This is one of my all time favorite cakes. It’s a Napoleon Cake (Наполеон), a popular Russian cake made with puff pastry and smooth buttery creamy filling.
This is a very popular Russian cake and I remember my mom used to make if when I was little. She didn’t make it too often because it was a huge pain to make it (the way she puts it). You see, back when my mom was in culinary school and a young chef, they didn’t have the privilege of having frozen puff pastry like we do now. Any time they wanted puff pastry, they had to make it from scratch. As great as it is and as much as I love things to be homemade, it really is a pain to spend two days making a small pastry cake. This is exactly why I always thought this cake was so special.
To this day, my mom makes this cake for me on my birthday. Well, almost every birthday; I usually choose if I want this Napoleon Cake or a different cake (that I may share sometime soon).
Napoleon cake that you will find now, is usually made with a custard like filling. It is a more recent way of making this cake. I wanted to make a cake that my mom used to make when I was little. I called and asked her how she used to make this cake in Russia. She told me that back then, they used to make it with butter/condensed milk filling. It’s a little different from the way it is made now but it’s super delicious. Since I wanted to recreate a childhood favorite, I made the cake the same way that she made it twenty years ago.
Ahhh, heavenly!
Napoleon Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box of puff pastry 2 sheets
- 1/2 cup of butter unsalted and at room temperature
- 1/4 of 14 oz can of condensed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray it with some baking spray.
- Defrost the puff pastry and cut each square in half. This will give you four layers. Using a fork, poke some holes evenly through the pastry (about 3 times on each rectangle: top, middle, bottom).
- Place the puff pastry carefully on the cookie sheet and bake it for about 14-15 minutes.
- Cool the sheets of baked pastry completely.
- While the pastry is cooling, make the frosting.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer, with a whisk attachment, combine butter, condensed milk and vanilla extract. Beat on high for 2-3 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the whisk attachment. Beat for about another 2 minutes. The frosting will be very smooth, light and creamy.
- Collect all the crumbs from the puff pastry and press it in a few spots to get some extra crumbs. You will use those crumbs for the topping of the cake.
- Spread the frosting on top of each pastry layer, even on the top one. Spread the crumbs that you collected evenly over the top layer.
Recipe Notes
Recipe from Lyuba @ willcookforsmiles.com All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to share this recipe, please simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.
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More Cakes To Love:
Tiramisu Poke Cake
Шарлотка, Sharlotka: Russian Apple Cake
Marisa Franca
February 20, 2014 at 5:53 amOh that looks so good and rich. I remember when I was a little girl my mamma tried to make something similar to this. She did not follow recipes so she tried to duplicate what she had tasted when we lived in Italy. I don’t remember what she called it. It is definitely something I will put on my cooking roster when I get back north. As always, love the photos. I’m still working with mine and I must say I’ve got a loooong way to go.
lyuba
February 22, 2014 at 7:11 pmI hope you will give it a try and like it, Marisa! Thank you!
Gillian Sobinoff
February 14, 2015 at 9:14 pmDear Lyuba,
I had this cake for my sons christening 27 years ago and for my husbands 50th seven years ago and then the Russian gentleman got sick so we never had it again. He didn’t want anyone having his recipe so I was very happy t see yours. He also used to make a cake called a “mikada” do you or your mother know a recipe for that one?
Regards,
Gillian
lyuba
February 15, 2015 at 2:31 pmI’m so glad you were able to find the recipe, Gilian! I checked with mom and she game me a recipe for it. I will have it converted from metric and I will try it first. Definitely follow up with me on that. You can also email me directly!
Thank you 🙂
Julie-Anne
April 10, 2018 at 4:59 amHi, did you ever find a mikada recipe please?
Anna Maria
July 1, 2015 at 2:10 pmDear Marisa maybe the cake of your mamma was the “Millefoglie” that’s to say “thousand slices”.
It consists in a slice of cooked puff pastry, a cream (vanilla or chocolate), puff pastry again, cream to end with a puff pastry powdered with sugar and decorated with grated chocolate.
It is used largely in the sunday lunch and in reataurants.
Mareeyah
February 20, 2014 at 8:47 amOMG, I didn’t know this is a Russian cake! We have a very similar dessert in my hometown which we call “Napoleones”…you can Google it for pictures, it has a white glazing on top though. It must have been inspired by this cake, but I never thought before that that yummy dessert has Russian origins. I learned something new today. 🙂
lyuba
February 22, 2014 at 7:13 pmI think it is a version of a French pastry cake and there is an Italian version too. This one has been a favorite in Russia for ages though. Thank you, Mareeyah!
Gina
February 20, 2014 at 11:03 amOh – for real??!!! WOW this looks sooooooo good. I would sit & eat the whole thing by myself.
lyuba
February 22, 2014 at 7:14 pmThank you, Gina! It’s pretty rich, I think you would need to take a milk break 😉
I hope you give it a try!
Heather {Woods of Bell Trees}
February 20, 2014 at 5:40 pmThis looks DELIGHTFUL! I love puff pastry! Yeah I made puff pastry for the first time last year…I don’t plan on making it again; while it was so delicious it wasn’t worth the time and effort. I love the beauty and simplicity of this cake!
lyuba
February 22, 2014 at 7:16 pmExactly, this is just one pastry dough that is not worth the trouble 🙂
Thank you so much, Heather!
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats
February 20, 2014 at 10:45 pmMy husband would love this. He is a sucker for anything with sweetened condensed milk, beyond that this just looks amazing. But major kudos to your momma who made this without premade puff pastry. That would definitely take a while, but I’m sure she did it in love for you guys! 🙂 Pinned!
lyuba
February 22, 2014 at 7:18 pmI think that she did it so much at work, that it she was used to it. Although, I can imagine how happy she was that puff pastry can be bought frozen 🙂
Thank you, Krista!
Winnie
February 21, 2014 at 9:12 amIt’s one delicious and super-tempting looking cake!!
lyuba
February 22, 2014 at 7:19 pmThank you, Winnie!
Gloria // Simply Gloria
February 21, 2014 at 7:29 pmWhat a neat story about your momma. I sure do love the frozen puff pastry we have now a days! Love this easy simply (and delicious) cake!
lyuba
February 22, 2014 at 7:21 pmThank you, Gloria!!
[email protected]
February 22, 2014 at 12:52 amWhat an awesome birthday cake! I can see why you love it so much Lyuba, it looks delicious. 🙂
lyuba
February 22, 2014 at 7:24 pmThank you, Lisa!
Dora
February 22, 2014 at 12:09 pmThat. Looks. Amazing. 🙂
lyuba
February 22, 2014 at 7:24 pmThank you, Dora!
Ashley @ musingsandoats
February 24, 2014 at 10:18 amoh my my…this looks so delicious and simple! What a great recipe to have on hand 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
lyuba
March 1, 2014 at 9:43 pmThank you so much, Ashley!
laramealor.com
February 24, 2014 at 1:04 pmThis looks like it would be hard to make from the picture, but yet it is easy. Can’t wait to make in for the family.
http://www.laramealor.com/what-you-may-not-know-about-type-2-diabetes/
lyuba
March 1, 2014 at 9:43 pmSo easy and so delicious! THank you 🙂
Prismonic
October 16, 2016 at 6:24 pmI made this today. It was a total hit. The filling looked sparse, but it was rich enough so I didn’t need more. I didn’t add anything to it, but I think when I make it again, which I certainly will, I will put dots of fruit sauce (homemade) on top or powdered cacao. Yum yum!
Lyuba
October 17, 2016 at 10:37 pmThank you, Priscilla! The fruit sauce would be delicious! Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Anna
August 7, 2017 at 9:00 pmGreat recipe! So easy and it tasted like the original that my grandmother used to make. Will definitely make it again. Thanks for sharing.
lyuba
August 17, 2017 at 10:44 amAwe, thank you, Anna!! That is so nice to hear 🙂
Elaine
August 8, 2018 at 3:54 pmI made this cake today. It is delicious. I was taste testing it for an upcoming party. Do you think you can make this 1 day in advance and then refrigerate? Or is this something that you must make and eat the same day?
lyuba
August 17, 2018 at 11:34 amHi Elaine!
I’m sorry for the late response. You can definitely make it the day before and just pull it out of the fridge about an hour before you will be serving it so that the filling is not hard. It’s better when it’s not cold right from the fridge 🙂
I really hope everyone likes it!