From Russia with love: local pastry chef marks a milestone with Napoleon cake
Mon Paris Pâtisserie owner Elena Krasnova found food to be a form of 3D art
Pastry chef Elena Krasnova grew up making Napoloean cake at home with her family in Russia. She has made three varieties to celebrate a major milestone.
RUSSIAN-BORN, FRENCH-trained, Burnaby-based pastry chef Elena Krasnova grew up in Volgograd during the former Soviet Union’s perestroika period. Persistent shortages of everyday goods forced her to be creative, to make something out of nothing, and to appreciate small luxuries. One of the indulgences she remembers fondly from her childhood is Napoleon cake.
“I grew up making this cake at home,” says Krasnova, founder of Mon Paris Pâtisserie. “It’s very close to my heart.
“It’s a very traditional Russian dessert, one of the most popular in Russia,” she says. “It’s very physical: there are lots of layers you need to roll out with a rolling pin. I remember everybody in the family had to roll all these layers. It’s very time-consuming. I remember it took all day; we always made it a day in advance, and it was always exciting.”
Through making the cake that took centre-stage at birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, and New Year’s (the biggest celebration of the year in Russia), Krasnova, a former accountant and avid painter, discovered a love of expressing herself creatively through food. She went on to study at the famed FERRANDI Paris—The French School of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management before landing a job at Dalloyau, France’s oldest bakery and the only “Maison de Gastronomie” to serve the Palace of Versailles since 1682. Immersing herself in French culture deepened her appreciation for the artistic side of culinary arts.
“I always liked cooking, and I always liked to work with my hands,” she says. “I was painting way before I started culinary arts. When I first started making wedding cakes for my friends and family, I loved the three-dimensional art. Then when the opportunity came for me to go to France to study at one of the best culinary schools in the world and live in a country admired all my life, I saw how totally different a culture it was in terms of cooking: pastry is an art for them.”
Krasnova launched Mon Paris Pâtisserie in 2017 in Burnaby, where she also makes classic pastries, cakes, chocolates, and confections. To mark her pastry shop’s fifth anniversary, she is celebrating with the cake that first gave her a taste of her future, connects her to her culture, and is for many the ultimate celebratory dessert.
From January 27 to 30, Mon Paris Pâtisserie is offering individual servings of her home country’s national cake in three flavours: classic raspberry and vanilla; caramel; and coffee and Bailey’s Irish cream.
With up to 16 layers in some Russian versions, the iconic pastry was introduced in 1912 commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Russia's victory over Napoleon. The cake was originally inspired by French mille-feuille pastry and its many delicate layers.
With no less than eight layers of light, buttery puff pastry and pastry cream, Krasnova’s version rests for a minimum of 12 hours—ideally 24—so that the pastry can soak up the cream. She finishes the top and sides with a generous sprinkling of crispy crumbs made from remaining pastry dough.
“Our traditional Napoleon has a layer of raspberry jelly, which gives it a little bit of acidity that customers love,” she says. “The cake should rest for at least 24 hours to soak up the cream, and it comes together as moist as opposed to the millefeuille French version that’s served right away or sold within one or two hours so the layers stay crisp. It’s quite different. It’s a very unique taste.”
Krasnova came up with the other two versions—caramel; coffee with Bailey’s—purely by experimenting with flavours she adores and wanted to feature in a new way. (Individual slices are $8.50, while a trio of all three styles goes for $24.) To thank the community for the support she’s received since opening, Krasnova is giving visitors two special vanilla and strawberry birthday macarons on January 27 while supplies last.)
The Burnaby pastry shop doesn’t offer Napoleon cake on a regular basis as it’s simply not feasible; aside from the numerous hours involved in its preparation, the iconic dessert can’t be frozen or easily stored because it must be kept chilled.
And while there’s a labourious process behind the sweet treat, simplicity is at its core: it requires only a handful of ingredients. This aligns with Krasnova’s overall approach. “I like to keep things simple,” she says.
For Krasnova, the most satisfying part of making Napoleon cake, or any other edible delight, is the joy it brings to others.
“For me, it’s creating memories for people,” she says. “To see customers come back and want the same thing makes me proud. Pastry is definitely an art—an art you see with your eyes then eat and taste.”
Elena Krasnova.
Related Articles
