Russian Napoleon Cake Recipe

How to make it

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• Pastry:
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• Mix eggs, soft butter and sour cream together till they blend well.
• Add salt.
• In a table spoon, dissolve baking soda in vinegar - you will see "bubbles". When bubbling stops, add soda+vinegar to your mixture. Stir well.
• Start adding flour, cup-by-cup, make soft smooth dough. Don't knead it too much, just enough to make it smooth and "un-sticky".
• Split dough into 16 pieces, form little balls.
• Cover the dough with plastic, and put in the fridge to chill.
• While it's chilling, prepare cream.
• Custard Cream:
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• Pour 1 1/2 quarts of milk into thick bottom pot and bring it to boil. Don't use aluminum pots - it will burn !
• While the milk is warming up, prepare the cream mix:
• Separate egg yolks and stir them very well with sugar and a pinch of salt - until mix turns very light yellow.
• Add flour, mix well.
• Add 1 cup cold milk, mix very well. Avoid lumps.
• When your milk starts to boil, reduce the heat immediately to low.
• Pour the cream mixture into boiling milk very slowly, using a whisk to stir the cream.
• Bring the mixture to boil again, constantly stirring it. When it starts boiling, you will see it become thicker. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes, don't forget to stir at all times.
• Remove from the stove, add lemon zest, vanilla, nutmeg, and vodka (rum, brandy, or liquor).
• When you are able to touch the pot, add butter and mix it in as it melts. Set aside.
• Now back to pastry:
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• Preheat oven to 420 degrees F.
• Turn off the phone, so no one can distract you for 1 hour.
• a. Get 1 piece of dough from the fridge, roll it into a very thin crust on well floured surface - as thin as you can, forming a round or a square crust.
• b. Roll the crust onto rolling pin, and unroll it onto UNGREASED baking sheet.
• c .Pierce crust with the fork all over.
• d. Bake in the oven for 2 minutes or until lightly golden. Don't over bake. It is better when it is not dark.
• e. Remove the crust from the oven and put aside.
• Repeat steps a-e for all the rest of the dough.
• Never leave the kitchen while the crust is in the oven - check it all the time - it bakes very quickly.
• Bake the last crust a little longer than others, letting it turn brown.
• Put one crust on the cake dish.
• Pour a ladle full of cream onto it.
• Use skimmer to spread the cream evenly on the crust. Repeat for all crusts, except for the brown one.
• Crush the brown crust on the board, using the rolling pin - just roll it over the crust several times - it will make great fine crumbs.
• Pour the crumbs over the top layer of the cake.
• Let the cake soak for 2-3 hours. Cut out the uneven edges, forming your favorite cake shape - square or round, or oval. You get to eat all of the cut-offs... mmmm...
• *Hint: making round-shaped cake produces more cut-offs, which means, more for you!