Instead of actual cake layers this crepe cake consists of stacked French crepes filled with pastry creme filling and is topped with juicy strawberry sauce.
It’s the day before Valentine’s Day!
Are you excited? Annoyed?
I know, I know, there is a chance many of you don’t really care for Valentines Day. That being said, if anything, Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to eat sweets, right? Even is you hate Valentine’s Day, I think this is a point we can all agree on!
Here in South East Asia it seems to be not much of a big deal. Especially not this year, where it falls so close to the Chinese New Year. Which is a VERY big deal!
It also seems to differ from country to country. Last year in Thailand there were definitely pink, heart-shaped decorations in the big stores and there were many different kinds of Valentines products to buy.
In Malaysia – just one country South of Thailand – it is actually illegal! As we learnt from some friends and fellow travelers who are staying there at the moment. Thinking of the Christian background of the ‘holiday’ I guess it makes sense in a Muslim country.
This year, here in Vietnam, I don’t seem to notice anything Valentines related. Now, I don’t know if this is because the New Year’s celebrations are putting it into the shadow, or if it is generally not being observed this year.
By the way...wait. What? Vietnam?
Yes! Vietnam!
Last week my husband and I traveled from Northern Thailand to Ho Chi Minh City (also known and still referred to as Saigon) in Vietnam. We’ll be located here for the next 3 months. Or, at least that’s the plan for now.
We’re excited to get to know another Southeast Asian country with its history and distinct cuisine. Some of the best and most exciting news is: I’ve already seen cakes at the bakery but have yet to try one. Just knowing they’re available is exciting!
So, for now I bring you another cake that we enjoyed back in Thailand – Crepe Cake. Instead of actual cake layers it has a whole lot of French crepes stacked on top of each other with a luscious pastry creme filling in between the layers.
It’s topped with strawberries as well as a fruity strawberry sauce.
This was my first time having crepe cake. It is definitely different from actual cake. Not too sweet and also not fluffy. I loved taking apart the layers, bite by bite! While I appreciate the fluffiness of cake, I did enjoy the layers texture of the crepe cake, as well.
The more chewy texture of the crepes actually reminded me of Roti - a popular Thai pancake dessert.
I found a great recipe for crepe cake by Lily from Lily’s Wai Sek Hong and added a recipe for strawberry sauce with it below. I love that this dessert also comes together without the use of an oven, which has me thinking I might try working on another crepe cake version soon.
Give it a try and share your results with me! Pictures are especially always welcome, too! Enjoy!
Recipe
Crepe Cake with Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
For the Pastry Creme Filling
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 4 + 2 tablespoon granulated sugar divided
- 2 cups milk
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoon + 4 cups heavy cream divided
For French Crepes
- 1-½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs
- 3 tablespoon melted butter
- 3 cups milk
For the Strawberry Sauce
- 20 oz. 570g fresh or frozen, unsweetened strawberries
- 8-12 extra strawberries for garnish
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- freshly squeezed lemon juice optional
Instructions
Pastry Creme (has to be refrigerated, preferably overnight)
- In a small bowl beat together eggs, flour, cornstarch and 4 tablespoon sugar until smooth.
- In a saucepan bring milk to a simmer (almost boiling). Remove from heat and whisk milk into egg mixture. Returning the mixture to the saucepan, cook for 5 minutes under constant stirring until mixture thickens and comes to a boil.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, whip 4 tablespoon of heavy cream and fold in. Refrigerate mixture until it thickens, preferably overnight.
Crepe Batter (can be prepared ahead and refrigerated)
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Make a well into the flour mix and add eggs, melted butter and half of the milk.
- Using a whisk or wooden spoon combine the ingredients while gradually adding the second half of the milk. Once all the milk is added keep beating/whisking until all lumps are removed. If need be, you may have to sieve the batter.
- You can refrigerate the batter now but bring it back to room temperature before proceeding to cook the crepes.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat a lightly oiled or non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Pour ¼ cup batter into the pan and swirl it around to cover the entire surface. Cook until the bottom of the crepe is just lightly browned.
- With your clean fingers carefully turn over the crepe and cook the other side for just 5 seconds (no more). Place crepe onto prepared lined baking sheet. Do NOT stack them on top of each other.
- Repeat the process until you have 20 perfect crepe layers. You might have to practice with a few in the beginning.
Strawberry Sauce
- If using frozen strawberries, place them in a large bowl to thaw - may take a few hours.
- Reserving 8-12 whole berries for garnish, place fresh strawberries or thawed strawberries with their juice in food processor or blender. Process strawberries until they are pureed.
- Pour sauce in 2 cup measuring glass. You should have about 1 ¼ cups sauce. Starting with ¼ cup add sugar and stir to dissolve. If you like it sweeter add up to ⅓ cup of sugar in total.
- Optionally add a little freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste. Sauce keeps for up to 1 week covered and refrigerated. Can also be frozen.
Assembly
- Take pastry creme out of the refrigerator and whip 4 cups of heavy cream with 2 tablespoon sugar. Carefully fold whipped cream into pastry creme.
- Using a cake board or round cake plate as a guide trim crepes with a sharp knife.
- Place first crepe on a serving plate and spread ¼-1/2 cup of pastry creme filling on top with a spatula or wide bladed knife.
- Cover with another crepe and spread on pastry creme filling. Repeat for 20 crepe layers. Now spread the pastry creme over the top and the sides of the crepe cake.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When you are ready to serve, cut the cake into slices. Place a reserved strawberry on a plated slice and pour 1-2 tablespoon of strawberry sauce on top.
Pin this Crepe Cake with Strawberry Sauce recipe for later?
Random Questions
Crepe cakes are beloved for their delicate and luscious texture that comes from the stacked layers of thin, slightly chewy crepes. The lightness of the crepes combined with the flavorful fillings and toppings, such as pastry creme and fresh strawberries in this recipe, creates a delightful and indulgent dessert experience.
A tough crepe cake can result from a few factors, including overcooking the crepes, using too much flour in the batter, or not allowing the crepes to rest adequately. To ensure a tender texture, it's essential to cook the crepes until they are just set and not browned. Additionally, allowing the crepe batter to rest before cooking can help create a more delicate texture.
A crepe cake is a type of cake made by layering multiple thin crepes with a creamy filling in between each layer. These cakes are known for their delicate and elegant appearance, often topped with various fruits, sauces, or powdered sugar. The layers of crepes and fillings create a visually appealing dessert that is both light and satisfying.
Strawberry crepes typically consist of thin crepes filled with a mixture of fresh strawberries, sometimes sweetened with sugar, and topped with additional fresh strawberries or a strawberry sauce. The crepes themselves are made from a batter of flour, eggs, milk, and butter, which is cooked into thin, pancake-like layers. The combination of the delicate crepes and the sweet, tangy strawberries makes for a delightful and refreshing treat.
Zach
I am very bad at cooking will this be easy to understand without any cooking experiences?
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Thanks for your question, Zach! While this recipe includes multiple components and is quite detailed, each component is quite easy to make on its own. A crepe cake is excellent for less experienced bakers as well because it is very forgiving. If some of them tear, you will just be stacking them anyway and can hide the imperfections. Please reach out to let us know if you have any questions if you work through the recipe and find anything unclear, though.
Erika @ The Hopeless Housewife
We loved having you at our link party & have featured your incredible crepe cake as one of our favorites this week! Feel free to grab our featured button for your site and check out our big giveaway tomorrow!
Regina
Thank you so much for the sweet feature and for letting me know about it. Will check you site tomorrow 🙂
Erika @ The Hopeless Housewife
This is such an amazing cake! I would love for you to link it up with us at our Wednesday Link Party!
Regina
Thank you so much Erika! I will check out your Link Party 🙂
Natalie
This looks amazing. I totally would love some of this right now.
Regina
Thank you Natalie 🙂
Jacquee @I Sugar Coat It!
Mmmmmm, crepes!! AND french pastry! I MUST try this very soon. Hope you and K had a wonderful Valentine's Day, even without any sign of it in your current location.
Regina
YES we did! K found a small bottle of wine at the grocery store for $2, which was surprisingly good for the price and a Kit Kat bar was our replacement for Valentine's chocolate 😉
Thank you Jacquee!
Amy Tong
I love crepe cake and yours with strawberry sauce looks gorgeous! I love it. I've been to Thailand many years ago and love it! I've always wanted to visit Vietnam but haven't got a chance to! My brother went there and he had so much fun. Yes, Chinese New Year is way bigger than the V-day in Asia! hahha...Wish you a safe journey there!
Regina
Thank you Amy! We've made many lovely travel memories in Thailand. Vietnam is definitely different with its own charm but we are just starting to get to know this country.
amy @ fearless homemaker
What a wonderful, beautiful cake. I've never seen anything like it - so creative!! And I hope you love your time in Vietnam - you're such a world traveler! =)
Regina
Thank you Amy! We are curious and excited to see how our long-stay in Vietnam will turn out 🙂
ashley - baker by nature
Regina! You're a rockstar with this one! I mean... wow. Such beauty in cake form. Love it!
Regina
Thank you Ashley 😀
sally @ sallys baking addiction
Wow. This cake looks unreal! I've never, ever seen anything like it! I would love biting into all of these layers. It's almost too pretty to eat. Almost. 😉
Regina
No matter how pretty a dessert is, in the end my inner sweet tooth always wins! 😀
Aimee @ ShugarySweets
OMG this is gorgeous!!!!!
Regina
Thank you Aimee!
cooking rookie
Beautiful cake! The crepes with that pastry creme must be divine! I wish I could try that slice...
Regina
If possible, I would love to send cake slices from Asia and receiving them here from friends all over the world as well 😉 Until that is possible blogging has to be the way of sharing 🙂