Russian Napoleon Cake

Russian Napoleon Cake

“A unique recipe for a layered dessert cake!

Ingredients:

WAFER DOUGH

1/2 cup of Butter

1 1/4 cups of Plain Flour

1/4 cup of Cold Water

1/2 Large Egg

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Flour for dusting

Greaseproof or Parchment Paper

CREME FILLING

1 can of Condensed Milk (340g)

2/3 cup of Unsalted Butter

3/4 cup of Freshly Chopped Walnuts

1/3 cup of Chopped Pistachio Nuts

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Method:

WAFER LAYERS

1. Leave Butter at room temperature until malleable, and soft to touch.
2. Sift Flour into large bowl.
3. Add butter an rub into flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Whisk together the egg, water and lemon juice.
5. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture with a knife, and mix together into a dough.
6. Remove dough and place on flour-dusted surface.
7. Knead the dough until smooth and non-sticky, adding extra flour, if necessary.
8. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill overnight.
9. Split into 8 equal-sized pieces.
10. Mould each piece into a ball and roll out into a large wafer-thin round.
11. Place each round on its own piece of greaseproof or parchment paper.
12. Chill the circles for about 30 minutes.
13. Bake the circles for about 12 minutes until golden and crisp.
14. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
15. Find a circular disk to use as a guide to cut perfect circles from each of the 8 baked wafers.
16. Use a sharp knife to cut around your circular marker to produce 8 matching circles.
17. Keep the off-cuts to one side for use in decorating the cake.
18. Roughly chip the off-cuts to make shavings for dressing the side of the cake.

CREME FILLING

1. Beat the unsalted butter until very soft.
2. Add the vanilla extract and blend this into the butter until smooth.
3. Add the condensed milk and beat until thick and smooth.

ASSEMBLING THE CAKE

1. Place all of the wafer circles on a flat surface so you can prepare them together.
2. Select the best round wafer for the top, and leave this for the top of the cake.
3. Spread the creme filling on 7 of the wafers, adding a large heaped tablespoon to each wafer.
4. Using a knife spread the mixture as if you are buttering toast.
5. Do this action for each of the 7 wafer layers.
6. Mix the chopped pistachios and walnuts together.
7. Sprinkle each of the 8 layers with the nuts, so their surface is randomly covered with nuts, leaving a small amount back for the top of the cake.
8. Spread the top of the cake with the creme mixture.
9. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the wafer shards until the creme is covered.
10. Add some of the nuts to the centre of the top.
11. Using a knife randomly spread the creme filling to the sides of your cake.
12. Use the remaining shards to dust the side with this covering.
13. Use an remaining nuts to in-fill the sides of the cake.
14. Chill for a few hours until set.
15. Serve with pouring cream in generous slices.

“An impressive dessert which is fairly easy to make!”