Hazelnut Cream & Banana Yogurt Mille Crepe Cake

What a long name but it corresponds to the long process I went through to make this crepe cake. And yet when I think of it- it's not really difficult... at least not as difficult as making timpano. Even making the crepes seemed so easy with my cherished pan which works like a dream. I’ll never get tired singing praises about this pan because my crepes are perfect- not even a single casualty in terms of breakage.

This time I used hazelnut cream spread mixed with Greek yogurt with banana flavoring. But the banana flavor is not coming through so I had to use two ripe bananas which I mashed and pressed into a fine sieve for a smooth texture before adding into the mix. Finally the filling came to life. There's really no room for imitation in this cake :-)

And so I covered it with saran wrap and to the fridge it went. By the way, I didn’t use any sugar so the sweetness came from the hazelnut spread and some from the ripe bananas.

I felt like I hit the jackpot when I was able to fill all 26 crepes. I doubled the recipe again but no room for wasted leftover batter anymore because I used it all and came up with extra crepes. Sure you can just separate each one with parchment or wax paper and store in the fridge in a Ziploc bag. I wasted the leftover batter from my first cake last week because I didn’t think of it. The batter is good only for three days no more because of the raw egg factor.

This is how it looks right after assembly. You would think I overfilled each crepe but the filling will disappear soon as each crepe sucks it all.

I love the torching part when the sugar caramelizes and melts right before my eyes. It actually gives the cake another flavor dimension and hearing that gentle cracking sound as you run the knife to slice it is just as awesome as hearing the sizzle in a hot pan when food comes in contact with it.

There you go- all twenty six layers! K said there's so much love put into this ensemble and it is true. But this is not the last one. I am still searching for something in this creation and until I get it, there will be more to come.

Please click for the crepe batter recipe

For the filling:

1 cup hazelnut spread (Nutella or any other brand)

2 cups regular Greek yogurt

2 ripe bananas

1 tbsp banana essence

Whisk together hazelnut spread, yogurt and banana essence or flavoring

Mash the bananas then press into a very fine sieve for a smooth texture

Fold into the hazelnut spread-yogurt mix until well blended

Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for an hour before using

To assemble the cake:

Spread each crepe with the prepared filling then top with the best looking piece

Refrigerate for two hours before torching the top

It needs to be refrigerated if not yet serving and do so with left over