Mille-Crepe Tiramisu Cake

Mille-Crepe Tiramisu Cake
Adapted from Tasting Table

I’ve been wanting to bake a Mille Crepe Cake for the longest time.  Mille – translating to a thousand or in this case 20 layers of pure decadence, is by far one of the coolest things I have baked in a while.

I was extremely intimidated at first since I figured I would mess it up some how within the first five minutes because the recipe is seriously loooooooong and includes a lot of steps.  I came to realize however that the recipe isn’t so much as being hard; it is just really time consuming.  And if your anything like me, and own a finicky oven that tends to overcook things and just flat out piss you off, then this cake is definitely worth the time and effort.

The recipe called for an 8” spring form pan, but since I only had a 10” my 20 crepes turned more into 15 (Whoops!  Don’t judge).  I chose a tiramisu filling because let’s get real, my boyfriend is probably going to eat majority of this cake and that happens to be his favorite flavoring (thanks Tasting Table for the recipe I was able to easily adapt).

I opted to not use a non-stick pan because, well, I only own stainless steel.  The trick to the crepes is not so much the pan, but the heat and the amount of batter used.  I kept my pan on medium high heat and sprayed a hefty amount of baking spray to line the pan with while it was heating up in the beginning (I didn’t have to re-spray throughout the entire process after).  I was careful with the amount of batter I used and also made sure to gently shake the pan side to side to keep the crepes from sticking before I would have to flip them.

I may have been a little heavy handed with the filling, because everyone knows you can never have too much filling, but bottom line: I was thrilled with my first attempt at this tasty dessert.

So if you got 5 hours to kill and want to connect with your inner Frenchie, I highly suggest getting your pooper in the kitchen and making this cake!  No one will be disappointed…even if you mess it up.

Directions

1. Make the crepe batter: In a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour and sugar. Whisk in the salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth and webby (it will be very thick). In a slow, steady stream, whisk in the butter, then the milk and the Armagnac, until the batter is smooth (if there are any lumps, strain the batter through a fine-mesh sieve and into a medium bowl). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Gently stir the crêpe batter, then pour ¼ cup of batter into the skillet. Holding the skillet by the handle, tilt and turn the skillet to quickly disperse the batter. Cook the crepe until the underside is golden-brown, about 1½ minutes. Lightly jerk the skillet to loosen the crepe, then flip the crepe over using a spatula, a more vigorous jerking motion or your fingers. Cook on the other side until golden-brown, about 30 seconds, then slide the crepe onto the parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat until all of the batter is used (you’ll end up with about 20 crepes total, and will need 18 for the cake). Refrigerate the crepes on the baking sheet until completely chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.

3. Make the tiramisu filling: In a fine-mesh sieve set over the bowl of a stand mixer, sift the confectioners’ sugar. Add the mascarpone cheese and the Marsala wine. Use the paddle attachment to combine the mixture on low speed until well combined.

4. Remove the crepes from the refrigerator. Add 1 crepe to the bottom of an 8-inch spring form pan so it lies flat. Add ¼ cup of the tiramisu filling to the center of the crepe and use a small offset spatula to evenly spread the filling over the crêpe. Repeat with the filling and 17 more crêpes. Refrigerate the leftover filling; you’ll use it to finish the cake. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

5. Remove the cake from the refrigerator, undo the spring form pan and set it on a cake plate or platter. Spread the remaining tiramisu cream on top of the cake. Add the cocoa powder to a fine-mesh sieve and sprinkle it over the top of the cake. Slice and serve.