The Real Crepe Cake

I had a look back at when I downloaded the recipe and it was saved on January 22, 2009 (exactly 3-yrs ago today) taken from the website Cream Puffs in Venice. I'm sure glad I decided to go back it as it is the BEST crepe ever! I didn't get a chance to add some fresh fruit although I'm certain it would enhance the flavor of the cake. Overall, it's not very sweet, and I think that it's a crowd pleaser.

I've never done pastry cream so this was a first for me. I made it a day and a half before using (as instructed on the recipe) and initially thought I had made a mistake since it didn't "glue" together until the very last second. I then immediately took it off the burner and placed it in the bowl over ice.

I also mixed the crepe ingredients together and kept it in the refrigerator overnight.

Fyi I added a little something to my pastry cream in the morning - scraped vanilla beans - since I wasn't planning on adding the kirsch.

I gave the batter a quick whisk before straining and it looked rather runny. I decided to add an extra tablespoon (or two) of flour and whisked some more. I strained the batter through a fine mesh sieve and gently poured the batter onto a hot crepe pan around noon.

One would think that crepes in general are "delicate," but as an inexperienced crepe maker, I found them to be pretty fool proof. Sometimes there would be too much batter that it would create drip marks at the other end of the crepe, other times my batter was so thin that the edges would crisp and brown so fast. But either way, it made no difference, as they were all lovely once they were all stacked.

You know how I added those extra tablespoons of flour? Luckily, I did it because there were many lumps of flour left in my sieve. Phew.

I'm not sure if I managed to get all 20 crepes in end. Regardless, this cake was going to happen! I was finally done and it was almost 2 pm which leads me to think that I need to invest in another crepe pan. I decided to get myself and my children ready for dinner so I could build and chill my cake for the recommended 2-hours prior to serving.

It was time to fold the whipping cream into the pastry cream and this was a beautiful sight! There wasn't much sugar added to the whipping cream itself so I decided to add more vanilla extract. I love my vanilla.

The crepes were perfectly cool and I started the stacking them.

It was difficult to spread the cream from the counter so I decided to use my revolving cake stand.

That made a world of difference. My next dilemma, the 1/4 cup of cream didn't look like an adequate amount between the layers but I kept the faith and kept on churning.

I don't own a mini torch so I ended up decorating the cake with the scraped vanilla bean pod and icing sugar. 

I extremely excited to place it on a special cake stand from April, of April Cakes, so I had the cake do some modeling in my home before placing it on the cake caddy.

It arrived at our destination just in the nick of time for dessert. I also brought some coconut syrup for those who required an added sweetness (or dimension) to the crepes.

Honestly, the real crepe cake is perfect as it is! And here's the recipe:

The Real Crepe Cake

from Cream Puffs in Venice

For the crêpes batter:

6 tablespoons butter
3 cups milk
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tbsp. sugar
Pinch salt
vegetable oil

The day before serving the cake, make the crepe batter and the pastry cream. For the batter, cook the butter in a small pan until brown like hazelnuts. Set aside. In another small pan, heat the milk until steaming; allow to cool for 10 minutes. In a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the eggs, flour, sugar and salt. Slowly add the hot milk and browned butter. Pour into a container with a spout, cover and refrigerate overnight.

To make the crepes, bring the batter to room temperature. Place a nonstick or seasoned 9-inch crepe pan over medium heat. Swab the surface with the oil, then add about 3 tablespoons batter and swirl to cover the surface. Cook until the bottom just begins to brown, about 1 minute, then carefully lift an edge and flip the crepe with your fingers. Cook on the other side for no longer than 5 seconds. Flip the crepe onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Repeat until you have 20 perfect crepes.

For the vanilla pastry cream:
2 cups milk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
3 1/2 tbsp. butter

Bring the milk to a boil. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract then set aside for 10 minutes. Fill a large bowl with ice and set aside a small bowl that can hold the finished pastry cream and be placed in this ice bath.

In a medium heavy-bottomed pan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch. Gradually whisk in the hot milk, then place pan over high heat and bring to a boil, whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes. Press the pastry cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the small bowl. Set the bowl in the ice bath and stir until the temperature reaches 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Stir in the butter. When completely cool, cover and refrigerate.

To assemble the cake:
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons Kirsch
icing sugar (optional)


Whip the heavy cream with the tablespoon sugar and Kirsch. It won't hold stiff peaks but that's okay. Fold into the pastry cream.

Lay 1 crepe on a cake plate. Using an icing spatula completely cover with a think layer of pastry cream (about 1/4 cup). Cover with a crepe and repeat to make a stack of 20, with the best-looking crepe on top.

Chill for at least 2 hours. Set out for 30 minutes before serving. If you have a blowtorch for creme brulee, sprinkle the top crepe with 2 tablespoons sugar and caramelize with the torch; otherwise, dust with confectioners' sugar. Slice like a cake.