Chocolate Crepe Cake

Light and fluffy chocolate cream sandwiched between layers of paper thin chocolate crepes, topped with a swirl of rich chocolate ganache and a dusting of cocoa powder. This chocolate crepe cake or mille crepe requires no baking and creates a delicious and stunning cake.

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• What is a crepe cake?
• Tips on making thin crepes
• Tips on assembling
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Crepe cakes were one of those cakes that I looked at and thought, wow that is absolutely stunning. Layers of fluffy cream layered perfectly between paper thin crepes... LOTS of crepes.

Crepe cakes may look intimidating to make but when it comes down to it there are only two components. The cream and the crepes! We've made pancakes so what stopping us from making crepes!

This cake is perfect if you don't have any baking equipment, all you need is a frypan. No cake tin or oven needed!

I might have said that there are only two components that make up a crepe cake, but this chocolate crepe cake has an extra touch. The swirl of chocolate ganache on top gives the cake an extra layer of texture and flavour, as well as a touch of richness to an overall light cake! Trust me you'll love it.

What is a crepe cake?

A crepe cake is a cake made from layers of cream and thin crepes stacked to form a tall cake. Also known as mille crepe or Gâteau de Crêpes in French this cake is absolutely stunning, and definitely the cake to make to impress all your family and friends!

Tips on making thin crepes

The trick to creating the best mille crepe is having consistent paper thin crepes. If the crepes are too thick they'll give your cake a gummy-like texture and if they aren't consistent you'll have crepes of differing thicknesses throughout your cake cross section. Here are a couple of tips to creating the thinnest, most delicious crepes!

Use a blender

While you can whisk all the ingredients together to form the batter, the blender is a foolproof way to create a fine and silky smooth crepe batter with almost no effort. Simply place all the ingredients in the blender and pulse until smooth! This way there won't be any large chunks of flour throughout your crepe.

Pour the batter through a fine meshed sieve

Pouring the batter through a sieve also ensures a smooth crepe batter for consistent lump free crepes. It also catches any clumps of flour the blender may have missed.

Rest your batter overnight (optional)

This is a tip you'll probably see over and over again when making crepes. Allowing the batter to rest overnight in the fridge allows the gluten strands in the flour to relax, resulting in a tender crepe. However, this isn't essential with my recipe. I use a little cornstarch in addition to flour which acts as a tenderiser, resulting in delicate and tender crepes regardless of rest time!

Measure the crepe batter when making crepes

If you want the crepes to be uniform in thickness measuring the crepe batter is essential! I use a ¼ cup measure to measure and pour the batter into the pan. This way I will always have the same amount of batter in the pan. This is a better method than using a jug to pour batter directly into the pan. For a perfectly thin crepe I find I need a touch less than a ¼ cup for each crepe. If you have a small soup ladle this could also be the perfect volume for your crepes. Play around with the first few to find the perfect measuring tool!

Cook the crepes on medium low

It is important to cook your crepes on a lower heat to prevent them from burning and drying out. Keep and eye your crepes and flip them as soon as the surface appears matte.

Use gloved hands and a skewer to flip your crepes

While you can flip your crepes with a spatula, I find the best method for flipping crepes is using my hands and a skewer. If you aren't good with heat I recommend you wear two layers of gloves, with cotton gloves on the inside and food-safe rubber gloves over them.

When the surface of the crepe is matte use the tip of the skewer to loosen the crepe by going around the edge. Then hold your skewer horizontally close to the top of the crepe. Use your hands to pick up the edge of the crepe and fold it over your skewer. You can then hold the skewer to lift up the whole crepe and flip it over.

If this sounds confusing I've got a video here on tiktok here which (very quickly) goes through the process. Otherwise feel free to use a spatula!

Tips on assembling

Once you've got your cream and crepes made, all you need to do is assemble! The process is relatively simple, but here are a couple of tips to make it even easier.

Assemble on a cake board or your serving platter

As the cake is made from crepes and cream it will be difficult to move around once assembled. Make sure to assemble it on your serving platter of choice to prevent disasters when moving the cake later!

Use a turn table

If you don't have a turntable that's okay too, but having one makes the process a lot easier. Once you've spread the cream over the crepe you can rest your spatula on top of the cream and spin the table. The weight of the spatula and the turntable will help spread the cream in an even layer across the crepe.

Spread the cream all the way to the edge

If you want to have a crisp-looking, tall cake it is important to spread the cream all the way to the edge of the crepe. This will give the cake an even look once fully assembled.

You'll find that a lot of homemade crepe cakes have a curved edge, in which the cake almost looks like a dome. If that is the look you are going for then leave a border around the edge of each crepe as you assemble. However, I wanted this cake to look tall and even. Spreading the cream to the very edge of each crepe will give you that clean, tall crepe cake look.

Chill the cake

You might be tempted to cut into the cake as soon as you have assembled it, but if you want to have distinct layers I highly recommend you allow it to set in the fridge for at least one hour. This gives the crepes time to absorb some of the moisture from the cream and the cream to firm up. This way the cream won't ooze out of the layers as you slice!

Let's Get Baking!

Now you are fully equipped to create the show stopper of a cake! And you can have the leftovers for breakfast, because you're technically eating crepes...right?!

If you liked this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how you went.

Also, don't forget to tag me on Instagram @catherine.desserts and hashtag #cattycakes so I can see and share your desserts. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, and TikTok for more of my baking creations and updates! Until next time... happy caking!

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