Chuck vanilla and chocolate dessert cakes, do you know the weird, lopsided and strange-looking cakes that look like Napoleon Bonaparte’s hat? Sounds intriguing, then it might interest you to know that countless cakes are loved in their respective countries and an integral part of their local culture, festivities and often a slice of their history. Here are some cakes starting with the alphabet “N”.
A traditional Russian cake with layers of thin, flaky puff pastry and rich, smooth pastry cream sandwiched between them is what Napolyeon Tort is. The layers are made from flour, salt, butter, white vinegar, a bit of vodka, and eggs. The pastry cream consists of milk, egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. Each baked layer is topped with pastry cream and frosting made from butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream. The cake is chilled overnight, allowing the frosting to seep into the layers, making the 15 thin layers super moist and tender
Who doesn’t know this cheesecake, it's literally the ones we find in our own pastry shops, bakeries and restaurants with its biscuit crust and supple cream cheese filling. It’s a relatively new invention although the mother cheesecake is quite older, ancient in fact. Cheesecakes come from ancient Greece and as Europeans crossed the pond they also brought the cheesecake with them to the US. With the invention of the Philadelphia cream cheese, the New York-style cheesecake took birth with the addition of egg yolks in the cream cheese for that unmatched smooth and silky taste. It's eaten unadorned without any toppings or any sauces.
This traditional dessert originated in southern Burgenland, Austria, where it is known as Burgenländer schnitten, meaning "Burgenland slices." The base is made from a nutty dough created by mixing together butter, sugar, egg yolks, flour, and ground nuts like walnuts or almonds. After baking the dough, it gets topped with a light meringue made by whipping egg whites with sugar and water. The meringue is then baked until it turns a golden colour. Some variations include spreading a fruit jam like apricot or raspberry over the dough before adding the meringue topping. Other versions may incorporate chocolate glaze, chocolate sprinkles, or coffee cream into the dessert for extra flavour. In an alternative style, the ground nuts get folded into the meringue mixture rather than the dough base.
Nonnettes are delicious little French cakes which are jam-filled gingerbread delicacies that get their name, meaning “little nuns”, from the nuns who first created them in medieval monasteries. In the Middle Ages, nuns would prepare these aromatic and honey-sweetened cakes with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger with a centre filled with orange marmalade. The nuns would offer the nonnettes as a refreshment to travellers passing by the local monasteries. While originating in Dijon, the beloved treats eventually spread across France and today they remain a classic French dessert, especially popular during the winter St. Nicholas festivities in December, though enjoyed year-round.
Another Russian cake, that has its roots in the Soviet Union era, it used to be sold back then by slice in eateries and cafes. The dough is made with flour, butter, sugar, water, salt, eggs and yeast and it uses a boozy syrup made with diluted cognac and sugar. The cake also has plenty of cream made with butter, sugar, vanilla and condensed milk. It's quite simple actually, the cake is sliced in half, the cream is slathered in between and the layers are pressed to each other. A dusting of powdered sugar is sprinkled on top of the cake and it's ready to eat. The recipe dates back to 1975, when it was both sold as a whole cake or by slices.
This is not the same as Napolyeon tort, and literally means Napoleon's hat. It's a shortbread cake that is shaped into a triangular hat and filled with marzipan and the cake's bottom is dipped in chocolate. The cake was first made in the late 1800s in Denmark and at that time there were many cakes that were named after the Italian leader. They are sometimes also called cookies because the shortbread used to give shape to the cake is sometimes stiffer and not cakey.