The most popular explanation is that Napoleon himself consumed an excessive quantity of cream-filled puff pastries on the day before the battle of Waterloo in 1815, and consequently had a bad case of indigestion on the battlefield. It's clear that the pastry gets its name from the French emperor Napoleon, but exactly how and why that happened isn't known. We've even heard of 'napoleons' made with tortillas or fried potatoes, for example, which would presumably surprise (or horrify) the French. Sometimes the flaky puff pastry is dispensed with as well, and other alternatives are used for layering.

The classic 'oblong pastry with a filling of cream, custard, or jelly,' doesn't quite fill the bill these days, when chefs are known to serve up savory as well as sweet napoleons, with stuffings of seafood, veggies, cheese and even tofu. Even in attempting to define 'napoleon' we run into difficulties.

Why is the pastry called a 'napoleon' so named?Ī.