Mille Crepes

[cookman]

cookman, that is beautiful!

what did you use for filling?

←

I used the pastry cream recipe that is now posted in the RecipeGullet. Having not seen the "original" from Lady M, I wasn't sure how thick to make the pastry cream layers. I knew I wanted very tender crepes, so I reduced the flour and substituted some cornstarch to make them less "toothy". I also didn't want to have the filling gush out with each forkfull, so I deliberately kept it thin between the layers of crepes.

[misstenacity]

cookman, that is beautiful!

what did you use for filling?

←

I used the pastry cream recipe that is now posted in the RecipeGullet. Having not seen the "original" from Lady M, I wasn't sure how thick to make the pastry cream layers. I knew I wanted very tender crepes, so I reduced the flour and substituted some cornstarch to make them less "toothy". I also didn't want to have the filling gush out with each forkfull, so I deliberately kept it thin between the layers of crepes.

←

Thanks for the suggestion regarding cornstarch - I'll have to try that when I inevitably make this spectacular dessert.

Today (because of another baking project), I had the thought that with a chocolate glaze on top of the finished cake it would become a "Boston Cream Crepe".

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

[StephMac]

I finally got a chance to make the mille crepe for my mom's birthday, and it turned out pretty well, despite being hamstrung by a time crunch at the end (more time to set up in the fridge would have helped a lot). Next time it will be even better!

And since I've never made pastry cream before, I am ever so grateful for Megan's version of the NYtimes recipe - otherwise I probably would have freaked out by the sudden thickening as it comes to a boil. Thanks for the useful real-world description, Megan!

I ended up with about 15 crepes, and I added a layer of raspberry preserves mixed with crushed frozen berries (from last year's garden) under the top crepe. I did this because I knew I wouldn't have time to re-chill the cake after bruleeing it, so I hoped that the preserves wouldn't "melt" as much as a layer of cream would. And it actually worked pretty well - the raspberry provided an excellent sweet/tangy counterpoint to the rich cream layers.

A question about the bruleed top - I caramalized it right before serving, and the hard sugar made the cake a bit difficult to cut without squishing everything out of place. Would this have been less of a problem if the cake had been more thoroughly chilled?

Also, does LadyM serve their mille crepe chilled, or room temp? Just wondering...

-Stephanie

[alanamoana]

you could brulee the top crepe separately from the rest of the "cake", and once the sugar hardens, cut it separately as well. then place it back on the cake and use it as a template to cut the rest into slices. just like on a creme brulee, the sugary top is supposed to add a textural contrast. but with the creme brulee, it doesn't matter if it cracks unevenly. on the cake this is more difficult to deal with.

[Megan Blocker]

A question about the bruleed top - I caramalized it right before serving, and the hard sugar made the cake a bit difficult to cut without squishing everything out of place. Would this have been less of a problem if the cake had been more thoroughly chilled?

Also, does LadyM serve their mille crepe chilled, or room temp? Just wondering...

-Stephanie

←

Sounds like an awesome idea to add the raspberries, Stephanie! I'm thinking about making this again this weekend...I'll definitely include raspberries, at the very least as a garnish for each slice.

As for slicing, yeah, I think it gets easier to slice the longer it sets...alanamoana's idea is a good one if you don't have the full two or three hours for it to chill.

Lady M serves theirs slightly chilled, if memory serves. Sort of like it set up in the fridge and then spent a little while at room temp...but never fully warmed up. Probably because it gets eaten so quickly!

Edited April 13, 2006 by Megan Blocker (log)

[prasantrin]

Any ideas on using a non-pastry-cream filling for either some or all of the layers? Like, would it cause major structural weakness if I added a couple of layers of apricot preserve (say, 4 cream, 1 preserve, etc)? Or would it ruin the texture of the mille crepe cake to do so?

←

This might be too late, but I've done it with two crepe layers with cream alternating with one crepe layer of sieved blueberry jam. One must be careful, though. Crepes with holes shouldn't be used for the blueberry jam layers (top or bottom). I can't remember the reason, though (I made the cake in baking class).

One nice presentation option is to do the cake as a dome. That's how we did it in class, and my friends were very impressed with it.

Edited to add: Oops! Now I see I was too late! Note to self: Read the entire thread carefully before posting a reply...

Edited April 13, 2006 by prasantrin (log)

[Swisskaese]

I haven't made a mille crepe before, but I just found this recipe and I am dying to try it. Of course, after Passover.

Darkest Chocolate Crepe Cake

This is a Martha Stewart recipe. She said that this recipe is an inspiration from the Lady M mille crepe.

Edited April 16, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[Chufi]

Thanks for that link Michelle.. it loks like a gorgeous cake! I am still contemplating making something like this for my birthday.. hmm what to decide..

btw it links to a video and I had great fun watching Martha Stewart and Fran Drescher make this cake, slathering the chocolate crepes with hazelnut cream whilst discussing the joys of dating younger men

[ludja]

I haven't made a mille crepe before, but I just found this recipe and I am dying to try it. Of course, after Passover.

Darkest Chocolate Crepe Cake

This is a Martha Stewart recipe. She said that this recipe is an inspiration from the Lady M mille crepe.

←

Thanks also, Swisskaese. The hazelnut cream filling recipe looks delicious. I like the chocolate-hazelnut combination but I'd also be tempted to try this with the plain crepe recipe for a pure hazelnut experience.

[LindaK]

The photos are lovely and it combines some of my favorite ingredients, but I have a question:

If it needs to be refrigerated in order to brulee and slice, how does that affect the taste? Do you bring it to room temp first? I can't quite imagine serving cold crepes as a dessert (eating as leftovers, that's another story!). I picture a cold stack of crepes, with a warm top layer after the brulee. Somehow it doesn't sound appetizing.

All of you can't be wrong--what am I missing?

[StephMac]

LindaK, one suggestion someone made earlier might solve the cold/warm problem: you could save the top crepe and brulee it just before serving, then place it on top of the chilled stack and serve. That way, the top layer of cream won't melt, but you can have the cake at the temperature you prefer.

I've seen the Food Network program where they show a chef at Lady M making the cake - I think it was on "Sugar Rush" - and they used a giant, round heated metal tool of some sort to brulee the top crepe. Almost as if you took a metal detector and heated it up, then used that to caramelize the sugar - I think it was maybe 4" in diameter? So it really only took a quick circle with this big heatsource to finish off the top, rather than a longer session with a blowtorch. Maybe that's how they avoid re-chilling the mille crepe and risking a softened brulee?

Honestly, I liked the cake better a little chilled vs. room temp - it seemed to have more flavor, somehow. Then again, a coworker of mine didn't like the mille cold, and microwaved it to warm it up

[Megan Blocker]

I've seen the Food Network program where they show a chef at Lady M making the cake - I think it was on "Sugar Rush" - and they used a giant, round heated metal tool of some sort to brulee the top crepe. Almost as if you took a metal detector and heated it up, then used that to caramelize the sugar - I think it was maybe 4" in diameter? So it really only took a quick circle with this big heatsource to finish off the top, rather than a longer session with a blowtorch. Maybe that's how they avoid re-chilling the mille crepe and risking a softened brulee?

←

They must do something with the cake, though...it's made in a bakery in Queens and then brought into Manhattan for serving...I'm guessing they must refrigerate it.

[S_tran]

This is not really about making mille crepes but one time i saw an entry to a competition who used this dessert as an entry and they named it "a pile of crepes" needless to say that person did not win but i just though i'd share that haha...

[azlee]

I'm looking for a way to cheat at making these mille feuilles. This would be a perfect last minute showstopping dessert, if all one had to do was assemble and brulee. Normally, I do all of my baking from scratch, including puff pastry, but the other day Whole Foods was featuring a "2 fer 1" sale on prepared packaged crepes that would be perfect for this recipe. This got me thinking there must be a source (local?) for prepared pastry cream (fresh or packaged). The packaged crepes have a good shelf life (and are super thin and tender) and I suppose that a jarred or frozen pastry cream would also have a decent shelf life. I guess one could substitute a jarred chocolate or hazelnut sauce but I really like the idea of the vanilla filling.

Any ideas? Thanks

[sanrensho]

Any ideas? Thanks

←

You could also make the crepes yourself and freeze them in advance. Pastry cream takes hardly any time at all to make, maybe 10 minutes, so I don't see the benefit of buying a pre-made product. It's also easier to work with freshly made pastry cream.

[azlee]

Any ideas? Thanks

←

You could also make the crepes yourself and freeze them in advance. Pastry cream takes hardly any time at all to make, maybe 10 minutes, so I don't see the benefit of buying a pre-made product. It's also easier to work with freshly made pastry cream.

←

I suppose I could always make my own pastry cream and freeze that for a rainy day. Any suggestions on the best way to store pastry cream in the freezer or will that ruin the final texture? Thanks

[Patrick S]

I'm looking for a way to cheat at making these mille feuilles. . . This got me thinking there must be a source (local?) for prepared pastry cream (fresh or packaged). The packaged crepes have a good shelf life (and are super thin and tender) and I suppose that a jarred or frozen pastry cream would also have a decent shelf life. I guess one could substitute a jarred chocolate or hazelnut sauce but I really like the idea of the vanilla filling.

←

Is there even such a thing as jarred or frozen pastry cream? Pastry cream is not hard to do, but if you are determined to do as little cooking as possible, you can make pastry cream out of vanilla instant pudding mix. I don't know if that will be firm enough to stay put in you mille crepes though. There is also such a thing as instant pastry cream mix, though I've never used it.

[RuthWells]

Any ideas? Thanks

←

You could also make the crepes yourself and freeze them in advance. Pastry cream takes hardly any time at all to make, maybe 10 minutes, so I don't see the benefit of buying a pre-made product. It's also easier to work with freshly made pastry cream.

←

I suppose I could always make my own pastry cream and freeze that for a rainy day. Any suggestions on the best way to store pastry cream in the freezer or will that ruin the final texture? Thanks

←

I often store pastry cream in the freezer (airtight container, with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the cream), but it does tend to thin out a bit upon thawing. Luckily, a quick reheating on the stovetop will thicken it back up.

[azlee]

Any ideas? Thanks

←

You could also make the crepes yourself and freeze them in advance. Pastry cream takes hardly any time at all to make, maybe 10 minutes, so I don't see the benefit of buying a pre-made product. It's also easier to work with freshly made pastry cream.

←

I suppose I could always make my own pastry cream and freeze that for a rainy day. Any suggestions on the best way to store pastry cream in the freezer or will that ruin the final texture? Thanks

←

I often store pastry cream in the freezer (airtight container, with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the cream), but it does tend to thin out a bit upon thawing. Luckily, a quick reheating on the stovetop will thicken it back up.

←

Excellent! Thanks!!