If you need a dessert but don't want to turn on the oven, I am here for you! If you can triple my regular recipe for crepes, then you can make a Crepe Cake layered with whipped cream and fresh berries! It's beautiful to look at because of all the layers. You will love this tender, sweet, custard-like cake!
Your love for my crepes for two recipe reminds me to make crêpes at least once a month. I love them so much, and I love how simple they are to make. Just a blender, a hot pan, and you have something sweet to roll up or stuff with deliciousness.
Crepes make their way into my kids' lunchboxes as a sweet treat with Nutella, or as a savory sandwich alternative with grated Swiss and thin slices of ham. In fact, any time the blender is out, my family assumes I'm making crepes.
But this beautiful stack of deliciousness was a complete shock to them. They want to know why I haven't always tripled the recipe and made a cake from crepes! I find leftover bags of frosting frequently in my freezer (especially this chocolate whipped cream), and so I had the idea to surprise them with this treat.
What does crepe cake taste like?
If you're familiar with how soft, fluffy, tender crepes are, you know how they have an almost custard-like texture. It's like sweet eggy pudding held together with the smallest amount of flour. When you stack cream filling between a bunch of crepes, the result is even more cake-like. Everything sets into a banana pudding-like texture. Since crepes lack vanilla extract, the vanilla and almond extracts in the filling make this taste like a soft wedding cake. You will love the texture and flavor of this dessert.
How to Make Crepe Cake
You really don't need a fancy crepe pan to make a great batch, I promise! In fact, instead of my usual 11" pan, I use my regular, smaller 8 or 9-inch nonstick pan that I use to make eggs. This way, my triple batch of batter made a few more crepes than the original recipe does.
The most important thing is to be patient and wait for the first side to cook fully. When it is fully cooked, it will release from the pan nicely. This is your signal to flip it, and not a moment sooner. If you try to force it or flip too early, it will stick. However, if you have a sticky mess with holes in it, please don't scrap the whole thing--use a bit of extra batter to fill the holes and proceed with waiting for it to release.
The Ingredients
- Milk. When you bake, whole milk is best. This is because it contains about 3% fat, which makes for a richer, creamier dessert. We need 3 cups.
- Eggs. Three large eggs for this crepe cake.
- Sugar. A small amount of granulated white sugar, just 3 tablespoons.
- Flour. One and a half cups of all-purpose regular flour.
- Butter. Six tablespoons of melted unsalted butter, because the recipe also calls for ½ teaspoon of salt. You only need 2 tablespoons of melted butter for the batter; the rest is for greasing the pan while cooking.
For the filling:
- Heavy Cream. We need 1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream for making the filling.
- Mascarpone. A small amount of mascarpone cheese (8 ounces) gives the filling a bit of thickness and helps the crepe cake hold together. If you don't have mascarpone cheese, you can use the same amount of cream cheese.
- Powdered Sugar. Just one cup of powdered sugar to lightly sweeten the filling.
- Almond Extract. A small splash of almond extract enhances the overall flavor and gives a distinct wedding cake-like flavor to this crepe cake. (Don't miss my wedding cake cupcakes, too!)
- Vanilla Extract.
The Instructions
In your blender, add the milk, eggs, sugar, flour, salt and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Reserve the rest of the butter for the pan.
Puree the mixture for 30 seconds on high. Let the batter rest in the blender undisturbed for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place a 9” crepe pan or non-stick pan over medium heat.When the crepe pan feels hot enough that you can only hold your hand a 3 inches from the surface for about 5 seconds, brush it with some of the remaining melted butter. Ladle ⅓ cup of batter into the pan, and then immediately tilt the pan to distribute the batter in an even layer. Let the crepe cook on the first side until the edges start to look dry. Then, run a spatula around the of the pan to release the edges of the crepe. Let the center cook a few seconds longer, until it releases easily with the spatula.
Flip the crepe, and use the spatula to smooth it out. Cook on the second side until golden brown spots form, and it releases from the pan easily. Brush the pan with melted butter again, and continue this process until all of the batter is used. You will get 12-14 crepes. Once each crepe is done, place it on a plate with a paper towel between each one. Once cool, stack the crepes with parchment paper or wax paper in between while you make the filling.
For the filling: place a glass or metal bowl in the freezer along with the beaters to an electric mixer. Let freeze for 20 minutes.
Then, remove the bowl and beaters from the freezer and pour the cold heavy cream in the bowl. Beat on HIGH until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar, mascarpone, almond and vanilla extracts, and beat again until light and fluffy.
Once the filling is fully whipped and fluffy, it's time to assemble.
Place one cool (or room temperature) crepe on a cake stand, and place 3 tablespoons of the filling in the center. Use an offset spatula to spread it almost to the edges.
Repeat with all crepes. You will have a small amount of filling leftover; you can save it to dollop it on top, if you like.
Refrigerate the cake (gently covered with plastic wrap) for at least 4 hours before serving. It can be refrigerated overnight, too. Garnish the cake with a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh berries, if you like.
FAQ: Crepe Cake
A crepe cake will melt, depending on the filling. In this case, the whipped cream filling will absolutely melt in the heat and become a mess. Store this crepe cake in the fridge until serving. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, if covered.
Yes, please refrigerate this cake, because the filling is made with fresh dairy ingredients, like cream and mascarpone (or cream cheese). Loosely wrap it in plastic wrap and store it for 3 days.
While crepes are French in origin, the actual crepe cake was invented by a Japanese pastry chef. The internet tells me her name was Emy Wada, and she stacked 20 together with filling in between. The beauty in a crepe cake is that as the layers sit, they set and become even more custard-like.
Crepe Cake
A beautiful crepe cake stacked with vanilla cream filling, fresh berries and powdered sugar on top.
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
For the cream filling:
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy cream
- 8 ounces cold mascarpone (or cream cheese)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a blender, add the milk, eggs, sugar, flour, salt and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Puree the mixture for 30 seconds on high. Let the batter rest in the blender undisturbed for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place an 8 or 9-inch crepe pan over medium heat. You can also use a non-stick pan.
When the crepe pan feels hot enough that you can only hold your hand a 3 inches from the surface for about 5 seconds, brush it with some of the remaining melted butter. - Ladle ⅓ cup of batter into the pan, and then immediately tilt the pan to distribute the batter in an even layer. Let the crepe cook on the first side until the edges start to look dry. Then, run a spatula around the edge of the pan to release the edges of the crepe. Let the center cook a few seconds longer, until the center releases easily with the spatula. You are loosening the entire crepe with the spatula before attempting to flip so that it doesn’t tear or stick.
- Flip the crepe, and use the spatula to smooth it out (just in case it wrinkled or folded during flipping). Cook on the second side until golden brown spots form and it releases from the pan easily. When in doubt with a crepe, let it cook longer until it releases. It will not stick.
- Brush the pan with melted butter again, and continue this process until all of the batter is used. You will get 12-14 crepes.
- Once each crepe is done, place it on a plate with a paper towel between each one. Once cool, stack the crepes with parchment paper or wax paper in between while you make the filling.
- For the filling: place a glass or metal bowl in the freezer along with the beaters to an electric mixer. Let freeze for 20 minutes.
- Then, remove the bowl and beaters from the freezer and pour the cold heavy cream in the bowl. Beat on HIGH until light and soft peaks form.
- Add the powdered sugar, mascarpone, almond and vanilla extracts, and beat again until light and fluffy.
- Place one cool (or room temperature) crepe on a cake stand, and place 3 tablespoons of the filling in the center. Use an offset spatula to spread it almost to the edges. Repeat with all of the crepes. You will have a small amount of filling leftover; you can dollop it on top, if you like.
- Refrigerate the cake (gently covered with plastic wrap) for at least 4 hours before serving. It can be refrigerated overnight, too.
- Garnish the cake with a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh berries, if you like.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 592Total Fat: 43gSaturated Fat: 26gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 191mgSodium: 403mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 10g
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