This Pistachio Napoleon Torte is my twist on the traditional Ukrainian Napoleon.
In my childhood, Napoleon Torte was the epitome of a fancy dessert made only for special occasions by my aunt Titka Maria or Mama. Years later, when I began working in Ukraine, I learned this torte was adored by other Ukrainians and prepared annually for New Year’s Eve. What’s not to like? It is hard to resist millefeuille, the French word for a thousand, airy pastry layers filled with a rich pastry cream.
The Napoleon name, however, intrigued me. Why was a pastry named after the French emperor so popular in Ukraine?
As it turns out, Napoleon the emperor had nothing to do with Napoleon the torte. Many culinary historians do not associate this torte name with Napoleon Bonaparte. However, the origin of pâte feuilletée, the flaky puff pastry essential for the Napoleon torte, was possibly French with the following endearing but much-debated legend.
Legend has it that Claudius Gelée, a French pastry cook apprentice, inadvertently created a laminated pastry in 1645. He wanted to bake enriched bread for his sick father, who was on a strict flour, water, and butter diet. Gelée layered a simple bread dough with butter, folding and rolling it several times before baking. The resulting airy, tall pastry with many thin layers brought Gelée fame in Paris. Seeking to perfect his culinary skills, Gelée traveled to Florence, the center of European civilization then, and found employment at Brothers Mosca’s pastry shop.
The Brothers Mosca appreciated Gelée ’s pastry innovation and began baking his recipe as their brand without sharing the profits. Gelée went to court, and Brothers Mosca, realizing they could not win the trial, fled to Naples, taking the recipe.
In Naples, bakery workers at the runaway brothers’ bakery coated the puff pastry layers with jam, and the cake became known by the name Napolitano, which is Neapolitan. Later, the recipe again appeared in France under the name Neapolitan. Pastry chefs at the king’s court in Versailles began preparing it with cream, whipped cream and strawberry jam and called it the “royal biscuit.”
In 1780-1790, during the French Revolution, French noblemen, tutors, shopkeepers, craftsmen, artists and cooks fleeing the guillotine brought the puff pastry dessert to Russia, and the recipe spread throughout the empire, arriving in Ukraine, then under Russian rule. I am sure my family cooks did not know that this French dessert was a legacy of Russian colonialism.
Whether the creation legend is true or not, to the Russian ear, the word Neapolitan sounded like Napoleon, which was easier to pronounce, so that name entered the empire’s vernacular, eventually spreading to all parts of the world except France, where this pastry is called millefeuille. In the classic version, millefeuille consists of crispy puff pastry layers held together with cream, although jam is used occasionally like in Naples. Millefeuille differs from Napoleon, in which the cream must permeate and soften the dough.
Our daughter Sophia’s birthday was the special occasion that prompted my renewed interest in making a Napoleon. Rather than purchasing all-butter puff pastry, I followed Mama’s recipe for rough puff pastry, which produces flaky, crispy layers.
Although vanilla or chocolate Napoleon are classics, since Sophia loves pistachios, I transformed the traditional vanilla pastry cream into a diplomat pastry cream flavored with sweet pistachio paste. I also spread tart raspberry jam on each puff pastry layer except the top.
Traditional Napoleon Torte
On traditional Napoleon tortes, the pastry cream is used between layers and as a frosting, and the entire torte is coated with leftover baked dough crumbs. Instead, I used the pastry cream-crumbs combination on the sides of the torte. Still, I finished the top with pistachio buttercream for a smoother, more elegant appearance, decorating the torte with fresh raspberries, buttercream rosettes, and chopped pistachios.
My finished Pistachio Napoleon Torte consists of twelve 7-inch (17.78 cm) diameter layers, which can be larger or smaller. The number of layers will be reduced if the layers are larger. This recipe provides sufficient fillings and frosting for a 10-inch (25 cm) torte.
This Pistachio Napoleon Torte is a special occasion dessert with five steps, which can be done over several days. The pastry dough and torte layers can be made up to a week ahead and kept in a tightly closed container to retain crispness. The pistachio pastry cream, buttercream and raspberry jam spread also can be prepared several days ahead and refrigerated. Assembling, frosting and decorating should be done on the day before serving. This torte takes time, but the extra effort is worth it.
Pistachios and raspberries are an excellent combination. The buttery layers provide an excellent base for the luscious, nutty taste of the pistachio pastry cream. The silky, smooth pistachio buttercream enhances the pistachio flavor. Raspberry jam and fresh raspberries add a subtle, tangy note. This Pistachio Napoleon Torte is a rich, colorful torte that befits a special celebration.
Pistachio Napoleon Torte
For pastry:
14 ounces (400 g) unsalted butter, 82.5% fat, frozen
28 ounces (800 g) all-purpose flour
300 ml whole milk, cold
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vinegar, 5-6% acidity
For pistachio pastry cream:
3 ⅜ teaspoons (10.4 g) unflavored gelatine powder
9 tablespoons (133 ml) water
7 ounces (200 g) sugar, more to taste
2 tablespoons (60 g) cornstarch
Pinch salt
20 ounces + 1 ½ teaspoons (600 ml) whole milk
3 egg yolks
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
7 ounces (200 g) butter
3 ⅓ ounces (95 g) pistachio cream, purchased *
1 ½ drop each of green and yellow food coloring, optional
3 ½ ounces (100 ml) heavy cream
For pistachio buttercream frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temp
3 ⅓ ounces (95 g) sweeten pistachio cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⅓ cups (155 g) confectioner’s sugar
Food coloring, optional
For raspberry filling and garnish:
1 jar- 12 ounces (340 g) raspberry preserves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 half-pint (170 g) fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
Preparing pastry dough: Place butter in the freezer overnight.
Grated butter
When preparing torte layers, sift the flour into a large bowl and grate frozen butter directly on the flour with a coarse box grater. (Avoid using a food processor for grating as its speed will melt the butter.) Stir with a spatula to combine loosely. Coat butter thoroughly with the flour, rubbing the grated butter with flour with your hands for no more than 2-3 minutes.
Add salt to cold milk. Stir to dissolve. Pour this liquid into the flour mixture. Add vinegar, and with a spatula, stir to combine until a shaggy dough forms. Quickly form dough into a ball without kneading so that the butter remains in large pieces.
Depending on the number of desired layers, divide the dough into 10-12 equal portions, about 5- 4 ¼ ounces (145-120 g) each. Arrange in a floured container, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight.
Portioned dough
If preparing torte the same day, prepare pastry cream while the dough is chilling.
Preparing pistachio pastry cream: Combine gelatine and water in a small bowl. Stir and set aside to soften.
Add sugar, cornstarch, and salt to a heat-resistant bowl and whisk to combine. Then, whisk in cold milk, followed by egg yolks. Place bowl over a pot of water simmering on low heat (the bowl bottom should not touch the water) and cook, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency. (Custard is done when a path drawn by a whisk holds its shape and coats the back of a spoon.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, softened gelatine and butter. (The mixture will become watery initially but smooth with continued whisking.)
Add pistachio cream to the custard and whisk to blend. Stir in food coloring if using. Pour custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl to remove lumps. Place plastic wrap directly on the custard surface to prevent crust from forming and set aside for four hours to cool to room temperature.
When custard has cooled, whip heavy cream to soft peaks in a chilled bowl with a chilled beater. Remove plastic wrap from the custard, stir in a spoonful of cream to loosen the custard, and when combined, fold in the remaining cream until the mixture is blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, but do not place wrap on the surface of the custard, and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.
Baking pastry layers: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
When ready to bake, remove only as many portions of dough from the refrigerator as you can bake at one time (keeping the remaining dough refrigerated), and roll each portion into a thin wafer on a piece of parchment or silicone sheet. (The dough should be rolled out as thin as possible, dusting the rolling pin with flour as needed. The pastry should be rolled larger than the desired finished diameter as the pastry will shrink about 1 inch (2.5 cm) during baking. Dough cutoffs will be baked and used to coat the finished cake.)
Preparing layers
Use an expandable cake ring set at 8 inches (22 cm) diameter for a 7-inch cake as I did, or with a sharp knife, use a parchment paper template, dish, or pot lid to ensure that the layers are identical, cut through the dough, leaving dough scraps to be used for garnish in place.
Ready for baking
Move layers with parchment or silicone sheet to baking sheet. Prick with a fork and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the layer when golden and cool it on parchment or silicone sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer the layer and scraps to a wire rack to complete cooling.
Baked layers
Using a fresh sheet of parchment or a clean silicone sheet for each layer, complete rolling, cutting, baking, and cooling the remaining dough portions. Once all layers are baked, remove scraps to another container. Store layers in a covered container until ready to use.
Preparing raspberry spread: If raspberry jam is seedless, empty into a microwave-safe measuring cup and warm until liquid and spreadable. Stir in lemon juice and set aside.
If the jam is seeded, place the contents of the jar into a small saucepan and melt over low heat. When the jam is pourable, press the jam through a fine sieve with a rubber spatula to separate the seeds. Discard the seeds. Then, stir in lemon juice into the seedless jam and set aside.
Preparing pistachio buttercream frosting: Soften the butter at room temperature. Place the butter into a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment and beat on medium to high speed for 7 to 9 minutes until the butter is fluffy and white. Periodically scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure the butter has a uniform texture.
Add pistachio cream and vanilla extra and beat for a few minutes, scraping down the sides, until the butter and pistachio paste are well blended.
Add confectioner’s sugar one tablespoon at a time and mix on low speed until the sugar is incorporated. Continue to beat at high speed for 3 to 4 minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy. Add a few drops of food coloring if desired.
The frosting is ready to use or can be refrigerated for up to 1 week, covered with plastic wrap, or frozen for up to 1 month in a sealed container. If frozen, the frosting should be thawed overnight in the refrigerator and softened to room temperature before use.
Assembling cake with raspberry jam and pistachio pastry cream
Assembling torte: Prepare the serving dish by placing a tablespoon of pastry cream in the center to anchor the torte. Then, place one layer of pastry on the platter, tucking in parchment strips around the edge of the layer to keep the serving dish clean. Spread 2 tablespoons of raspberry jam. Top jam with 4 tablespoons of pastry cream. Continue stacking, spreading jam and filling layers until 1 layer of pastry remains. Place that layer on top and, using your hands or a cutting board as a weight gently press so that layers adhere to each other and the pastry cream saturates the layers. Refrigerate the torte with weight in place for 2-3 hours.
Place dough cutoffs in a zippered bag and crush them into small crumbs with a rolling pin. Set aside.
Finishing torte: Spread buttercream on top pastry layer, smoothing frosting to edges. Frost torte sides with remaining pastry cream and coat with crushed dough cutoffs. Place in refrigerator for 2 hours to set.
Pistachio buttercream on top and pastry crumbs on sides
Decorate the torte with buttercream rosettes, fresh raspberries, and chopped pistachios. Place the finished cake in the refrigerator for several hours, preferably overnight. Keep refrigerated until serving.
Decorated torte
For serving, cut into small pieces with sharp knife. Serve with extra raspberries.
Serves 10-12.
* Pistachio cream is available on Amazon or in some Italian delis.
Photo credits: Traditional Ukrainian Napoleon Torte: ID 254557295 © Yuriy Balagula, Dreamstime.com
Otherphotos: Slava Johnson
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