Time for dessert!
149 subscribers
The Perfect Napoleon 🇫 A recipe you can't help but fall in love with
November 1, 2020
625 read
Napoleon is one of the most popular and favorite cakes of different generations. There are a great many recipes and variations of Napoleon. There are even family recipes that go deep into history. Some make Napoleon with buttercream, some with custard. Some people bake the crusts themselves, while others use store-bought puff pastry. But one thing never changes - the content: a thousand layers of light, crispy pastry alternating with a delicate cream. How do you achieve this? How do you make dough that is crispy when you bite into it and melts in your mouth? How do you make a custard that doesn't feel like glue when you're tasting it? How do you make a cake that will leave behind a pleasant memory rather than a feeling of heaviness? In short, how do you make the perfect Napoleon? The answer is to study this article.
Today I'm going to tell you how to make a terrific puff pastry. Let's break down the custard from A to Z. You'll learn what Muslin and Diplomat are. We'll make 2 types of custard that you can endlessly modify to your liking and desire! Trust me, you'll just fall in love with this recipe!
PUFF PASTRY.
The dough is quite easy to make, the main thing is to know and understand some of the specifics. The base of the dough is a sandy crumb that resembles almond flour in size and texture. To achieve exactly this result, you need to work with well-cooled products. Otherwise, the butter will quickly become soft and begin to whip rather than grind and eventually collect in a lump. So an hour before kneading, put the butter, flour and salt in the refrigerator, the bowl of the food processor and the spatula attachment in the freezer.
Mix the dry ingredients and butter on the middle speed of the food processor. The process is not quick. It will take about 10 minutes. All the butter should combine with the flour. This means that when you take a little "crumb" in your hand, you won't feel bits of butter or dry flour. I hope the photo helps you understand the texture you should be aiming for:
When the "crumb" is ready, introduce the liquid ingredients: sour cream, egg yolks and vodka. Pre-mix them in a separate bowl until smooth. Try to find fat sour cream ~ 30%. Vodka can be substituted for cognac. It is impossible to remove the alcohol. Here it is a full participant in the process, not a decorative element. Vodka / cognac help the dough not to stale, be loose and brittle. The alcohol will completely dissolve during baking and will not be felt in the finished product.
Just a couple of turns of the "spatula" and the dough is ready. It's okay if it doesn't clump together. Transfer the dough to the table and gather with your hands. Form a rectangle or square to make it easier to layer the dough. Yes, yes, in this recipe we will make the layers mechanically, with our own hands. To do this, using a knife or a special cutter, divide the dough into two parts. Then put one part on the second and press with your hands, cut in half again, press again. Repeat this step 2 or 3 more times. Look, this is how the layers should turn out:
Flip through the gallery and see how to properly "layer" the dough 👉👉👉
Form a square.
Divide in half.
Flip through the gallery and see how to properly "layer" the dough 👉👉👉
The dough may stick to the table and cutter a bit. That's okay, work fast, but don't add extra flour. By the way, it is better to do all manipulations with the dough in gloves, so as not to additionally heat the butter, which is in the composition.
Now divide the dough into 5 equal parts weighing about 130 grams each. Wrap the food film and put it in the refrigerator for 10 hours or overnight. Don't neglect this step, the dough needs to stabilize.
Flip through the gallery 👉👉👉
The perfect Napoleon 🇫 A recipe you can't help but fall in love with
Flip through the gallery 👉👉👉
When the dough has "rested," roll out each piece, pre-dipping it in flour. The diameter of the layer should be 1-2 cm larger than the ring to assemble. This recipe is designed for a 16-18 cm diameter ring. If you have a larger diameter mold, recalculate the number of ingredients. Chill the rolled out sheets in the refrigerator for half an hour. If you skip this step, the dough will "shrink" a lot when baked.
Flip through the gallery.
The perfect Napoleon 🇫 A recipe you can't help but fall in love with
Scroll through the gallery.
Bake the dough in a well preheated 170 degree oven on top-bottom mode with convection. You can experiment with the temperature here, the optimal range is 170-200 degrees. I find that at higher temperatures the dough starts to "shrink". Use baking paper. During the baking process, the layer of dough will need to be flipped over. At about the 9th or 10th minute, take out the baking tray, gently flip the dough over and bake for another 9-10 minutes. The dough should be a uniform golden color, without white spots. Cut the finished crust immediately with a ring and cool completely. Look at the beautiful layers that form:
Flip through the gallery 👉👉👉
The Perfect Napoleon 🇫 A recipe you can't help but fall in love with
The Perfect Napoleon 🇫 A recipe you can't help but fall in love with
Flip through
You must be logged in to post a comment.