The Napoleon is a pastry made of many layers of puff pastry with filling alternating the layers. It can be eaten as a dessert, or even as a decadent meal. As a French pastry it is called mille-feuille, and it is filled with whipped cream, and pastry cream. The topping may be simply powdered sugar, or a layer of fondant, often with strings of chocolate drawn into a chevron design. I had the pleasure of visiting two prominent bakeries to sample this amazing pastry. The bakeries I choose to sample these were at the Financier and Ferrara, both places were located in lower Manhattan. My first stop was at the Financier Café, located at 60 Stone Street, New York. When I first entered their store, I was immediately bombarded with the strong aroma of coffee which I love. I then noticed the lovely colors of the cakes and pastries in the showcase. I began my search for this Napoleon pastry, which I located quickly. I left Financier and headed to Ferrara Bakery and Café, located at 195 Grand Street, New York. When I got to the area of Ferrara, it wasn’t hard to locate. The place had a large lighted sign with their name in lights, reminded me of Broadway. As I entered, I noticed the place was much more crowded than Financier. Apparently, they are like a small restaurant combined with the bakery. The line to purchased baked good was very long, and they had more products in their showcase than financier. While on line waiting my turn, I noticed they had the Napoleon but in two sizes. A regular size and a half size of the regular ones. I purchased the regular size and two cannoli and left for home.

Napoleon Pastry

Napoleon