Crispy creme

Australian food educator and MasterChef Australia alumni Alice Zaslavsky shares a cherished family recipe

- Alice Zaslavsky

Tip

You'll find creme caramels in the refrigerator section at the shops, in the vicinity of the chocolate mousse cups. You could use a tin of condensed milk with similar success, though it'll be sweeter.

Conquering Napoleon Every family has 'a cake', and Napoleon is ours. It's the Russian version of a French millefeuille ('one thousand layers') or the Australian vanilla slice, which makes sense, because the many, many layers of cream and pastry in a traditional Napoleon are a bit like a babushka doll crossed with a millefeuille, and just as complex to make.

Of course, my mum is the shortcut queen, so hers is the cheat's version because ain't nobody got time for 18 layers.

Instead, she blends the best bits - flaky puff pastry and a custardy creme patissiere - with a sprinkling of icing sugar and spare pastry flakes to finish (because she also doesn't believe in waste).

Speaking of blending and shortcuts, instead of making Creme Patissiere from scratch (French pastry cream, see recipe at right), Mum simply blends store-bought creme caramels with cream to help set it, and for bonus flavour, which I discovered only very recently.

You could say this is an old family recipe', but really, it's more of an old family philosophy: find the shortcuts to success, leave nothing behind, and always say “yes” to a second piece of Napoleon.