Description
When an occasion requires a decadent dessert, this recipe is spot on. Layered crepes alternating with a Nutella-Frangelico cream makes for a rich, but surprisingly easy cake. adapted from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Ingredients
Scale
For the crepes
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 1/3 cups whole milk, do not use skim or 1% (2% is okay)
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- extra melted butter for brushing the pan (3-4 tbs)
For the mousse
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup Nutella or your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread
For decor+crepe brushing
- 1 cup of chopped hazelnuts, toasted at 350 degrees for 2–3 minutes
- 1/4 cup frangelico liquor (you can also use Gran Marnier for an orange flavor) mixed with 2 tbs melted butter
Instructions
- Allow the melted butter come to room temperature. Then, in a blender, combine all the liquid ingredients for the crepes. Blend until smooth and combined. Add dry ingredients and blend again. Let the crepe batter rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
- In the meantime, whisk your 3 cups of heavy cream until you achieve stiff peaks. You know what I mean, the stuff clouds are made of. Fold in nutella, a few tablespoons at a time. Don’t dump it all in or your cream will fall and lose it’s lightness.
- Preheat a 9-inch skillet (non-stick works best) or a crepe pan to a medium heat. Use a pastry brush to coat the pan with a bit of butter. Add 1/4 cup of batter and tilt the pan so it covers every surface. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, and then carefully flip. I usually flip with my hand but that’s dangerous so I recommend using a very thin crepe spatula. Don’t be alarmed if the first few don’t come out as beautiful as you hoped. The first crepes are like the first slice of pie; for the chef.
- Continue to cook crepes until all your batter has been used up.
- Let them cool completely. Place your first crepe down on your plate or desired serving platter. Smear it with a little cream (don’t overdo it, you have so many layers to work with). Every 3-4 layers, brush the crepe very lighty with Frangelico butter. Then smear more cream, and sprinkle a tbs of chopped hazelnuts. Then continue as usual. Eventually, you’ll have a miraculously tall tower of crepes and creme.
- Once you make it to the top, use an offset spatula to smooth out the top. I sprinkle more nuts over everything, and finally drizzled a little bit of melted dark chocolate (not necessary unless you want to do that). I like to let it sit overnight because I think that allows the crepes time to absorb the cream.
Notes
To get the topping, I just melted semi-sweet chocolate (55%) over a double boiler. I put the chilled cake in the freezer for 20 mintues, then using a spoon, dribbled the melted chocolate over the cake in concentric circles. Then I just put it back in the fridge until the chocolate set.
- Category: Dessert