Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Prepare the crepe batter: Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, milk and cream in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, hazelnut meal, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in some of the milk mixture. Gently whisk from the center of the well, making a thick, smooth batter. Then, while whisking, gradually add remaining milk mixture and whisk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla and butter. (Alternatively, combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend on low speed until smooth.) Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 48 hours.
• Prepare the chocolate cream: Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and set a fine mesh sieve over the bowl. In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt. Whisk in some of the milk to create a thick paste. Gradually add remaining milk while whisking until mixture is smooth and well-combined. Whisk in egg yolks and add butter.
• Cook milk mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly and occasionally scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a rubber spatula. Once the mixture comes to a boil and becomes very thick, about 5 minutes, whisk it vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes. Press hot cream mixture through the sieve into the bowl with the chocolate. Let it stand for 2 minutes, then mix it until smooth and well-combined. Add brandy or coffee and stir to combine. Use a rubber spatula to stir the mixture until it has cooled to about room temperature and is smooth and silky. Cover with plastic wrap, pressed into the surface of the custard, and chill until ready to use.
• Cook the crepes: Melt a little bit of butter in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and let the pan get hot. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add a scant 1/4 cup (about 3 tablespoons) crepe batter to one side of the pan. (You don't want to use too much batter or you'll have thick crepes.) Quickly tilt and swirl the pan to spread the batter to an even thickness across the bottom of the pan and about 1 inch up the sides.
• Return the pan to the heat and cook crepe until very lightly golden and set on one side, about 45 seconds. Tuck a small offset spatula under the edge of the crepe, grab onto it with your fingers, and quickly flip it over. Cook until light golden brown on the other side, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Slip crepe onto a rack to cool. Once crepes are cool, transfer them to a baking sheet and cover with a light towel to keep them from drying out. Continue with remaining batter, occasionally wiping out the skillet with a paper towel and very lightly buttering the skillet every few crepes as needed. You should have 20 to 24. (You need 20 for the cake.)
• To assemble, stir the cream until smooth. Lay 1 crepe on a cake plate. Using an offset spatula, cover with a thin layer of chocolate cream (2 to 3 tablespoons), leaving a 1/4-inch border. Cover with a crepe and repeat to make a stack of 20, with the best-looking crepe on top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
• To serve, top with whipped cream, nuts and dust with cocoa.

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture. Combine the flour, sugar and salt; add to egg mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. (Batter will appear curdled.), For buttercream, in a microwave, melt white chocolate with cream; stir until smooth. Set aside to cool. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cream of tartar., Place egg whites in a double boiler or metal bowl over simmering water; stir in the sugar mixture. Constantly whisk until mixture reaches 120-130° (do not overheat). Stirring gently, keep at 120-130° for 2 minutes. Immediately transfer to a mixing bowl., With a whisk attachment, beat on high speed for 5 minutes. Reduce speed and beat for 5 additional minutes or until cool and stiff. Transfer to a large bowl., In the same mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, beat butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in cooled white chocolate mixture. With a spatula, stir a fourth of the meringue into butter mixture until no white streaks remain. Fold in remaining meringue. Cover and refrigerate., Heat a lightly greased 8-in. nonstick skillet over medium heat; pour 2 tablespoons crepe batter into center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top appears dry, about 2 minutes; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet as needed., When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper or paper towels in between., To assemble, place one crepe on a cake plate. Spread with 3 tablespoons buttercream. Repeat layers until 10 crepes are used. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat layering and chilling until 30 crepes are used, ending layers with a crepe. (Save remaining crepes for another use.) Refrigerate., For ganache, place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream, corn syrup and salt just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cool, stirring occasionally, until ganache reaches a spreading consistency. Spread over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Steps:

• Thread each hazelnut onto tip of a long wooden skewer; set aside. Place a cutting board along the edge of a countertop; set a baking sheet on floor next to edge.
• Cook sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides with a wet brush to prevent crystals from forming. Let boil until syrup turns light amber, about 5 minutes; remove from heat. Let stand until slightly cooled, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Dip 1 skewered hazelnut into syrup, coating completely and letting excess syrup drip back into pan. When dripping syrup becomes a thin string, secure end of skewer under cutting board, letting caramel string drip over edge onto sheet. Repeat with remaining hazelnuts. Let stand until caramel has hardened, about 5 minutes. Break strings to about 4 inches. Carefully remove skewers.

Steps:

• Crepes: In a blender, puree flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs, and butter until smooth, 30 seconds. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day; stir for a few seconds before using.
• Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium; lightly brush with butter. Add a scant 1/4 cup batter, tilting and swirling skillet until it evenly coats bottom. Cook until crepe is golden in places on bottom and edges lift from pan, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Flip and cook on other side until just set, about 45 seconds. Slide crepe onto a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining batter, coating pan with more butter as needed, and stacking crepes directly on top of one another (you should finish with about 30). Let cool completely before using, or cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.
• Fillings: In a bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water. Let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, melt jam in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat; stir in gelatin mixture until dissolved (mixture should feel smooth when rubbed between your fingers). Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in white chocolate until smooth. In another bowl, stir together hazelnut spread and bittersweet chocolate until smooth. In a third bowl, whisk cream and confectioners' sugar to stiff peaks. Divide whipped cream evenly (about 3 cups each) between raspberry and hazelnut mixtures and stir until smooth. Refrigerate cream mixtures until thickened slightly but still spreadable, at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.
• To make cake, place 1 crepe on a cake plate. Spread 1/3 cup raspberry-cream mixture evenly over crepe, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Top with another crepe; spread with 1/3 cup hazelnut-cream mixture. Repeat layering, alternating fillings, until all crepes are used, finishing with a crepe. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 8 hours and up to 2 days. Just before slicing and serving, top cake with raspberries and dust generously with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease four 6-inch-round, 3-inch-tall cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment.
• Put the hazelnuts in a food processor and grind them until you have small crumbs. Measure out 1/4 cup of the hazelnut crumbs and set them aside for the frosting.
• Pour the remaining hazelnut crumbs into a large bowl and whisk in the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, vanilla and eggs. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and then stir in the hot coffee. It will be a very thin batter.
• Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Begin checking for doneness at 25 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them onto a greased cooling rack.
• For the frosting: While the cakes are cooling, use an electric mixer to beat together the powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and salt until smooth. Mix in the heavy cream until smooth. Scoop out a tiny amount of frosting for the mustard-colored dollops, add the mustard yellow food coloring and mix until combined. Transfer the yellow frosting to a piping bag with a small round tip. To the remaining frosting, add the dusty rose pink food coloring and mix until the desired shade of pink. Measure out 1 cup of the pink frosting and transfer it to a small bowl. Fold in the reserved 1/4 cup ground hazelnuts.
• Level your cake layers and spread the top of one of them with the hazelnutty frosting. Place a second layer on top, then frost the top with more of the hazelnutty frosting. Continue with the remaining 2 layers. Frost the top and sides with the remaining pink frosting without nuts.
• For the decorations: Decorate with mustard dollops of frosting around the edge. Add marzipan house cutouts of white houses with green shutters, crushed hazelnuts, green grass sprinkles, orange sun sprinkles or whatever else you'd like!

Steps:

• To make the crêpes: In a blender, combine the flour, milk, butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Blend until smooth. Add the eggs and blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed, about 1 minute. Transfer the batter to a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
• Heat an 8-inch crêpe pan or 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium high and spray with cooking spray. Gently stir the chilled crêpes batter. Add 1/4 cup of the batter and tilt the pan to make sure the mixture evenly and lightly coats the skillet. Cook for about 30 seconds, until the crêpe is lightly browned. Using a spatula, carefully flip the crêpe to cook the other side, about 30 seconds. Slide the crêpe onto a plate. Cool slightly, then transfer to a clean, dry surface. Arrange crêpes in a single layer to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter, buttering pan occasionally. If crêpes are browning too quickly, reduce heat to medium.
• To make the frosting: In a chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, 30 seconds. Switch to the whisk attachment and add the heavy cream, sour cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Whip on medium speed until almost stiff peaks form (tips almost stand straight).
• To make the cake: On a platter, place one crêpe and spread with a generous 1/4 cup of the frosting. Top with a crêpe, then evenly spread on a generous 1/4 cup of the chocolate-hazelnut spread. Top with sliced strawberries. Repeat with the remaining crêpes, frosting, chocolate-hazelnut spread, and sliced strawberries. Cover the cake and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
• To serve, sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar. Top with whipped cream and the halved strawberries. Use a serrated knife to slice.

Steps:

• Spread 1/4 cup of chocolate hazelnut spread onto each crepe. Arrange 1 sliced banana down the center of each one. Roll up, and place in a warm skillet over medium heat. Let them warm up for about 90 seconds. Transfer to plates, and serve topped with whipped cream.