Step by step, with pictures: A divine crepe cake like in New York

When I just moved to New York, I received a list of recommendations from my brother for "important things to do in the first week in the city and in general". One of the recommendations that I made sure to follow right away was to wait for a nice day, go towards Fifth Avenue on the side facing Central Park, go straight to the Lady M stand in the food court below the plaza, order a piece of the crepe cake, buy a quality cup of coffee at Cipriani and put my feet in the park to enjoy all this happiness on the shore of the lake. 

The crepe cake has since become a hot trend and for very understandable reasons - it is simple, delicious and impressive. My recipe is a combination of a crepe cake with an Argentinian biscuit cake.

Ingredients:

For crepes (for 50 units):

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup white flour

Zest from half a lemon or orange

6 eggs

1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup sweet cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:

1 package mascarpone cheese (250 g) at room temperature

1 package milk jam (300 g)

For chocolate coating:

1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate

1 cup of milk

1/2 cup sweet cream

30 g of butter

1/2 cup sugar

Preparation:

1. The crepes: Put all the ingredients for the crepes (sugar, flour, orange zest, eggs, milk, cream and vanilla) into a food processor and process until a uniform mass is obtained. Transfer to a container and keep in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

2. The filling: In the meantime, mix the mascarpone cheese with the milk jam. You can use a mixer with a guitar hook, but it is important not to mix excessively so that the cheese does not fall apart. Keep aside and proceed to make the crepes.

3. Grease a pan with a thin layer of oil and heat. When the oil is hot, take it off the heat for a moment, pour half a cup of the crepe batter into the pan, move it from side to side in circular motions so that it covers the surface of the pan, and return to the heat. When the crepe starts to dry, turn it to the other side for a few seconds. Transfer the prepared crepe to a flat plate and repeat the operation until the batter is finished and a pile of crepes is obtained. It is important to make sure to mix the crepe batter each time before pouring it into the pan.

4. The assembly: On a round and flat plate, place the first crepe, spread a thin and even layer of the mascarpone filling and the milk jam on top, top with another crepe and again spread the cream. Repeat the operation until you get a cake made of layers of crepes with cream in between. The last crepe is left without filling so that it can be coated with the chocolate glaze.

5. The coating: Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, cream and sugar until a gentle boil. When the mass boils, pour it over the chocolate and butter. Wait a minute and with the help of a spatula, mix the mixture from the middle with rotating and lifting movements until you get a smooth chocolate cream.

6. Serving: Place a plate on top of the crepe cake and press it down a little to unite the layers and make sure the cake is stable. Using a plate, parchment or a spatula, go over the sides of the cake and level the cream if it comes out. Pour the chocolate coating into the center of the upper crepe and level with a palette or spatula. Storage: the cake can be kept in the refrigerator until serving.

Pour the hot milk over the chocolate with the butter and wait a minute

Mix with the spatula in the center of the bowl until you get a shiny chocolate cream

Pour the chocolate coating over the crepe cake

Cut and serve

Lior Mashiah , Sugat