Chocolate "Napoleon" Cake

Chocolate "Napoleon" cake is a pure explosion of flavor: eight thin cocoa layers coated with a custard cream made with butter and condensed milk, topped with a cap of chocolate crumbs. The cake needs a night in the fridge so the layers soak through and turn soft. My family has tried this recipe many times over - I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Chocolate "Napoleon" Cake

Chocolate "Napoleon" made of eight thin cocoa layers with a butter-and-condensed-milk custard cream, coated in chocolate crumbs.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Chilling the dough and soaking 9 hours hrs

Total Time 10 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Servings: 10 slices

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Dough

• 280 g flour
• 130 g butter cold
• 90 ml milk
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 tbsp vodka
• 1 pinch salt

Cream

• 2 eggs
• 70 g sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 300 ml milk
• 150 g butter room temperature
• 130 g condensed milk room temperature

Method

 

Dough

1. Rub the cold butter with the sifted flour, cocoa and salt into crumbs.
2. Add the milk and vodka, and knead the dough. As soon as it comes together into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Cream

1. While the dough rests, make the cream. Take the butter and condensed milk out of the fridge ahead of time - they need to be at room temperature.
2. Heat the milk. Lightly whisk the eggs with the sugar and cornstarch so no lumps remain.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the hot milk in a thin stream, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spatula. Cook for 7-10 minutes until thickened and bubbling.
4. Let the custard base cool completely. Then add the butter little by little, whipping with a hand blender until thickened, and finally whisk in the condensed milk.

Layers and assembly

1. Divide the chilled dough into 8 parts. Roll each thinly, prick with a fork, and cut out a layer of the desired diameter - using a plate or a ring as a guide.
2. Bake the layers together with the trimmings in an oven preheated to 180°C for 5-7 minutes. Stack the finished layers, and set the trimmings aside for the crumb topping.
3. Spread cream between the layers and assemble the cake. Crush the trimmings into crumbs and coat the top and sides.
   
4. Chill the cake overnight in the fridge to soak. Enjoy!
   

Notes

Recipe adapted from Nadine's blog and tried many times over. It's convenient to make the cream while the dough is chilling in the fridge.

Tips

• Vodka in the dough is there for flakiness and a crumbly texture - it fully evaporates during baking, so no taste of it remains.
• Butter and condensed milk should be taken out of the fridge ahead of time: they need to be at room temperature, or the cream will separate.
• Cool the custard base completely before adding the butter, a little at a time - into a warm cream the butter will simply melt.
• Don't throw away the layer trimmings: they become the crumb topping for the top and sides of the cake.
• Soaking: leave the cake overnight in the fridge - an hour isn't enough time for the layers to soften.