White Chocolate Crepe Cake

So this is what I made on Pancake Day this year. I'd found a recipe similar to this before, and then a little later I found one on Always With Butter's blog. I have been waiting to make this for quite some time.

I used a different crepe recipe from the one I found on Always With Butter's blog. I also only made half the amount of ganache- I think that this was sufficient, but the whole quantity wouldn't necessarily be over-doing it, either.

It would be wise to begin making this a while before the time at which you plan on serving, as the batter ideally should rest, and so should the ganache. Once assembled, the cake actually tastes better after a sit in the fridge to firm up.

I found this a really great way to eat crepes- the ganache is incredible. I did think that perhaps the dessert might be rather large, but serving sizes of twelfths (more sufficiently sizeable than it sounds) consist of only about a pancake and a quarter. However, my mother did disagree ("did you not find that a little too rich?").. after eating over a quarter of the cake...

White Chocolate Crepe Cake

Serves 8 large/ 12 modest slices

Ingredients:

125g plain flour 

3 eggs 

360ml milk

2tbsp caster sugar

2tsp vanilla extract

3tbsp butter, melted 

Ganache: (this can be doubled)

240ml double cream

30g icing sugar

pinch of salt

200g white chocolate

Method:

1. For the crepes, sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Break the eggs into the well and whisk lightly before gradually whisking in the milk, sugar and vanilla extract, incorporating the flour from the sides. Pour in the melted butter and whisk to combine. Leave, covered for at least an hour.

2. For the ganache, stir together the cream, icing sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the white chocolate. Leave for a minute, without stirring, then whisk until smooth and refrigerate for an hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Fry the crepes by pouring about a ladle of batter into an oiled/buttered, hot frying pan and swishing quickly around the pan for even coverage- the layer should be as thin as possible. Once the crepe has cooked on one side and is beginning to lightly brown, flip and cook the other side. Repeat until all the batter has been used- about 16 pancakes should be made.

4. Once the ganache has set, spread about one and a half tablespoons on top of a cooled crepe and layer another crepe on top. Repeat this process until all the crepes have been used. Spread the remaining ganache on top of the cake and let it slide down the sides. Refrigerate for about an hour before topping with fruit and serving.

Asian Pancakes

I wasn't sure about these pancakes at first, as they are considerably thicker than the ones you generally get from Chinese restaurants and take-outs. However, I had these with the  Asian- Inspired Crispy Chicken Salad with Pancakes and they worked really well. This recipe is from Ken Hom, but I found it from this blog.

Asian Pancakes

Makes 18

Ingredients:
275g plain flour
250ml hot water
2tbsp sesame oil

Method:
1. Mix the flour and water together in a bowl, adding more water if the mixture seems too dry.

2. Knead the dough on a flour-dusted work surface for about 8 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and return to the bowl, covered with a damp tea towel to rest for 30 minutes.

3. Knead the dough for another 5 minutes. Roll into an 18 inch log and cut into inch-wide pieces to form 18 blobs.

4. Shape the pieces into balls and dip one side of half the pieces into the sesame oil, then pair up and sandwich the dry and oily blobs together, oily-side in and press together so there are 9 pieces in total. Roll the pieces into 6 inch diameter discs and dry-fry over a low flame for 1-2 minutes, or until the pancakes seem dry.

5. Once the pancakes are cooked and cooled, peel the pairs apart and reheat in the microwave for about 10 seconds on full power.