Chocolate Amaretto Crêpe Cake

By mitzzy

You need a fancy crêpe pan to swirl the batter properly, right? Well, that's what I thought. I took a chance with my beat-up non-stick pan with the wobbly handle. I swirled, I cooked. I didn't lose my head. Everything turned out fine!

I let Mr. Baird taste-test as I developed the whipped filling recipe. I wanted to make sure it matched his dream-memory. I also made a chocolate amaretto ganache - a bit too much, it turns out - so I made truffles with the leftovers.

The resulting cake was delicious, and the many-layered texture is so divine!

Ingredients

• Crêpes:
• Note: Have ready a pastry brush and a little cup of melted butter before you begin cooking the crepes. This is for brushing and the pan with butter.
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Details

Servings 1

Preparation

Step 1

Whip heavy cream in a large bowl on medium-high speed with a hand mixer or using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Gradually add the granulated sugar. Mixture will begin to thicken.
Gradually add in the unsweetened cocoa powder. Add the amaretto liqueur one tablespoon at a time, and then add the almond extract. Whip until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Chocolate-Amaretto Ganache:
Note: This recipe can be halved if you don't plan to make the amaretto truffles.

9 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
Roughly chop the chocolate and place it in a medium bowl.
In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium-high heat until just boiling.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Mix in the Amaretto and whisk again until smooth. Allow to cool slightly before using


Assembly:
Center a crepe on a serving plate. Using a pastry brush, very lightly coat the crepe with chocolate ganache while it is still thin (if ganache begins to set, you can gently heat it in the microwave at 20 second intervals). Thinly spread a little whipped filling over the ganache and top with another crepe. Continue brushing, spreading and stacking, ending with a crepe on top. Set aside.
When remaining chocolate ganache is of spreading consistency, use to frost the cake. Let stand at room temperature until set.

Note: If making entire ganache recipe, remaining amount can be chilled and rolled into truffles. Roll truffles in cocoa powder and garnish top of cake, if desired.