Meringue Cake Napoleon

Just a simple combination for a few of my favorites : meringue, toasted nuts ,caramel buttercream and puff pastry, as simple as that. Nothing original or new, but the taste with those combined, is something worth a try. Any meringue cake is already a quite delicate dessert, and adding crispy, flaky puff pastry to it, makes the cake even more decadent. This meringue cake/ Napoleon Mille Feuille recipe is quite flexible, in the meaning that many ingredients can be either omitted or replaced.

I love the taste of toasted walnuts with any meringue cake, but it can also be replaced with toasted almonds or pecans, or just left out if preferred. As well as the caramel buttercream, it can be replaced with any preferred cream, frosting. In fact my first testing was with chocolate buttercream, which I loved it as well.But decided to stick to my classic caramel buttercream. As always, not much to add, lets just get to the recipe.

Happy baking!

Ingredients

For the meringue

4 egg whites, at room temperature ( separate the egg whites while the eggs are cold, they are less tender, less chance to crush the yolks)

1/8 tsp cream of tartar ( or a pinch of salt,or 1/4 tsp lemon juice)

1 cup of white granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the cake layers

10″x 14″ ready puff pastry dough

For the frosting

250 grams of unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 can of caramel condensed milk (dulce de leche ,or boil the regular can of condensed milk for 3 hours)

1/2 cup toasted, finely chopped nuts ( I used walnuts and almonds, use anything you prefer )

Optional: melted chocolate to drizzle the top

Directions

Start by making the meringue

Preheat the oven to 300°F / 150°C degrees, prepare a lined baking sheet

In a mixing bowl beat the egg whites until foamy

Add the cream of tartar ,vanilla

Start adding the sugar a tablespoon at a time, until stiff and shiny meringue consistency formed

Spread the meringue on a lined baking sheet, approx. 8″x13″ rectangle shape

Reduce the oven temperature to 250°/120°

Bake 1 hour, set aside to cool down

Making the cake layers

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C

Divide the pastry dough in 2 layers

Poke with a fork to prevent over rising

Bake 20-25 minutes or until dark golden color

Set aside to cool down

Making the frosting

Beat the butter until fluffy,pale color

Add vanilla extract and caramel condensed milk, a tablespoon at a time

Assembling the cake

Cut the sides of puff pastry layers and meringue to crumble and use as a cake decor,set aside

Divide the meringue in 2 and shape according to puff pastry size

Slice the puff pastry layers through and lightly spread with some cream and stick them back together

Place one of those frosted layers on a cake plate and spread with more cream

Sprinkle with toasted nuts and place one of the meringue pieces on top

Spread with cream, place another layer of puff pastry+cream+nuts+ the last meringue layer

Spread with leftover cream, sprinkle with crumbs and drizzle with melted chocolate

Chill for an hour and enjoy!