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Related Video: Basic Crêpes
Yields:
12 serving(s)
Prep Time:
15 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs 10 mins
Cal/Serv:
622
If you love sky-high, showstopping desserts, prepare to meet your new obsession. Crêpe cake is a cool, lofty masterpiece composed of layers of crêpes and lightened vanilla pastry cream, all topped with a billowing cloud of whipped cream and a crown of fresh berries. It’s light, creamy, and absolutely irresistible.
Though it might look impossibly intricate and tricky to make, crêpe cake is actually pretty simple. Our top tip? Plan ahead and pace yourself. You can make the pastry cream up to a day in advance, and as for the crêpes, they can also be cooked and stored in the refrigerator between sheets of parchment overnight, or even frozen up to 1 month. When you’re ready to assemble, all you have to do is whip the cream to fold into the filling and get layering.
Read on for more tips on this effortlessly elegant dessert. Looking for more layers? Check out this chocolate chip cookie cake.
What’s the filling?
While there are lots of different filling options for crêpe cakes, we’re opting for a simple vanilla pastry cream, lightened with some whipped cream. It’s fun and airy and not too sweet, and when chilled, it becomes solid enough to hold all those layers together with no problem.
What do I do if I ruin my first crêpe?
It’s completely normal to wreck the first crêpe. Maybe the pan wasn’t hot enough or had too much butter in it. Don’t worry; there’s enough batter here to give you 18 crêpe layers, even with a few flops. Just toss it out (or eat it—it’ll still taste delicious, even if it’s not crêpe cake building material!) and move on to the next one.
How can I keep my crêpe cake flat on top?
The best way to ensure that your cake stays flat on top is to spread your filling slightly thicker toward the edges of the cake. This will help prevent the cake from sloping down around the sides and bulging in the center.
Why is my crêpe cake chewy?
If your crêpe cake is chewy, the crêpes might be overcooked. While you definitely want them cooked through, the crêpes should still be soft and flexible when you take them out of the pan. In testing, we found that this took about 1 1/2 minutes on the first side and 1 minute on the second.
How do I cut my crêpe cake without it sliding like crazy?
The answer is pretty straightforward: if your crêpe cake is slipping and sliding around when you try to cut it, you haven’t given it enough time in the refrigerator. We recommend chilling your cake for at least 4 hours before trying to cut it—and if you can overnight, even better!
Made this? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
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Ingredients
Pastry Cream
- 8
large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup
(55 g.) cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
- 1 cup
(200 g.) granulated sugar, divided
- 4 cups
(945 mL) whole milk
- 4 Tbsp.
(1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
- 4 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups
(475 mL) heavy cream
Crêpes
- 3 cups
(710 mL) whole milk
- 3
large eggs, beaten to blend
- 2 cups
(240 g.) all-purpose flour
- 4 Tbsp.
unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 tsp., softened, for pan
- 1 tsp.
kosher salt
- 1 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp.
baking powder
Assembly
- 1 cup
cold heavy cream
- 3 Tbsp.
confectioners' sugar
- 1 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
- 1 pt.
fresh blackberries
- 1 pt.
fresh blueberries
- 1 pt.
fresh raspberries
Directions
Pastry Cream
- Step 1In a large heatproof bowl, whisk egg yolks, cornstarch, salt, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until combined.
- Step 2In a medium pot over medium heat, heat milk and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and milk is steaming. Whisking constantly, pour half of hot sugar milk into egg mixture. Pour milk-egg mixture into pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until pastry cream boils and thickens to a pudding-like consistency, 1 to 2 minutes. Cook, stirring, 1 minute longer, then remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.
- Step 3Pour hot pastry cream onto a rimmed baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto cream. Refrigerate until cold.
- Step 4In a large bowl, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer cold pastry cream to another large bowl and stir until smooth. Stir one-quarter of whipped cream into pastry cream until combined. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate pastry cream filling until ready to assemble.
- Step 5Make Ahead: Pastry cream (without the whipped cream folded in) can be made 3 days ahead. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.
Crêpes
- Step 1In a blender, blend milk, eggs, flour, vanilla, melted butter, salt, and baking powder until smooth, about 1 minute. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
- Step 2In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt remaining 1 tsp. butter. Whisk batter, then pour 1/3 cup into center of pan, swirling pan to spread out to an even 9" circle. Cook until top is set and bottom is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook second side until cooked through, about 1 minute more.
- Step 3Transfer crêpe to a parchment-lined wire rack; cover with a half sheet of parchment. Repeat with remaining batter until you get 18 to 20 crêpes. Let cool.
- Step 4Make Ahead: Crêpes can be made 1 day ahead. Stack between sheets of parchment. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.
Assembly
- Step 1Arrange 1 crêpe in the center of a platter. Spread a scant 1/2 cup pastry cream filling over top, leaving a 1/2" border around the edges. Top with another crêpe. Repeat until all crêpes are stacked, saving a nice crêpe for the top.
- Step 2Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
- Step 3In a large bowl, whisk heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Spread on top of cake, swirling to create peaks and curves. Top with berries.
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