Napoleon Cake – Russian Christmas Cake

Instructions

1. Sift the flour with the baking powder into a bowl and mix with a pinch of salt. Add the butter in small pieces and the lemon zest. Beat the egg with 200 ml of cold water, add it and quickly knead it into a smooth dough. If necessary, add a little flour or water.
2. Divide the dough into nine equal portions and form into balls. Cover with aluminium foil and chill for about 2 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 210°C in convection mode. Spread the balls very thinly on a lightly floured worktop. Form circles (approx. 20 cm) using a plate or similar object. Place the dough circles on baking sheets covered with baking paper, prick several times with a fork and bake one after the other for 8 – 10 minutes each time until golden brown and leave to cool.
4. Knead all the remaining dough together, spread it out evenly and bake it, let it cool briefly and crumble it.
5. For the cream, bring the milk and sugar to the boil in a saucepan while stirring. Mix the eggs and flour in a bowl. Add two ladles of milk and mix well with a whisk. Bring the rest of the milk back to the boil, then add the egg and flour mixture and continue stirring until the cream thickens. Stir in the vanilla pulp and softened butter in pieces. 
6. Spread the cake bases with the vanilla cream and layer them on top of each other. Spread the top and edge of the cake with the remaining cream and sprinkle the crumbs of dough all over. Store the cake in a cool room for about 12 hours.
7. Before serving, sprinkle the cake with pomegranate seeds, lightly dust with icing sugar and insert rosemary sprigs upside down like «fir trees».