Cottage Cheese Napoleon with Pastry Cream

One of my favorite variations on Napoleon - cottage cheese Napoleon: ten tender cottage-cheese-dough layers, spread with classic pastry cream. Tasty and filling, satisfying and appetizing - you'll definitely love it. Recommend! Thank you Nadine for the recipe.

Cottage Cheese Napoleon

Napoleon made with ten tender cottage-cheese-dough layers and classic pastry cream, with crumb-coated sides and sliced almonds on top.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Soaking time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Dough

• 100 g butter melted and cooled
• 380 g flour sifted
• 400 g cottage cheese
• 2 eggs
• 200 g sugar
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch vanillin

Cream

• 4 eggs
• 1000 ml milk
• 230 g sugar
• 70 g flour
• 2 g vanilla sugar or a pinch of vanillin

For decoration

• sliced almonds for the top

Method

 

Dough

1. Mash the cottage cheese well with a spoon. Add the sugar, eggs, vanillin, melted and cooled butter, and baking powder. Mix and let rest on the counter for 15-20 minutes.
2. Add the sifted flour in small portions and knead a soft dough by hand. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge.

Cream

1. In a deep pot, whisk the sugar, eggs, and vanilla sugar (or a pinch of vanillin) together well. Add the flour and mix thoroughly to avoid lumps.
2. Pour in the milk and set over medium heat. Cook for 10-15 minutes until thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. As soon as the first bubbles appear, remove from heat, transfer the cream to another container, and let cool.

Layers

1. Take the dough out of the fridge, divide it into 2 parts, roll each into a log, and cut each into 5 pieces - 10 balls in total.
2. Roll out each ball on a sheet of parchment into a layer 20-21 cm in diameter and cut a neat circle around a plate. Set the trimmings aside - they'll become the crumb coating. Prick the layers with a fork so they don't puff up too much.
3. Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for 8-15 minutes depending on your oven (I baked mine for 10 minutes each) - watch closely, don't overbake. Cool the layers on a rack; once cooled, you can safely stack them.

Assembly

1. Spread each layer with cream - about 2.5-3 tablespoons per layer. Stack all 10 layers, then coat the sides and top of the cake with cream.
2. Crumble the reserved dough trimmings and coat the sides of the cake with the crumbs. Sprinkle the top with sliced almonds.
   
3. Chill the cake in the fridge for 1.5-2 hours to let it soak. Enjoy!

Notes

It's convenient to make the cream while the dough chills. A well-soaked cake slices cleanly and melts in your mouth.

Tips

• Prick the layers with a fork before baking - that way they won't puff up too much.
• Baking time depends on your oven: anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes; I baked mine for 10 minutes each. Watch closely and don't overbake.
• Don't throw away the trimmings: crumble them into crumbs - they're used to coat the sides of the cake.
• Let the cake soak in the fridge for 1.5-2 hours - the layers will turn tender.