The Napoleon Berry Cream Cake

A layered pastry dessert featuring crisp pie crust rounds, mascarpone cream, and fresh berries — elegant and irresistible.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Eastern European

Keyword: Blogger Challenge, Contest Recipe, Dessert, Wick's Pie Crust

Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 15

refrigerate: 3

Servings:

Calories: 459kcal

Author: athomewithrebecka

Ingredients

Pastry Layers

2 packages Wick's Pie Crusts 7 individual 9-inch crusts (reserve discarded dough for topping)
2  tablespoon butter melted
1  tablespoon sugar

1 ½ cups crushed almonds
4 tablespoons sugar

Pastry Cream

6 Large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
⅔ cup AP flour
4 Cups whole Milk
1 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

Mascarpone Cream

8 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 ¼  cups heavy cream
2  tablespoon powdered sugar
1  teaspoon vanilla paste

Fruit & Garnish

1 ½  cups mixed fresh berries strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
Mint sprigs for garnish
toasted almonds optional

Instructions

Prepare pastry rounds:• Roll out pie crust thinly (about ⅛ inch).
Cut into 7 circles using the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan as a guide and a sharp knife to cut out the thinner rolled dough. Thinner dough helps to crisp the layers. Reserve the scraps to make the topping.
Prick each with a fork and bake at 375 °F for 10–12 minutes, until golden.
Cool completely. Be sure to use a large off0-set spatula when moving the rounds as they are very delicate and may break
Make crumble topping:• Bake leftover crust scraps until crisp.
Mix the almonds and sugar, then heat in a nonstick pan until the sugar melts. Mix the almonds with the baked crust to create your side topping.
Pastry Cream: Heat the whole milk until it just starts to boil
In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar until creamy and light yellow
Add flour and mix until smooth
Pour a small amount of hot milk into the egg mixture to temper it. Pour in the remaining milk all at once and mix until smooth. Return the mixture to the pan on the stove and cook over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla and blend until smooth
Refrigerate until cold. Be sure to place a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the mixture, pressing down so a skin does not form
Assemble layers: Place one pastry round on a plate lined with a cardboard cake circle. This helps to easily move the cake to the cake stand
Spread a layer of pastry cream, then add berries.
Repeat the layers. Do not add pastry cream to the top layer. Apply a crumb coat of pastry cream to the sides of the cake. Wrap the side of the cake with plastic wrap to keep it from tilting. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
Whip mascarpone cream:• Beat mascarpone, heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla paste until thick and smooth. Chill 30 minutes. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the sides and top of the cake. Decorate cake sides with almond pie crust mixture. Decorate the top with fruit and mint.
Chill and serve

Notes

• For extra flair, serve in individual ring molds for a Petite Mille‑Feuille Fruit & Cream presentation.
• Add a drizzle of berry coulis or honey for a glossy finish.

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