/yolk mixture to avoid clumps and to keep the mixture consistent.

Preheat oven to 550F. Pour the rest of the milk into a dutch oven and bake 15min. Lower temp to 375F and bake 30-35min (until it boils). Take out of the oven and place on a stove (simmer). Pour the egg mixture into the milk slowly while mixing well. The combined mixture will thicken and will start to boil slowly. Immediately turn it off, cover with a lid and leave to cool for 20 mins.

After 20 mins, add butter (in pieces), and vanilla. Mix well so that the butter melts.

Make a bed out of aluminum foil so it makes 3-4in tall edges and the creme doesn’t spill out. Place first layer on the bottom then pour approx. 2-2.5 ladles on top and spread evenly. Add next layer and repeat until all layers are done.

Add crumbs on top of the last layer but reserve a few for next morning to refresh the top.

After the work is finished, let the cake cool 4-5hrs on the table (until it’s completely cooled off), then cover loosely with plastic and place in the fridge overnight. In the morning add fresh crumbs and cut into pieces for serving.