It's already a few days after Thanksgiving (which depresses me, since it's my favorite holiday and I don't have any leftovers here in LA) and today is the First Advent and I don't have the candles to light for it (Ikea trip in my future today!). And then it's December and then I have 2 1/2 weeks before I go home for Christmas and then I come back to LA and work everyday through New Years. And then it's back to normal. So weird. Time is flyyyyying.
Anyway, this post today is happening because of Love and Olive Oil. She's hosted various kitchen challenges and I've wanted to take part in a few of them but then I would miss the deadline or I'd be a little too intimidated by the ideas. This one though - I saw it and I knew I had this. Crepes are very similar to Swedish pancakes and I can handle those no problem, so I was excited for this challenge.
The hardest part? Thinking of a flavor. I wanted to do something simple but delicious. I looked at all different curds and pastry creams but realized I just wanted something like whipped cream - but with chocolate. And boom! The hardest part became the easiest part.
Crepes definitely take some time to make, only because I have one pan and had to make 19 crepes (technically 21 but two were messed up so those became my breakfast/dinner). The whipped cream takes almost no time at all, but you do need to chill the chocolate mixture so it's just a lot of inactive time here. They're fun to make - they're definitely not an easy pancake to make but once you've mastered the wrist swirl, you'll become a crepe machine!
This cake was beautiful, 19 layers tall, simple, and light. I didn't feel weighed down like you sometimes do after a slice of cake. I mean, that's what I've heard. Cake never weighs me down. The crepes are light and fresh and paired with the chocolate whipped cream, you can't go wrong.
Crepe Cake with Chocolate Whipped Cream
makes 1 9-inch cake
For the crepes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
8 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the Chocolate Whipped Cream:
4 ounces semi sweet chocolate
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Prep the whipped cream: Place chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup of heavy cream and sugar until sugar has dissolved and heavy cream is hot (but not boiling). Pour over chocolate chips and stir until smooth and melted. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.
For the Crepes: In a blender with a 6 cup capacity or more, add flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs, and butter. Blend until everything is combined and smooth, about 30-45 seconds.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add a small tab of butter or spray with non stick cooking spray. Add 1/3 cup of batter to the pan and gently swirl the batter around so it coats the bottom of the pan. Cook until the bottom is golden brown and can easily be flipped. To flip, run a rubber spatula along the edges and gently flip. Cook until golden brown again on bottom. Remove from pan and let rest on plate. Continue with remaining batter.
Let crepes cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until ready to assemble.
To make the whipped cream: Pour chocolate mixture and remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a bowl. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat mixture on medium speed until thick and stiff peaks form.
To Assemble Crepe Cake: Line first crepe on a plate. Scoop some whipped cream onto the crepe and spread around. It should be just enough to make a thin layer over the crepe. Repeat with the layering and the whipped cream until all crepes have been used up. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours and then it's ready to serve.
[source: both crepe & whipped cream adapted from Martha Stewart]
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