Chocolate crêpe cream cake with dark chocolate ganache & seasonal fruits
Here is a cake you can make without even using an oven. It's a bit of a labour of love, but you'll find it well worth it as soon as you hear the nearby gasps of joy when you cut it open to reveal the beautiful layers within. The principles behind it are simple: make some crêpes, layer them with sweetened whipped cream, pour luxurious dark chocolate ganache over it and then garnish with some fresh fruits. Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication. Enjoy.
Equipment
- small non-stick pan
- whisk
- Mixing bowl
- small pot
- pallet knife
Ingredients
crêpe mix
- 750 ml milk
- 3 cups cake flour
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 160 ml butter
- 8 tbsp white sugar
- 6 eggs
cream filling
- 2 tbsp castor sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
- 500 ml whipping cream
dark chocolate ganache
- 250 ml heavy cream
- 170 g dark chocolate (70% couverture)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 tbsp white sugar
garnish
- 100 g raspberries
- 100 g blueberries
- 1 orange
Instructions
- Start with your crêpe ingredients; melt the butter and combine with all other ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Keep to one side (the batter always works better when you let it stand for about an hour).
- Make the crêpes – one after the other by adding 60ml of batter for each round, allowing it to cover as much of the surface of the pan as possible. Continue until all the batter has been used. Cool all of the crêpes immediately as it is unwise to try and work with them whilst they are still hot.
- Add whipping cream to a mixing bowl, scrape in the inside of the vanilla pod into the mix as well as adding the 2 tbsp of castor sugar. Whisk until stiff and fluffy.
- I cut the crêpes using the top of a round plastic container to get them looking a bit more even. Take these off-cuts and throw them into the oven at a low temperature and you can use them to garnish the cake later down the line. Layer the crêpes with the cream filling until you have a nice stack. Return to the fridge to stiffen up.
- Put your heavy cream and sugar into a pot and bring to the boil. Place the dark chocolate in a bowl with the softened 2 tbsp of butter. Pour the boiling liquid over and allow to cool, mixing every now and again until a smooth velvet ganache develops.
- Place the cake on a rack and pour the ganache over it. You could spend your time trying to get it all smooth, but this is a rustic cake by nature and always looks good regardless.
- Garnish with the fruits and orange segments, 30g of grated or crushed dark chocolate as well as the crispy crêpe off-cuts you've made. Finish with a very light dusting of icing sugar.