This layered and very light cake is super easy to make and comes together within about 20-30 minutes, if you’re in a hurry.
Whilst its origins aren’t exactly clear, with a name like “Cake Napoleon” , you would think it would be exclusively French, however, there are slight differences in the Russian/Slavic version than the French version, which goes by the name Mille Feuille, and is topped with icing.

* If you purchase anything through any of the links I provide in my posts, I may receive some compensation, at absolutely NO cost to you! Thank you for helping me do what I love, and that is teaching you all to cook.*

INGREDIENTS :

• Puff pastry sheet (cut into 8 rectangles. 1-2 pieces/rectangles reserved for crumb topping)
• 500 mL (about 2 cups) milk
• 2 eggs
• 50g (grams) flour (about 3 Tablespoons)
• 150g sugar
• 100g butter
• 1 tsp (teaspoon) vanilla extract

STEPS :

1. Begin heating 2 cups of milk on your stove top over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly so that it doesn’t burn.

2. At this time, take out your puff pastry sheet and very lightly roll it out with a rolling pin and cut into 8 rectangles. Bake according to the instructions but check your pastry after HALF the recommend baking time. Since you rolled it out thinner, it will more than likely cook faster. Once nicely browned/golden, remove from the oven and set aside. Reserve 1-2 pieces of pastry for your crumbled coating.
3. In a bowl, mix together your sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and flour until smooth and fully incorporated.
4. Once your milk begins releasing some heat steam, slowly pour in a little bit of it into the bowl with your sugar and egg mixture and whisk. This is called tempering your eggs. This is done so that your eggs do not curdle when being combined with a heat source. Once lightly tempered, add your tempered egg-sugar mixture into your pot with the rest of the milk. Turn to low and whisk continuously until it thickens.
5. Once your milk and sugar-egg mixture is fully incorporated and thickened, remove from the stove top and set aside for a few minutes. After a few minutes of letting it very slightly cool down, add in your butter and whisk everything again. Allow to cool for a little bit and then cover with Saran Wrap, making sure your Saran Wrap is TOUCHING the cream. This prevents film layer forming at the top as it cools down further.
6. Once your cream cools down to a manageable degree (or even in the fridge overnight!) you can begin your assembly. Your bottom layer should be puff pastry, topped with cream, then puff pastry and top with cream. Continue on until you are out of puff pastry pieces AND DONT FORGET TO RESERVE 1-2 pieces of pastry on the side. As you’re finishing your assembly, your top most layer now should be cream. Go all the way around and coat the sides with your cream as well. It should resemble something like a block of butter.
7. Now you take your reserved pieces of puff pastry and crumble them in your hands and then begin sprinkling your crumbles around the sides and top of the cream smothered cake. Allow the cake a couple of hours to fully intake all the cream into the pastry layers and soften them. You can even put it in your fridge overnight and enjoy the following day for best results. If you want a softer consistency, remove your cake from the fridge for about 30 minutes before slicing and enjoy.

Start by getting all your ingredients together and put your milk on the stove to begin heating, inside a pot.

While your milk is preheating, preheat your oven to the temp that is recommended on your puff pastry packaging. Slightly roll your puff pastry sheet out thinner than it comes.

Cut your puff pastry sheet into 8 equal-ish sized rectangles/squares, lay out on parchment paper and bake for HALF the time as recommended or until your pieces are golden brown. Since you rolled your pastry out thinner, it will take less time to cook than the packaging suggests.

Once your milk begins steaming a bit, it is ready to temper your egg and sugar mixture. This is done to prevent curdling of your eggs as they come into contact with heat. This is executed by slowly pouring some of the hot liquid into the mixture whilst simultaneously whisking it to distribute it evenly.

Once your sugar-egg mixture is tempered with a little bit of the hot milk, go ahead and add the mixtures contents into the pot with the rest of the hot milk and turn your heat to low and continue cooking the cream until thickened. This will take only a few minutes. Keep mixing to prevent burning.

Once your mixture is thickened, take off heat, allow to cool for a couple of minutes and add your butter. Mix well to fully incorporate.

Once you mix your butter in, allow the cream to cool a few minutes and then top with Saran Wrap, making sure you push it down so it is laying directly on top of your cream, which will prevent a film forming as it cools.

Once your pastry pieces are cooked and your cream is cooled down, you are ready to start assembly. Start with your bottom most layer being a layer of puff pastry.

Top your first layer of pastry with a layer of cream. Continue layering Pastry sheet and layer of cream until you run out of pastry pieces. DO NOT FORGET TO SAVE 1-2 PIECES OF PASTRY FOR THE CRUMB.

Your top most layer will be cream. Make sure you go all around and line the sides of your cake stack with cream as well. Then go ahead and crumble those 1-2 reserved pieces of pastry you put off to the side.

Coat your cream outer layer, top and sides, with the crumbled puff pastry.

Continue until fully covered. Allow your cake to sit and release its flavors for a couple of hours, if you have the time. If not, dig right in.

This cake is best served after sitting in the fridge overnight to allow your pastry layers to soften from the cream layers being incorporated into the dough.

LINKS TO SOME OF MY FAVORITE PRODUCTS FOR CAKES:

Silicone Spatula Set – https://amzn.to/4fTJ3BD

Metal Whisk Set – https://amzn.to/40O6AzK

French Rolling Pin – https://amzn.to/40UXq4E

Pastry/Pasta Cutter – https://amzn.to/4fyOar5