Mille Crepe Cake

Mille Crepe- a thousand crepes it translates to but the fact is- it is a stack of but twenty or so crepes and each layer is filled with pastry or any sweet cream concoction.

I saw it first on 3D or Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and I knew somehow that we will get to know each other in the future because I will be making one-- or some depending on the outcome of the first. But I need a real crepe pan or something that works like one. I want something in between what I have at home (small and large) which are mere non-stick pans. A bigger, probably a ten-inch pan to yield bigger crepes is what I need so I can come up with a good sized cake.


And so the hunt began at Smart & Final- I had to shop there for other stuff and would have wanted that to be a one-stop thing but no luck there. Second stop- Albertson’s and I found one that fits my need. I grabbed one and was ready to leave when I saw another pan in white which is much better because it has a flat bottom, no curve at all and if it was an inch shorter, I could very well call it a crepe pan instead of sauté pan like it says in the label. And it’s a little bit cheaper too.

And I forgot to mention that I already prepared my batter and pastry cream before I even ventured out in search of a pan.

Crepes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 extra large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup 2% fat milk
1/2 cup water
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Method:
Pulse together all the ingredients in a blender until you have a smooth batter
Transfer the batter into a bowl and refrigerate covered for an hour
Brush crepe pan or a non-stick pan with canola oil. You only have to do this once
Pour 1/2 cup batter in the pan and swirl around to coat evenly. Pour remaining batter back to the bowl
Cook one side for 2-3 minutes
Lift the crepe with a spatula and flip. Cook for 20 seconds
Transfer each crepe into kitchen towels to cool. I used parchment paper.
Repeat the process till you have made all 20 or so crepes

For the vanilla pastry cream:
Adapted from creampuffsinvenice

I should mention that this requires a little bit more work but the result is a silky smooth buttery cream ... yum yum ...

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

Method:
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 juice from maraschino cherries jar

Whip the heavy cream with the tablespoon sugar and the maraschino cherry juice.
Fold it into the pastry cream.

Lay 1 crepe on a cake plate. Using an icing spatula, completely cover with a thin 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.

Note:


The recipe calls for Kirsch but I didn't have it so I just used the juice from the bottled maraschino cherries to give the pastry cream a hint of cherry flavor and hence the pink color.

Making the crepes seemed tedious and my excitement kept building while I did my count. I could hardly wait till I get to the 20th so I can go to the next level which is the assembling part. But I ended up with twenty one. Why? Because I doubled my recipe with the intention of making two cakes but because I wasted some batter on the first one, I was short and had to get an extra cup from the other bowl and I somehow ended up with an extra crepe. Now I'm wondering why I had to do that. It's not like it's written in stone that it has to be 20 pieces of crepes ha ha ha....

The filling has the perfect consistency and I didn't have any problem spreading it on top of the crepes. All the hard work is rewarded when I cut the cake and saw how it looks inside. My cake was all even, it wasn't sloping or leaning or anything. I should give credit to my new pan because the crepes came out perfect. My only regret is that I didn't get to taste it.

Need I say a repeat is in the offing? My mind is brimming with luscious filling ideas...

Comments

  1. Ooh, this looks really fun to make! I definitely want to try this out now, yours looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you! It is really and more so when you serve it and it disappears so fast right before you <3

    ReplyDelete

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