Strawberry Crepe Cake

A delicious taste of spring.

I made a strawberry crepe cake for a friend’s surprise birthday party but I was a bit disappointed in the outcome of the cake. It was good but lacked a bit of depth. So, I sought to amp it up a bit and tweaked my recipe to what I am showing today! Crepe cakes are awesome because they do not require an oven. But they’re a lot of work… so much work… haha.

I like this recipe that I made because you don’t need fresh strawberries that are in season. You just use jam and freeze dried strawberries for the filling.

I used this recipe for the crepes but doubled it:
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/make-crepes/

Ingredients

Crepes
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
250 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
360 milliliter (1 1/2 cups) milk, room temperature
240 milliliter (1 cup) water, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature
3 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream
8 ounces mascarpone, room temperature
3 cups (1 1/2 pint) heavy cream
1/4 cup strawberry jam
1/2 cup powdered sugar
34 grams freeze dried strawberries, ground
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
pinch of salt

Fresh strawberries, for decoration

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Directions

1. Crepes
   -Combine 6 tbsp melted butter, 250g flour, 2 tbsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 360ml milk, 240ml water, 4 eggs, and 3tsp vanilla extract in a blender or large food processor. Blend on medium-high for around 15 seconds then scrape the sides of the container to get loosen any flour that clumps together. Blend again for 15 more seconds until the batter is silky smooth and like cream.
   -Transfer the batter to a bowl and cover the bowl with a lid. Refrigerate for a minimum of an hour and up to 1 day.
   -Cook the crepes: heat up a 9-inch skillet over medium heat and brush lightly with some vegetable oil. Once the skillet is hot, pour around 4-5 tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Swirl the pan around to spread the batter evenly into a circle. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip. Cook the other side for around 30 seconds. Transfer to a baking dish and repeat with the rest of the batter.
   -Using a plate that is slightly smaller than the average crepe, cut off the ends of all the crepes so that they become uniform. This step is unnecessary but highly recommended if you want a more aesthetically cohesive end result.

2. Whipped Cream
   -Use either a mortar and pestle or a food processor to grind 34g freeze dried strawberries. You can also place them in a ziploc and use a rolling pin to smash.
   -Add 8oz mascarpone, 1/4 cup strawberry jam, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste, and a pinch of salt to a bowl. Use a hand mixer to blend everything together thoroughly.
   -Add 34g freeze dried strawberries and 3 cups heavy cream to the mixture. Blend until medium peaks form.

3. Assembly
   -Start with one crepe on a cake board and add a dollop of the strawberry whipped cream. Spread the cream around so that there is an ample amount, to the point that you can’t see the crepe underneath but also just barely enough. Place the next crepe on top and repeat until you use up all of the crepes.
   -You can end at this step but you will most likely have left-over cream. I then use all the cream to cover the cake.
   -Then place sliced strawberries on top decorated according to what you desire. I like to brush some jam diluted with a bit of water (and heated in the microwave for a few seconds) on top of the strawberries.

4. This cake tastes better the next day but you can also enjoy the day of! Make sure to keep it refrigerated.

Do you think this cake is worth all of the effort and time?