LITHUANIAN NAPOLEONAS (TORTE NAPOLEON)

FOR THE DOUGH:
4 cups flour
1 lb lightly salted butter
1 pint sour cream
FOR THE FILLING:
1 1/2 lb unsalted butter, softened
8 egg yolks
2 cups powdered sugar
1 package cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
2 cups milk
1/2 cup half and half or Carnation Milk
2 tsp vanilla
juice of one lemon

TO PREPARE THE DOUGH:
Sift flour onto pastry board. With pastry blender or two knives, gradually cut softened butter into flour until crumbly. Blend in sour cream. Form dough into 11 or 12 egg-sized round balls. Refrigerate overnight in covered bowl.

TO BAKE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Before baking, let dough stand at room temperature about 15 minutes.

Roll each ball almost wafer-thin on a very lightly floured board. Roughly fit (one layer) into a 12 inch ungreased pie pan. Prick all over with a fork.

Bake each layer at 350 degrees 4 to 5 minutes. Cool.

Stack cooled layers atop each other. With a very sharp knife, even the sides, saving trimmings for crumbs.

Put layers together with filling.

TO PREPARE THE FILLING:
Cream butter, yolks, and sugar.

Stir pudding mix into 1 cup cold milk. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Gradually pour and stir pudding into butter and yolks.

Scald first, then slowly pour in the 1 cup milk, cream and vanilla. Slowly add heated lemon juice. Cool.

TO ASSEMBLE THE TORTE:
Spread about 1 tablespoon of the cooled filling mixture between each layer. Frost sides and top with same filling, sprinkle with finely crumbed layer trimmings.

VARIATION:
One or two layers may be spread with stewed apricot or apple puree. Berry preserves may also be used.

Adapted from: The Melting Pot, An Ethnic Cookbook, an Omaha cookbook, published in 1975, that solicited recipes from the different ethnic communities that make up Omaha
Source: nlb