Lazy Crêpe Cake
Ingredients
For the crêpe cake
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (90g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the filling
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces (half a block) cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces and softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (8 ounces) fruit preserves or jam
- Fresh berries, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- 1
Prep - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 12x18-inch half-sheet rimmed baking sheet generously with nonstick cooking spray, making sure to get the sides and edges as well as the bottom. Set aside.
- 2
Make the crêpe batter - Make the crêpe batter: In a blender jar, combine the milk, eggs, flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Blend on low to medium speed until the batter is perfectly smooth, at least 30 seconds. Stop the blender and use a rubber spatula to scrape down any unincorporated bits halfway through, if needed.
- 3
Bake - Bake: Pour the batter into the greased baking sheet and tip from side to side and front to back to spread into an even layer. Bake until the batter has puffed and the edges are golden brown, 16 to 20 minutes. Let the crêpe sheet cool to room temperature, at least 30 minutes.
- 4
Make the cream filling - Meanwhile, make the cream filling: While the crêpe sheet is cooling, make the filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a medium bowl if using a hand mixer, combine the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Start whipping on medium-low speed and whip the cream, gradually increasing the speed to high as it builds up more air and thickness. Once you reach high speed, stop once the cream reaches soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the softened cream cheese in 4 additions, mixing on high speed for about 10 seconds to incorporate each addition. After the second addition, the whipped cream will get noticeably thicker; you're doing great, keep going until it's all incorporated. Set aside until ready to assemble
- 5
Fill the cake - Fill the cake: Use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the crêpe sheet from the edges of the pan. Using the butter knife or an offset spatula, slather the whipped cream cheese filling evenly over the whole surface of the crêpe sheet, going all the way to the edges. Spoon the preserves onto the whipped cream filling—I made 5 lines going the short way across the filling to result in defined areas of cream cheese filling and blueberry preserves in every slice.
- 6
Roll the cake and serve - Roll the cake and serve: Starting at a short end, roll the cake into a log. Transfer to a serving platter and dust with powdered sugar. Slice and serve with fresh berries as desired. Cover and refrigerate the assembled cake or leftovers for up to 5 days. The powdered sugar will dissolve over time, so a fresh dusting will be necessary before serving leftovers.
