My Mother-In-Law’s Napoleon Torte

My Mother-In-Law is an amazing cook. As much as I enjoy baking, I had to take her up on an offer to bring a dessert for our Thanksgiving weekend feasts. After one bite of this beautiful torte, my son exclaimed that it was the best dessert he has eaten in his entire life. I knew that I had to share her recipe as a guest post of sorts. My son wanted the title to be “The Best Dessert the World Has Ever Known.” 🙂

Delicious and pretty! Here it is:

For the Cake Layer:

• 3 cups (390 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 cup light cream

For the Caramel:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 cans (14 oz each) sweetened condensed milk (Carnation or Borden’s Eagle Brand)

For the Pudding:

• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 T sauce flour (Wondra brand)
• 1 T granulated sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup light cream
• vanilla extract or 1 envelope of Dr. Oetker vanillin sugar
• 3 oz (1 package) serve and cook vanilla pudding (Jello brand)

For the Apricot Layer:

• 1 12-oz can Solo Apricot Cake and Pastry Filling

To Make the Cake Layer:

1. Combine the flour, butter, egg yolks, and light cream until a dough is formed.
2. Divide the dough into 7 equal balls; refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
4. Line 9.5″ cake pans with parchment; coat with cooking oil spray.
5. Roll out each ball of dough into a 9.5″ circle (to fit into the cake pan), trying to make rounds of equal thickness.
6. Prick each round of dough with a fork, cover with aluminum foil (or parchment), and pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes.
7. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking for 4 to 5 minutes, or until lightly brown. (You may have to use a shield to prevent the edges from over browning.)
8. Repeat these steps and bake the remaining rounds.
9. Use 6 rounds for the torte. Crumble one round for decorating.

To Make the Caramel:

1. Place the cans of sweetened condensed milk in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours- making sure that the cans are covered with water at all times. Cool completely. (This step can be done in advance.)
2. Cream the butter until fluffy.
3. Add 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cans of caramel (to taste) and mix to incorporate well.

To Make the Pudding:

1. Beat 3 egg yolks with granulated sugar and vanilla until lemon-yellow.
2. Mix in flour.
3. Combine the milk and light cream.
4. Add one cup of the milk-cream mixture to the egg-flour-vanilla mixture. Mix well.
5. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan; add the remaining milk-cream mixture. Add the vanilla pudding mix.
6. Mix well and heat on medium until the mixture comes to a boil. Cover with plastic wrap and cool completely in the refrigerator. (The pudding must be cold!)

To Complete the Filling:

1. Fold the Caramel into the Pudding until a uniform mixture is achieved.

To Make the Apricot Layer:

1. Using a small blender, immersion blender, or food processor, blend the apricot filling to make a uniform mass.

To Complete the Torte:

1. Spread the first cake round with a thin coat of apricot filling and then spread the Caramel/Pudding on top.
2. Top with the second round of cake; top with the Caramel/Pudding filling layer only.
3. Continue the process, spreading the apricot filling on every other round.
4. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining Caramel/Pudding filling.
5. Crush the 7th round of cake and decorate the sides of the cake to hide any imperfections.
6. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

One Year Ago:

• Vanilla Bean Milk Tart with Brown Sugar Crust
• Tate’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Two Years Ago:

• Pecan Pie Bars

Three Years Ago:

• Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing
• Cranberry Bread

About Josette@thebrookcook

I live in Stony Brook, New York on Long Island. I love garlic and baking. My hobby (and love) is to try new recipes. My favorite recipe resources include The New York Times, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and Martha Stewart Living. Enjoy!

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