Name: A Very Dramatic Crêpe Cake
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Yield: Makes 1 cake
Ingredients: 2 batches (about 4 cups total) Cheater's Pastry Cream; 2½ cups (600ml) heavy cream; 36 (2 batches) crêpes; 1⅓ cups (160g) cake flour; 3 Tbsp. (45g) granulated sugar, plus extra for serving; 4 large eggs; 2 cups (480ml) whole milk; 4 Tbsp. (55g) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra melted butter for the pan; 2 tsp. grated orange zest; Dash kosher salt; 2 Tbsp. (30ml) orange liqueur, rum, or orange juice (optional)

Crêpe cake topped with pastry cream and raspberries on a lime green cake stand.

Photo by Linda Xiao

Thin crepes are stacked and sandwiched with cream in this crepe cake, which I think of as a crepes-meet-layered-cake moment. The double batch of crepes makes it visually stunning. While the assembled cake rests in the refrigerator, the easy pastry cream melds with the layers, producing a lighter version of both crepes and cake. You can top this with whipped cream and raspberries, but it’s also delicious as is.

Cook's note:

Use 4 wooden skewers to secure the cake so that the tall layers won’t slide off the cake. The cake can be assembled up to 2 days in advance. The crêpes may be prepared in advance as well, then cooled and stacked.

Recipe notes

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