Amateur cooks who've perfected the wafer thin pancake can graduate to this showstopper
It's no secret that I like food. While some eat to live, I can comfortably say that I live to eat. So passionately a gourmand, I quit my job in 2017, and decided to dedicate my career to finding the best plates of food across Africa. At a wedding I attended with my mother two years ago, I had my first experience with a delicate confection.
Layers of crêpes so slight, they were almost undetectable within the thick layers of cream. Crunchy nuttiness contrasted the smooth textures of the multiple pancakes. The modest sweetness constituted the dessert classification, and invited you to enjoy another slice because it wasn't too rich.
Long after the bride's bouquet had been tossed and the celebratory champagne drained, I remained obsessed. Regular trips to local bakers yielded nothing but disappointment because no one made the cake that I was describing. So I relived my experience through images taken of the wedding cake, dreaming of a day I'd happen upon it again.
Then I remembered what I do: eat and mess around in the kitchen developing recipes for a living.
One does not attempt a crêpe cake without getting their crêpes right first. Thankfully the mistakes I make in the kitchen are still edible because I cut my teeth on countless trials and errors in search of the perfect recipe for the cake. After many delicious failed attempts, I felt I was ready. Here is the recipe I ended up using.
Ingredients
Batter
1 cup cake wheat flour
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup full cream milk
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp vegetable oil
Praline Cream
500ml fresh cream
400g peanut brittle
Directions
1. Sift flour into a mixing bowl
2. Add all the other batter ingredients and whisk together until thin film of foam forms on top
3. Cover batter and set aside for 45 minutes
4. Heat up a non-stick pan
5. Using an oiled paper towel, wipe pan to coat
6. Pour 3/4 ladle of batter into pan, tilting the handle until batter covers the entire pan
7. Let crêpe cook until the edges lift slightly
8. Using a spatula, lift the edges from the pan a little then flip pancake with your fingers
9. Cook crêpe on the other side for 30-45 seconds
(You will have to adjust the heat of your stove top, and coat pan in oil using your own discretion as the heat will accumulate. You don't want to burn your crêpes)
10. Make 14 - 18 crepes and set aside to cool while you make the praline cream
* * *
11. To make filling, whip cream using a whisk or stick blender. For best results, use refrigerated cream and place whisk or blender in freezer for 15 minutes
12. Crush peanut brittle in food processor or roughly pelt with rolling pin
13. Add crushed peanut brittle to cream and use a wooden spatula to combine softly so cream doesn't deflate
14. When crêpes are cool, alternate each one with a layer of praline
15. Place cake in the fridge and leave to soften overnight
*** Best enjoyed fresh or within 3 days
---
I love sharing my recipes with you all and hope they bring you as much joy as they do me. How do your cooks and bakes in the kitchen end up turning out?