I decided to make this crepe cake in honour of pancake day (shrove Tuesday).

I was a bit nervous about tackling a tower of crepes this high, (i usually set the fire alarm off when i make pancakes) but it was actually a lot simpler than i imagined.

Out of the whole pile i made, i only tore two when i flipped them.

I simply adjusted my normal crepe recipe to make enough for this, but added some orange blossom water and almond liqueur into the batter.

Shrove Tuesday in England has always been a big thing. We actually tend to simply call it pancake day rather than shrove Tuesday.

Growing up we would always have pancakes for dinner.

Pancakes are traditionally eaten on shrove Tuesday here as it was a great way to use up eggs and dairy and sugar before lent.

But its become a much loved tradition for everyone, even those not giving anything up for lent.

I remember rushing home from school with so much excitement that we were having them for dinner.

I always have my pancakes with lemon juice and sugar. Simple but so delicious.

Crepes are a little different than a traditional British pancake, but they look quite similar.

Crepe cake – mille crepe

Crepe cakes are also know as a mille crepe cake, because of all the layers.

The range of fillings vary, creme patisserie, ganache and mascarpone being a few.

I chose to fill this with a mascarpone cream filling flavoured with almond liqueur, orange blossom water and a orange syrup.

Crepe cake notes – before you make it

Crepe batter should be very thin like the consistency of single cream.

The batter needs to rest, ideally an hour, but it can be left longer, or overnight in the fridge.

Very lightly grease the pan by brushing on some melted butter.

The size of your pan with determine how many crepes this recipe makes.

My original recipe was

250g plain flour. 1 cup
1/4 tsp salt.
30g sugar. 1/4 cup
6 large eggs.
600ml whole milk.
60g melted butter.
1 tsp orange blossom water.
2 tbsp amaretto.

However the cake was not quite high enough for the sky scraper style cake i was looking for. So i halved the recipe and cooked a few more.

If you are happy to have a smaller cake then use those measurements for the smaller cake.

orange blossom amaretto crepe cake – tall approx 38 crepes

Mile high crepe cake with orange blossom amaretto mascarpone cream and orange syrup. Makes enough crepes for one very large crepe cake, see measurements on the post for a slightly smaller one

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Servings: 8

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: european

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

Crepe batter

375 grams plain flour – sifted 1 and a half cup
1/2 tsp salt
45g caster sugar 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp
9 large eggs
900 ml whole milk 1 and 1/2 pint (3 3/4 cup)
115 grams unsalted butter melted 1/2 cup
1-1/2 tsp orange blossom water
3 tbsp amaretto – almond liqueur or orange liqueur

Filling

500 grams mascarpone Approx 2 and 1/4 cups
250 ml double cream 1 cup
70 grams powdered sugar 2/3 cup
2 tbsp honey – runny
2 tbsp amaretto
1 tsp orange blossom water

Orange syrup

250 grams sugar 3/4 cup
150 ml water
100 ml orange juice – freshly squeezed
1 Orange thinly sliced I used a blood orange

Equipment

non stick pan
food processor

Method

Make crepes

In a food processor add all of the ingredients for the crepes and mix until well combined. The strain through a sieve. Cover and leave to rest for 1 hour in the fridge, or overnight.
Alternatively add the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl, make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, milk and melted butter. Add a 1/4 or the wet ingredients to the flour at a time, whisking by hand until it is completely combined. Then whisk in the amaretto and orange blossom water. Cover and leave the batter to rest for at least one hour. It can be left in the fridge overnight.
Very lightly brush some melted butter into a non stick pan, The size of your pan will determine how many crepes and how high this cake is. Mine was approx 8 inches.
place the pan over a low/medium heat. Once the pan has heated up add a ladle of about 1/4 cup of batter in and tilt pan to spread it around evenly.
cook crepes for about 1 minute on each size or until golden.
You can tell that the underside is done when the edges appear lace like and start to lift away from the pan, Gently lift the crepe and turn over to cook the other side.
Place cooked crepes on a layer of baking paper, while you continue to cook the rest.
Once all of the crepes are cooked make the filling.

candied orange slices and Orange syrup

Add water, orange juice and sugar to a pan, stir until the sugar has melted
Thinly slice orange into disks keeping the skin on and add to the pan, Simmer on a low/medium heat for about 45 minutes, until the orange slices are translucent.
Keep orange slices for decoration if you wish, and add 2 tbsp more water to the reduced syrup if it is too thick.

Mascarpone cream

Add the double cream and icing sugar and mascarpone into a bowl and whisk until soft and fluffy, then add the orange blossom water, honey and amaretto and whisk again until it holds its shape and is spreadable.
Place the first crepe on to a serving place and spread on a thin layer of mascarpone in the centre, leaving a line around the edge, (the weight of the crepes can cause the filling to leak out if you add to much or go too close to the edge) Then drizzle over some syrup and place the next crepe on top.
Continue layering crepes, once all the crepes are added you can leave the top plain and dust with powdered sugar, or add some cream and the candied orange slices.
Place cake in the fridge to firm up before slicing. (this can be made the day before)
Serve with some more syrup if you have any left over.

Orange blossom and amaretto crepe cake – smaller Approx 25 crepes

20 layer crepe cake flavoured with orange blossom and amaretto