My Crepe cake is finally complete! How awesome is that? Wow that took FOREVERRR! This final step shouldn’t take you longer than an hour. Unless you stop and take 20 pictures of each step. Then count on about 4 hours.
I can’t believe I cut a wedge out of LaNae’s birthday cake. How tacky is that? I just thought you’d really like to see a slice of the final crepe cake. Don’t worry I put the slice back…yes you can tell that I sliced it and put it back. I don’t like the look of the card board disk that I used. I should have removed it. Too late!
THE ganache. If I were to bottle and sell one product, it would be chocolate ganache. It has so many uses.
The ganache recipe takes 1 pound of chopped chocolate. I have just cut off about a pound from my ten pound block. I find the easiest way to cut it off the block is to use a serrated knife.
You want the pieces to be small. The chocolate won’t completely melt if you have large chunks of chocolate.
You will need 1 pound of semi-sweet chocolate and 1 1/2 cups heavy cream.
Place the chocolate in a large bowl.
Oh wait? That piece is too big. I better eat it.
Pour the cream in a small sauce pan.
Bring it to a simmer. Stir it once or twice to make sure the cream is not just heated around the edges of the pan. You want the cream to be very hot. Simmering and steaming.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate pieces.
Let it sit there for 5 minutes. Don’t touch it! Just let it sit.
After 5 minurtes the chocolate should be melted. Starting in the center, start whisking the cream and chocolate together.
As you whisk, the mixture will start to come together. Keep whisking until the chocolate and cream are completely mixed together and no cream shows. If by chance you still have a few chocolate pieces left that haven’t melted, just remove them. If you have alot that have not melted, you can place the bowl in the microwave for about 10 seconds. The continue stirring.
This is what the ganache should look like. At this point you can just let the ganache sit on the counter until it sets up, but that could take a couple of hours. You could put it in the refrigerator for an hour and stir every 10 minutes or so until it sets. I like to put it in an ice bath.
Put ice and water in a very large bowl. Place the bowl of ganache in the ice water. Don’t fill it too full because you don’t want the water flowing into your ganache. Not good. Now just keep stirring until it reaches the perfect spreadable consistancy.
Keep stirring. It could take as long as 10 minutes. I like using the ice bath because it also helps the ganache keeps it’s pretty glossy sheen.
Bahhhh! I love it when it get’s to this consistancy. LOVE IT!!! Look at how creamy it is. I haven’t found ANYTHING that glides over a cake like chocolate ganache. Seriously all I need is a bowl of this and a spoon. Oh, be sure to remove from the ice bath now or it will harden. We don’t want that to happen.
Unwrap your crepe cake. If you froze your crepe cake, make sure it has thawed. If it is still frozen, it will make the ganache harden too quickly and the ganache will dull.
I like to put pieces of waxed paper under the crepes to keep the plate clean.
Our goal is to make this crepe cake look nice and smooth. At first just go aorund the cake and put a skimming of ganache over the crepes. Start to fill in gaps and smooth out ridges.
That was easy. Now go around the cake again with a thicker layer of the ganache. Smooth out the ganache and make it look nice.
Keep spreading, smoothing and filling. If the top is a little slanted, just fill in the space with ganache. No one is going to complain that their ganache is a little thicker on one side.
Once the sides are complete, start spreading the ganache on the top of the cake.
Note: If you keep going over the ganache in an effort to make it look perfect, the ganache will start to dull. Personally I think that it’s ok not to have the ganache completely perfect because it makes it look homemade and it’s cool to look homemade. As you can see my cake looks “homemade”.
My finished crepe cake. You can now remove the waxed paper. It pulls out very easily. Lick them clean then throw them away. If you have any ganache left over, you can put it in a container and keep it in the refrigerator. I only had about 1/4 cup left over. I’m sure someone will eat it.
The cake will feel pretty heavy and probably weighs close to 5 pounds. No kidding. You have to remember that it has one pound of chocolate spread on top. That’s ok! You’re not going to eat the whole cake, just a slice – right?
C’est Magnifique!
Chocolate Ganache
1 lb. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
Place chocolate in a large bowl. Set aside. In a small sauce pan heat the cream to simmering. Pour the hot cream over chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes without stirring. After 5 minutes the chocolate should be melted. Start whisking the cream and chocolate together. Start in the center working outward as the chocolate and cream blend together. Mix until smooth and creamy. If there are any large pieces of chocolate that have not melted, just remove the pieces.
Ganache can be used for fondue. Drizzled over ice cream. Stirred into hot milk to make a rich hot chocolate. I’m sure you can think of hundreds of uses. My favorite is just a bowl of ganache and a spoon. Enough said.
I would love to hear back from anyone who has been brave enough to make the famous “Crepe Cake”.
You will be a legend serving this delight! I promise.
OHHH please take this post down, It looks too good!!!!
how many people does this feed?
This feeds a ton! Seriously. I'm sure you can easily get 25 servings. It is extemely rich. I generally start with just a sliver, oh maybe and inch in thickness. I have served it to 50 people for just a sampling, which was an ample serving.
Thank you! i will let you know how it all turns out!
THANK;S FOR DOING SUCH A GOOD JOB,PLEASE DO OTHER FROSTINGS SPECIAL,CHOCOLATE …..
We made it!! My hubby ( who runs a creperie ) & I saw this post months ago & knew we had to try it. We made it for my parents 40th wedding anniversary & everyone loved it. We could not find any hazelnut cream or paste locally ( KCMO area ), so had to make it. Next time I will order the paste online. I also rushed the filling a bit, added the butter too soon, not sure why b/c I've made a mer. buttercream dozens of times..so it was more runny than it should have been. But it still turned out and oh so impressive. THANK YOU for this post!!!
Hi Maggie,
A creperie…WOW! I want to come to your part of the country. I'm so glad you made the crepe cake. It's my daughters 20th birthday next month so I need to gear up. Hauser Chocolatier is a gread resource for the hazelnut paste. Good price as well. Thanks for your comment.
I will be making this for a second time to take to Thanksgiving. Many thanks for the great pictures and clear instructions that will no doubt make my second effort a great success. First effort didn't look so good, but was yummy.
Like they say…practice makes perfect. Your next crepe cake will be perfect, I'm sure of it!
I just did it and it was absolutely delicious! Everyone was astonished when I cut the first slice 😀
However, I didn't have the candy thermometer that the filling calls for, so I just mixed some whipped cream with Nutella and used it to fill the cake. Amazing!
I'm always so happy to hear than someone made this cake. It IS amazing and impresses everyone. I love your idea for whipped cream and Nutella. I think it's a great option for when I'm short on time. Thank you so much.
I am about to make the ganache for our cake so excited, its coming along so well. I did cheat and am using the whipped cream and nutella. My 4yr old son is loving the process and I can highly recommend the taste tester is extremely happy so far. We've been having fun making it together, and it actually looks quite good even with a special helper.
If using Nutella and whipped cream, how much of each?
Hmmm not sure. I haven't tried that yet. I think you would need at least 4 cups of whipped cream maybe more to spread over each crepe. I would whip a quart of whipping cream then add then fold in Nutella until you like the taste and texture. Just an idea.
This is an amazing cake. I made one for my sister about 2 years ago and am about to make it for my Mum's 60th. Anyone thinking about it, I'd say it's SO WORTH IT, it may take a while, but just think of all the love that goes into it. Thank you so much for sharing this fabulous recipe.
Thank you so much for the plug. I'm with you. It is so worth the effort for a special occasion. Happy birthday to your Mum. She is so lucky.
Hello, I would like to ask how do you keep this crepe cake ? Inside the fridge ? Is it easy to cut if you keep it very cold? Thanks for the answer. Betina
I always store any leftovers in the refrigerator. I hope you enjoy the cake.
Hello, I would like to know how do you keep this cake in case you don,t eat it soon? In the fridge? Is it easy to cut if it is very cold? thanks. Betina