Happy Saturday my friends –
We have this cute and delicious bakery in New York called Lady M Confections, no doubt the confections are all amazing, but my favorite is their Milles Crepe Cake, layers of thin crepes covered in an amazing vanilla custard, but, there is a big BUT, one cake is $80, and that’s for crepes and cream -NO, THANK YOU! I grew up eating crepe cake every weekend, they are a big thing in Eastern Europe and I still make them pretty often. After a huge crepe cake craving I decided to make my own and this delicious strawberry cream crepe cake covered in chocolate ganache was born!
I don’t have the time to layer 25 crepes and cover them perfectly and evenly with cream when I have a toddler by my side asking every 2 minutes for a crepe and demanding it to be dipped in chocolate, than licking all the chocolate and asking for more, its a funny circle. To save some time, I decided to go with an old classic that is very popular in Eastern Europe, in particular in Moldova (where I am originally from). We always make this tube crepe bake, which basically are crepes filled with sour cherries, and stacked one on each other to form a pyramid, in between layers usually there is frosting made from sour cream and sugar.
This is the easiest way to make a crepe cake, and also the quickest, and its very delicious. I went with a fancier version and used fresh organic strawberries to go with my strawberry and cream crepe cake theme, I made a mascarpone buttercream that pairs amazingly with the strawberries and crepes, and also each crepe is first coated with rich chocolate ganache, then strawberries are placed on it, the crepe is rolled to form a tube that stores so much goodness. At the end, the whole cake is topped with the remaining chocolate ganache, because, well, we all know CHOCOLATE MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER.
The cake then gets refrigerated for a few hours so you can cut it nicely, as you can see every slice burst with sweet strawberries and fluffy mascarpone buttercream that combines with the chocolate ganache and thin layers of buttery crepes. This dessert is so good, sophisticated and fabulous that you will find yourself cooking crepes on a daily basis to have it always on hand.
You can go all fancy pants and add some liqueur to the mascarpone butter cream, maybe a strawberry liqueur, that would make it so chic, I skipped the booze since my baby boy enjoyed this cake, but next time I am definitely adding some.
If you don’t have mascarpone on hand you can totally top the cake with whipped cream and it will be equally delicious, I just love the creamy and rich texture of the mascarpone buttercream and find myself using it over and over again.
This strawberry and cream crepe cake is so easy and delicious that it makes the perfect dessert for a summer party, or you can just make it for your family and enjoy how much everyone is telling you that they love you for making such a creative and tasty cake! Or Imagine this for Valentine’s Day, it will be perfect!
EASY STRAWBERRY CREAM CREPE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- For Crepes
- 4 large eggs
- 1½ cups milk
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups flour
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract or 3 vanilla beans
- Butter – coat the pan between making each crepe
- 3 – 4 cups of fresh strawberries, sliced
- For the Mascarpone Buttercream:
- 1 stick of butter, softened at room temperature
- 6 oz mascarpone cheese, chilled
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- pinch of salt
- For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 tbsp. light corn syrup
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- For the Crepe Cake:
- Place all the liquid ingredients in a blender and mix on low – medium speed. If you don’t have a blender just whisk by had until well combined. Add flour one cup at a time and mix/whisk until well combined. Place batter in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Place an 8-inch non-stick pan on low heat and when hot and add a little butter to coat it (less than half of a tablespoon).
- Pour ⅓ cup of crepe batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for roughly 30 seconds or until the edges of the crepe appear loosened from the pan.
- Flip the crepe and cook for another 10 seconds, until slightly golden brown.
- Remove crepe and stack on a plate. Continue with the remaining batter and stack crepes on the plate.
- When done cooking cover the crepes with a kitchen towel to avoid the edges from drying out.
- For the Mascarpone Buttercream:
- Place softened butter and mascarpone into the bowl of an electric stand mixer that has been fitted with the whisk attachment. Turn the mixer on a medium setting and cream until it smooth and combined, 2 – 3 minutes.
- Add sugar, ½ a cup at a time. Add vanilla beans and a pinch of salt and whisk until well-incorporated.
- If the frosting is too thick add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until it has reached the desired consistency.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes before assembling the cake.
- For the Chocolate Ganache:
- Place the chocolate, corn syrup and butter in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature before assembling the cake.
- Assemble the Cake:
- Take one crepe from the stack, place on a flat surface, using a soup spoon, take 1 – 2 spoons of chocolate ganache, place it in the center of the crepe and coat it avoiding the edges, it should be covered in chocolate ½ inch from the edges.
- In a line, place the strawberries in the middle of the crème on top of the chocolate ganache, from one edge to the other.
- From your side, flip the bottom of the crepe to cover the strawberries, secure with your hand just where the strawberries are (like you would do when rolling sushi) and roll into a tube.
- Place the filled crepe on the bottom of a glass baking pan, starting from one side, not the middle.
- Repeat this technic with the rest of the crepes until the bottom of the pan is covered. This is your first layer.
- Now, cover your crepe layer with a good amount of mascarpone buttercream, even it out. Start filling the rest of the crepes and stacking them on top of the cream, your second layer must be smaller than the first one, aiming for a pyramid.
- Once you are done with your layers (you may have a few leftover crepes), I did three layers, you can aim for more, pour the leftover chocolate ganache on top of the cake.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 3-4 hours or overnight before serving.
I can have this strawberry cream crepe cake every single day and still crave more, its creaminess, sweetness and beautiful flavors make it a unique cake that will be a success with anyone you serve it to!
Easy Strawberry Cream Crepe Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
- INGREDIENTS
- For Crepes
- 4 large eggs
- 1½ cups milk
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups flour
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract or 3 vanilla beans
- Butter - coat the pan between making each crepe
- 3 - 4 cups of fresh strawberries sliced
- For the Mascarpone Buttercream:
- 1 stick of butter softened at room temperature
- 6 oz mascarpone cheese chilled
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- pinch of salt
- For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped
- 2 tbsp. light corn syrup
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- For the Crepe Cake:
- Place all the liquid ingredients in a blender and mix on low - medium speed. If you don't have a blender just whisk by had until well combined. Add flour one cup at a time and mix/whisk until well combined. Place batter in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Place an 8-inch non-stick pan on low heat and when hot and add a little butter to coat it (less than half of a tablespoon).
- Pour ⅓ cup of crepe batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for roughly 30 seconds or until the edges of the crepe appear loosened from the pan.
- Flip the crepe and cook for another 10 seconds, until slightly golden brown.
- Remove crepe and stack on a plate. Continue with the remaining batter and stack crepes on the plate.
- When done cooking cover the crepes with a kitchen towel to avoid the edges from drying out.
- For the Mascarpone Buttercream:
- Place softened butter and mascarpone into the bowl of an electric stand mixer that has been fitted with the whisk attachment. Turn the mixer on a medium setting and cream until it smooth and combined, 2 - 3 minutes.
- Add sugar, ½ a cup at a time. Add vanilla beans and a pinch of salt and whisk until well-incorporated.
- If the frosting is too thick add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until it has reached the desired consistency.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes before assembling the cake.
- For the Chocolate Ganache:
- Place the chocolate, corn syrup and butter in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature before assembling the cake.
- Assemble the Cake:
- Take one crepe from the stack, place on a flat surface, using a soup spoon, take 1 - 2 spoons of chocolate ganache, place it in the center of the crepe and coat it avoiding the edges, it should be covered in chocolate ½ inch from the edges.
- In a line, place the strawberries in the middle of the crème on top of the chocolate ganache, from one edge to the other.
- From your side, flip the bottom of the crepe to cover the strawberries, secure with your hand just where the strawberries are (like you would do when rolling sushi) and roll into a tube.
- Place the filled crepe on the bottom of a glass baking pan, starting from one side, not the middle.
- Repeat this technic with the rest of the crepes until the bottom of the pan is covered. This is your first layer.
- Now, cover your crepe layer with a good amount of mascarpone buttercream, even it out. Start filling the rest of the crepes and stacking them on top of the cream, your second layer must be smaller than the first one, aiming for a pyramid.
- Once you are done with your layers (you may have a few leftover crepes), I did three layers, you can aim for more, pour the leftover chocolate ganache on top of the cake.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 3-4 hours or overnight before serving.
