Chocolate napoleon cake

For the dough:

• Flour – 500 g | 17.65 oz
• Salt – 5 g | 0.20 oz
• Cold butter – 335 g | 11.80 oz
• Melted butter – 85 g | 3.00 oz
• Cold water – 265 g | 9.35 oz
• Cocoa powder – 60 g | 2.10 oz

1. Put the flour, cocoa, salt, water and the melted butter in a mixer bowl. Knead the dough. Wrap it in plastic, and place in the fridge for 2 hours.
2. Take out the dough, and roll it out about 1 cm (0.4 inch) thick, in a rectangular shape.
3. Place the butter on the film, and cover it with another piece of film. Punch the butter with a rolling pin, and then roll it out, making it 1 cm (0.4 inch) thick, in a rectangular shape similar to that of the dough.
4. Place the butter on the dough. Close the butter layer with the edges of the dough (like an envelope). Roll out the dough into a long rectangle using a rolling pin, until the seams disappear. The thickness of the dough is around 1 cm (0.4 inch). Fold the dough three times. Wrap it in foil, and send it to the fridge for 1 hour. Sprinkle the work surface.
5. Take the dough out, and roll it into a long rectangle. Fold it in three again, and put in the fridge for 1 hour. Repeat the process 4 more times. At the end, roll out the dough into a large rectangle 0.5 cm (0.2 inch) thick, and cover it with the plastic wrap. Place the dough in the fridge overnight. The next day, cut the dough into 8-10 pieces.
6. Roll each piece thinly on a silicone mat or a parchment paper, and prick it with a fork; bake at 200C (392F) for about 10 minutes. The dough shrinks when baking, so roll out each layer well enough. Keep the remaining dough in the fridge. When the cake layers get cool, cut out the circles of 18-20 cm (7 to 7.9 inch) with a ring. Grind the scraps for subsequent sprinkling.

For the chocolate custard:

• Milk – 450 g | 15.85 oz
• Espresso – 50 g | 1.75 oz
• Egg yolks – 5 pcs | 5.00 items
• Sugar – 120 g | 4.25 oz
• Corn starch – 35 g | 1.25 oz
• Dark chocolate – 100 g | 3.55 oz

1. Bring the milk to a boil, and add coffee. Mix the yolks with the sugar in a bowl, and add the flour. Add a little hot milk, and stir again until smooth. Add the chocolate to the remaining milk. Mix the two masses together, and place it back to the medium heat.
2. Stir constantly until the custard thickens well. Transfer it to a cold bowl, and cover with foil in contact. Put the custard in the fridge until it stabilizes completely.

For the buttercream:

• Butter (at room temperature) – 200 g | 7.05 oz
• Condensed milk – 300 g | 10.60 oz

Whip the butter until fluffy. Add the condensed milk in small portions, and whisk well each time.

For the cherry confit (for filling and decoration):

• Cherries with juice – 250 g | 8.80 oz
• Sugar – 40 g | 1.40 oz
• Corn starch – 6 g | 0.20 oz
• Gelatin – 6 g | 0.20 oz

Soak the gelatin in cold water. Puree the cherries, and boil them with the sugar and the starch for several minutes. Remove it from the heat, and cool slightly; add the squeezed gelatin. Pour some confit into a heart shape mold, and freeze it.

Assemble the cake, following the next order:

First circle of dough – chocolate crème – second circle of dough – buttercream – and so on… 

Put the cherry confit in the middle. Let the cake stay in the fridge overnight. In the morning, decorate it with crumbs and cherry confit, or according to your taste.

Bon Appetit!