Mille Crêpe Cake

Tags

crepe cake, dessert, Fiesta Friday, Fiesta Friday #29, gateau de crepes, mille crepes, pastry cream, recipe

I came home from my vacation only to be met at the airport by out-of-town guests, whom I love dearly. I’m just saying that I’m no less busy now than I was before. I still have very limited time for blogging. You gotta entertain your guests, after all. Just sayin’. Not complainin’.

So, despite having come back from my vacation, I haven’t really been home much. I’ve been going here and there with my guests, mostly eating out and shopping. Again, not complainin’. Just sayin’.

I did, however, manage to make this incredible dessert, Gâteau Mille Crêpes or Mille Crêpe Cake. Don’t ask me how, I wouldn’t know how to explain it. How I was able to find time, I mean, not how to make the cake. That, I will share, of course. ‘Coz you know how much I love you and just because I haven’t been able to chitchat much with you lately doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about you.

Servings: 8-10
Difficulty: moderate
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Recipe adapted from The New York Times’ Gâteau de Crêpes

For the crêpes
6 tablespoons butter
3 cups milk
6 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Cooking spray or butter

1. The day before, prepare the crêpe batter. In a small pan, cook the butter until browned. Set aside.

This adds a lot of flavor to your crêpes. You can probably go a little darker than this.

2. In another small pan, heat the milk until steaming, allow to cool for 10 minutes.
3. 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.
4. The next day, bring the batter to room temperature. Place a non-stick or seasoned 6-inch crepe pan over medium heat. Add a little butter or apply cooking spray on the surface of pan.
5. Add scant 1/4 cup 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 at least 20 crêpes.
6. This recipe makes about 6 cups of thin batter, and makes about 28 (6-inch) crêpes.

For the pastry cream
2 cups milk
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter

1. Bring the milk to a boil, 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.
2. 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. It will thicken quickly after the first minute is over. Don’t overcook. You’re looking for a thick pudding consistency, not any thicker.
3. Press the pastry cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the small bowl. You may not need to do this (I didn’t) if you whisk carefully enough to avoid lumps from forming :-). Set the bowl in the ice bath and stir until the temperature reaches 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Stir in the butter. Cover and refrigerate until completely cold before using.

Assembling the cake
2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar

1. Pass the pastry cream through a sieve once more. (Again I didn’t have to do this. My pastry cream was smooth enough.)
2. Whip the heavy cream with the sugar until soft peaks form. Fold it into the pastry cream.
3. Lay 1 crepe on a cake plate. Using an icing spatula, completely cover with a thin layer of pastry cream (about 3 tbsp.) Cover with a crepe and repeat to make a stack of 20 or more, with the best-looking crepe on top.

4. Chill for at least 2 hours. The colder or firmer the cake, the easier it is to cut.
5. You can caramelize the top with a blowtorch or dust with powdered sugar or decorate with whipped cream and fresh fruits. Slice like a cake.

***

Fiesta Friday #29 is up and running. Jhuls and Selma aka “The Hyper and The Calm” are your co-hosts this week.

Features from Fiesta Friday #28 are:

Cookie Experiment from Nicky @Nicky’s Kitchen Sanctuary. In Saucy’s words, “This is an experiment every baker should do, but Nicky has done it for us! Imagine the dedication (to baking, butter, sugar and cookiedom) needed to bake those 80 plus cookies with varying ingredients and methods! This post is a useful guide…and we always like it when someone brings a whole truck load of cookies to FF.”

Wow, Nicky! I was completely bowled over by your dedication when I saw this. There isn’t anything as helpful as your cookie experiment, I tell you. It’s the post I’ll have to refer to again and again in the future.

Dutch bar snacks from Melissa @The Glen House. In Margot’s words, “[I] love the mix of travel and food – along with two lovely little Dutch appetizer recipes that I’d love to try out sometime soon.”

The lovely photos brought back fond memories of visiting the Netherlands. Therefore, I completely enjoyed looking at them. The appetizers look very familiar and tempting. Therefore, I was totally salivating as I was imagining the flavors. Wonderful post, Melissa!

Ship O’hoy, it is a fish fest with pot roasted potatoes from Petra @Food eat Love. In Margot’s words, “[Petra’s] indecision at the fishmongers was the impetus for her preparing one amazing Fist Fest. Her pot roasted potatoes looked like the perfect side, too.”

This is an inspiring post for someone like me, who is actively learning to love fish. Plus, I now have the perfect recipe for a Feast of the Seven Fishes. It already features three different fishes. So, if I ever decide to do the feast, I’m at least already half-way there with this dish. I just need another recipe with 4 fishes in it, hehe…

Watermelon Lemonade With Gingery Ice Cubes from Nimmi @adorable life. In Saucy’s words, “How refreshing (and pretty-in-pink) is this drink? It would be the perfect jug or glass at so many summer gatherings. What also caught my attention was how many variations you can put on this recipe. I’m already imagining strawberry and basil ice cubes, cantaloupe and mint ice cubes in a coconut-y drink, and so on.”

Just the right recipe for me at this moment, Nimmi, thank you! Easy, quick, and seasonal. Perfect for summer entertaining, especially when you have guests in the house and you don’t have much time in the kitchen. Will. Make!

Incidentally, please check out features for Fiesta Friday #28. They include a Kreppel, a Pickle, a Parcel, and a Wrap.

Then, come back here and party with Jhuls, Selma, and everybody else. I might even show up this time!