Custard for Napoleon: a recipe. Video
The famous Napoleon cake comes from a delicious flaky delicacy often served on the table of French kings, it is called mille-feuille. Millefeuil consists not only of three layers of multi-layered dough, but also of the famous pastry cream, which is only occasionally replaced with whipped cream or thick jam.
This cream has many names – confectionery, custard, patissier (patissiere). It can also be called classic, because many traditional pastries and cakes are cooked with it. You will need: – 2 cups milk, 3,5% fat; – 5 egg yolks; – 6 to 8 tablespoons of granulated sugar; – 3 tablespoons of cornstarch; – 1 vanilla pod.
You can substitute natural vanilla pods with 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
Pour milk into a saucepan. Cut the vanilla pod in half, clean the seeds with the tip of a sharp knife and also put them in the milk. Bring the milk to a near boil. While it is heating, beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl, then add cornstarch in a thin stream, beat until smooth. Remove the vanilla pod from the hot milk, pour the milk into the egg mixture, whisking it constantly. Strain the cream through a fine sieve back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking together. The finished cream should thicken and turn into a smooth, glossy homogeneous mass, then you should stop cooking it.
The custard can be chilled and used immediately, or put in a bowl, covered with cling film, and stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Butter custard is often prepared for “Napoleon” by adding whipped butter to the finished confectionery cream, along with condensed milk or sugar syrup. Also, the taste of the cream can be set off by pouring in a little aromatic alcohol – brandy, liqueur, adding lemon or orange peel, the composition may include dark chocolate, cocoa or an ingredient such as almond essence.
Milfey is often sandwiched with custard with berry jam – strawberry, raspberry, blueberry. In order to make a strawberry layer, take: – 400 g of fresh berries; – 1 tablespoon of lemon juice; – 400 g of zhelefix (sugar with pectin).
Free the strawberries from the stalks, rinse under running water, pat dry with kitchen paper towels and cut into halves. Place in a saucepan, pour in lemon juice and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until the berries produce juice. Add sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4-5 minutes. In order to check the readiness of the jam, there is a simple way: put the jam on a cold porcelain dish, let it cool slightly and swipe. The product is ready if wrinkles remain on it. If the jam is not ready, cook it for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally.