Napoleon Cake

Preheat the Oven Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).

Prepare the Pastry Roll out the puff pastry and cut it into rectangles that are slightly larger than the desired size of the cake. Prick the pastry with a fork to prevent it from puffing up too much during baking. Place the pastry rectangles on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake the Pastry Bake the pastry rectangles in the preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Heat the Milk In a large saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until hot but not boiling.

Prepare the Custard In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla extract until well combined.

Temper the Eggs Slowly pour about half of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs.

Combine the Ingredients Pour the tempered egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk, whisking constantly.

Cook the Custard Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and comes to a gentle boil. Remove from heat.

Add the Butter Add the softened butter to the saucepan and whisk until the butter is fully incorporated and the custard is smooth and creamy.

Cool the Custard Transfer the custard to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Let the custard cool to room temperature.

Assemble the Cake Place a layer of puff pastry on a serving plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Spread a generous amount of custard over the pastry layer.

Layer the Cake Repeat the process with the remaining layers of puff pastry and custard, ending with a layer of pastry on top. Dust the top layer with powdered sugar.

Chill the Cake Refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours, or overnight, to allow the layers to soften and the flavors to meld together.

Serve the Cake Slice the Napoleon Cake into rectangular pieces, and serve chilled.