This was my first attempt at making a crêpe cake; results had turned out better than expected, though I have included a number of notes as to better prepare for a second trial.
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk*
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted*
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4-5 drops red food colouring
- 1 cup strawberries, thinly sliced
- pinch of salt
- splash of half & half cream
- 1/3 cup of vegetable oil*
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk*
Directions:
1) Add sugar to melted butter and whisk to combine.
2) Sift in flour and salt.
3) Add in eggs, three at a time. Whisk to combine well. Add in cream, and gradually pour in milk until a consistency thinner than pancake batter is attained.
4) Spoon half of the batter into a separate bowl and add in red food colouring until desired degree of vibrancy is reached.
5) Add in vanilla extract to the uncoloured batter. Set both bowls aside.
6) Thoroughly grease a small pan after setting it on high heat. Immediately reduce the heat once the oil starts to evaporate slightly.
7) Fill half a ladle with either crepe batter and pour it into the pan, quickly swirling to ensure uniform thickness. When the edges start to bubble and turn a golden tan hue, slowly lift the edges of the crepe and flip over. Allow the opposite side of the crepe to cook for about 10 seconds before removing it from the pan.
8) Repeat 7) until the batter is used up, greasing the pan with a generous amount of vegetable oil between each turn; create two stacks of crepes for each colour. The first two crepes will likely turn out unevenly cooked, or maybe even burnt. This is to be anticipated as the temperature of the pan is unsteady at the beginning of the cooking process.
9) Chill the crepes while preparing the cream layer.
10) Without shaking the can beforehand, carefully open the coconut milk and remove the congealed coconut cream. Mix with a teaspoon of granulated sugar and chill in the fridge.
11) Remove both crepe stacks and the coconut cream after 30 minutes. Lay a plain crepe onto a large, presentable plate and smooth the coconut cream on top in a uniform layer. This layer should be approximately 1/6" inch in thickness. Lay a coloured crepe on top and spread the coconut cream once again. Repeat until the last plain crepe has been used.
12) Spread a thin layer of the cream and arrange the previously-sliced strawberries on top to form a maple leaf.
13) Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
14) Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- The amount of liquid, in this case milk, used in this recipe should be added in accordance to the desired thickness of the crepes. For a thinner crepe, feel free to add a bit more milk, and vice versa.
- Almond milk is not a necessary element of this recipe. Feel free to substitute with skim milk, or even 2% milk for a richer taste.
- For those that prefer to avoid artificial colours, a natural food colouring can be extracted from red beets the decision to pursue such a mission is deemed necessary.
- Ensure that the butter is thoroughly melted before the sugar is added. Clumps may appear in the batter later if this step is neglected, consequently resulting in an extra step of sieving the mixture before dividing the batter between two bowls.
- It is essential to grease the pan after each crepe is made, as this reduces chances of burning and that the crepe can be easily removed.
- One can save the unused coconut "water" from the canned coconut milk for mixing into a smoothie, or simply discard if desired.
- The coconut cream layers added a nice touch of flavour to the cake, but feel free to use any flavour of cream. As there was a shortage of cream in the house, I opted for coconut cream instead. The cream layers in my mille crepe were on the thin side, especially evident after chilling. Thus, it is highly recommended to use a larger amount of cream for a 20-piece (or more) mille crepe cake.