GÂTEAU DE CRÊPES (CREPE CAKE)

GÂTEAU DE CRÊPES (CREPE CAKE)

Yield: One 8-inch cake

Cook Time: 40 minutes (plus 5 hours chilling)

INGREDIENTS

Crêpes

• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
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• ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
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• ¼ cup granulated sugar
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• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
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• 4 large eggs
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• 5 large egg yolks
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• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
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• 2 cups whole milk
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• 3 tablespoons Armagnac or cognac

Nonstick pan spray

• Tiramisu Filling
• 1¼ cups confectioners' sugar
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• 4 cups mascarpone cheese
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• ½ cup sweet Marsala wine (or half as much rum or coffee liqueur)
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• ¼ cup natural cocoa powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the crêpe batter: In a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour and sugar. Whisk in the salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth and webby (it will be very thick). In a slow, steady stream, whisk in the butter, then the milk and the Armagnac, until the batter is smooth (if there are any lumps, strain the batter through a fine-mesh sieve and into a medium bowl). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat with nonstick pan spray. Gently stir the crêpe batter, then pour ¼ cup of batter into the skillet. Holding the skillet by the handle, tilt and turn the skillet to quickly disperse the batter. Cook the crêpe until the underside is golden-brown, about 1½ minutes. Lightly jerk the skillet to loosen the crêpe, then flip the crêpe over using a spatula, a more vigorous jerking motion, or your fingers. Cook on the other side until golden-brown, about 30 seconds, then slide the crêpe onto the parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat until all of the batter is used (you'll end up with about 20 crêpes total, and will need 18 for the cake). Refrigerate the crêpes on the baking sheet until completely chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.

3. Make the tiramisu filling: To a fine-mesh sieve set over a large sheet of parchment paper, add the confectioners' sugar. Transfer the confectioners' sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer), and add the mascarpone cheese and the Marsala wine. Use the paddle attachment to combine the mixture on low speed until well combined.

4. Remove the crêpes from the refrigerator. Insert an 8-inch cake round (a cardboard circle for the cake to rest on) into an 8-inch cake ring. Add 1 crêpe to the cake round so it lies flat. Add ¼ cup of the tiramisu filling to the center of the crêpe and use a small offset spatula to evenly spread the filling over the crêpe. Repeat with the filling and 17 more crêpes, leaving the last crêpe on the top plain (refrigerate the leftover filling; you'll use it to finish the cake). Leaving the cake in the cake ring, chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

5. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and use a blow-dryer to warm the sides of the cake ring and loosen it (a hot, wet and wrung-out kitchen towel pressed against the sides of the ring works too). Remove the ring by setting the cake on top of a tall, quart-size cylindrical can (a 28-ounce can of tomatoes works well). Slide the cake ring down (if it sticks, apply more heat); the ring should slide right off while the can supports the cake. Remove the cake from the can and set it on a cake plate or platter. Spread the remaining tiramisu cream on top of the cake. Add the cocoa powder to a fine-mesh sieve and sprinkle it over the top of the cake. Slice and serve.