Napoleon Cake

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes plus refrigeration

Servings 8 (makes 1 x 20 cm cake)

Ingredients

Flaky Pastry

400g plain flour

250g unsalted butter, frozen

110ml water, cold

1 egg

2 tsp white vinegar

Pinch salt flakes

Vanilla Pastry Cream with Squacquerone

675ml milk

2 vanilla pods

150g caster sugar

45g cornflour

45g plain flour

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

50g unsalted butter

50ml rum or cognac (optional)

250g squacquerone

250g mascarpone

Method

Prepare 1 X 20 cm X 6 cm springform cake ring and baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

To make the pastry, whisk the vinegar into the egg and add the water, reserve in the freezer until needed. Place the flour into a large mixing bowl and using the fine edge of a cheese grater, grate in the frozen butter. Ensure the butter is completely covered in the flour. Using your fingertips rub the butter with the flour to achieve a fine sandy texture. Add the liquid to the bowl and mix well with your hands to form a dough. Do not overmix, just bring the dough together. Turn the dough out onto a clean bench and knead lightly before flattening into a square shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 - 30 minutes.

To make the cream, place the egg, yolks, sugar, cornflour, flour and vanilla into a bowl and use a whisk to mix well into a smooth paste. Add the milk into a large heavy bottomed saucepan and start to heat. Once it starts to boil, pour a third of the milk into the egg mixture and mix well. Return that mixture back into the remaining milk and place onto a low to medium heat. Cook while using a hand whisk to mix constantly, continue cooking until the mixture boils and then continue cooking for a minute until it has completely thickened. Be careful at this stage the custard does not catch onto the base of the saucepan. Keep whisking. Remove from the heat and transfer into a mixing bowl and add the butter. Use a hand whisk or beater to mix well and incorporate the butter. Add the cognac if using, and mix well again. Add the mascarpone to the bowl and mix well before adding in the squacquerone which has been cut into small pieces. Continue to mix until you have a smooth and delicious cream. Cover with cling wrap and set aside.

To roll the pastry, remove the pastry from the fridge and cut the dough into six equal-sized pieces. Use flour to roll each piece out into a square or circle shape with a thickness off 2 mm. Place the rolled pastry onto a floured piece of baking paper on a plate or tray. Repeat with the remaining five pieces and put all six pieces of rolled pastry into the fridge for 20 minutes.

To cook the pastry, remove the rolled pastry from the fridge. Place your 20 cm springform cake tin on top of each piece of pastry as a guide and use a small knife to cut around the shape leaving a disc. Remove the excess pastry trim and place it onto a baking tray to be baked later. Repeat with all the discs and cook them at 180°C on baking trays for 15 - 20 minutes until they are puffed and golden. You will need to cook in batches. Once the discs are cooked then bake the excess pastry trim pieces as well and leave everything to cool.

To assemble the cake, take the 20 cm springform tin and lightly spray inside with the canola oil. Line the sides of the tin only with baking paper cut to size. Place a cooked pastry disc into the base of the tin. Spoon 250g or around a sixth of the quantity of cream in small blobs on top of the pastry and use a small offset spatula to evenly spread the cream to cover the pastry. Add a second disc and gently press down before again spooning 250g or a sixth of the cream on top. Use the spatula to level flat and repeat until all of the discs have been pressed in. Spoon the remaining cream on top of the final disc and level smooth before covering with cling wrap and putting in the fridge for a minimum of five hours or preferably overnight.

To finish, crush all of the excess cooked pastry with your fingers until it is a crumb, set aside. Remove the cake from the fridge and remove the cling wrap. Gently release the spring and lift off the tin. Gently remove the paper from the sides of the cake and then lift the cake using the tin base. Take the pastry crumbs and cover the surface of the cake completely. Use a wide slice or palette knife to transfer the cake from the tin base to a serving plate.