This month’s Secret Recipe Club paired me with Andrea of Adventures in All Things Food.
I paged through the archives for a while before I came across this chocolate and Kahlúa crêpe cake that reminded me just how much I like eating crêpes stuffed with Nutella on the streets of Northern France. Now take the same idea, add Kahlúa, a homemade ganache, and then layer it a million times and you’ve made crêpe cake. What’s not to love?
When crêpes are layered with chocolate and stacked up high, they can be eaten for breakfast. These are facts based on opinion.
We, however, made this cake this weekend in honor of Theo’s six month birthday. He decided to go to bed before the cake was served, but Jason and I clinked our wine glasses and reflected. On the babe, on parenting, on our relationship, on everything.
I understand that in the grand scheme of things, six months isn’t a noteworthy milestone, but when you’re in it, it feels important. So here are random musings from a first time momma after successfully keeping her child alive and mostly happy for half a year:
- When sitting in a coffee shop, strangers will consistently pinch not only your baby’s cheeks but also their thighs. They will also ask to hold your baby. You can politely say no.
- Speaking of those chubby cheeks, they’re actually made of pure muscle.
- No matter how stone cold you are (or used to be), a baby smile will literally melt your heart.
- And don’t get me started on baby giggles.
- People will tell you “just when you think you’ve figured a baby out, everything will change.” You will scoff at them because you’ve got things down, and then everything changes and you want to sob in a corner until you figure it all out again.
- Speaking of advice, most people have a sample size of 1, or 2, or 3. Keep that in mind, especially when the advice is unsolicited.
- Baby lifejackets are the devil.
- But dressing babies up in adult-like clothes is completely and utterly amazing.
- There is such a thing as an active pooper situation. It’s when you pull the diaper off too early. It’s exactly as fun as it sounds.
- The nicknames you and your spouse will come up with for the baby make total sense at the moment but sound unreasonable when repeated to anyone else (i.e. “squish bucket”).
- It’s unclear how much of whatever toy or blanket a baby needs to fit into his mouth in order to be satiated.
- Grandparents live in the iPhone. They are the best things in the world.
- When all else fails, it’s time for a walk.
- When babies are learning to sit, heads will undoubtedly hit the floor. And it will scare the bejesus out of you.
- As pointed out by my friend Angela, babies have terrible taste. That’s why they love all of the plastic crap.
- It’s okay to not love breastfeeding (and if another person tells me that breastfeeding helps me bond with my baby, I will likely face punch them).
- When your baby learns to put a pacifier in their own mouth, it’s not as much of a game changer as you thought it was going to be.
- When it’s really hot outside, you can turn the air on and blame the baby for being sweaty.
- The first time your child projectile vomits on you will be burned into your memory forever. Even more so if it happens on their six month birthday when they were looking extra dapper until they were covered in puke.
- Dads are the masters of bath time.
- Instinct is everything.
But let’s turn our attention back to the crêpe cake. The final result? Amazing. The process? Kind of a pain in the ass, I’ll admit, but undoubtedly worth it at the end.
I intended to get more beautiful photos of the layers, but it was hot, I was distracted, and in the end, I kind of like the messiness.
Maybe because it’s a good representation of what life is like with a bubbly, drooly, skeptical, full-of-smiles-and-giggles six month old little boy. Cheers, you guys!
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
- 6 eggs
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons Kahlúa
- 3 cups cold heavy cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons Kahlúa
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- Combine all crêpe ingredients in a blender and whiz until completely mixed. Transfer to bowl and let rest for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight in the fridge.
- Melt a ½ tablespoon or so of butter in a 10-inch non-stick pan over medium heat. Pour a scant ¼ cup of batter into the pan and immediately swirl it around so the entire pan is covered. Cook until the crêpe has browned on the bottom (about 1 minute), then flip with a spatula and finish cooking on the other side for about 30 seconds. Transfer the crêpe to a plate and repeat until you've used up all the batter (makes about 20-25 crepes), adding more butter to the pan if necessary. Cool in refrigerator while you make other components.
- Heat heavy cream in a medium sized saucepan over medium-low heat until it starts to gently simmer. Remove from heat and pour over chopped chocolate, whisking until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Add Kahlúa and stir. Let ganache cool completely (you can transfer it to the fridge after it's cooled down some).
- Using an electric mixer, whisk cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar, Kahlúa, and cocoa powder and whisk until stiff peaks form. Transfer to fridge until ready to assemble.
- Once all components are cold, lay down one crêpe on a plate or cake stand. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of ganache into the center and spread with a spoon or spatula, stopping about ½ an inch from the edges. Top with 1-2 tablespoons of cream filling and spread the same way. Top the filling with the next crêpe, and repeat until you run out of one of the three components (the crêpes will likely go first). Top your last crêpe with a thick layer of ganache.
- Place crêpe cake in refrigerator until it is firm, then top with a sprinkling of powdered sugar before serving.
Recipe adapted from Adventures in All Things Food.
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Beautiful. And so good looking. You have more patience than I would, especially with a 6 month old! Great SRC choice.
writes SarahI love this so much! I love the baby part most! Can’t believe mine was 6 months 2 years ago!!! And yet it feels like yesterday,..enjoy your time with the baby it flies by entirely too fast. Oh and this cake…this cake is fantastic!!! It’s one of my favorite things at French restaurants :)
writes Girl and the KitchenIt’s the longest shortest time, as they say :). Thanks Mila!
writes VickyYup, I worship you. This cake is amazing. Completely AHmazing.
writes avrilHa! Worship?! I hope I can continue to live up to your expectations :)
writes VickySwoon! Excuse me for a few minutes while I just sit here and drool over this gorgeous cake… My birthday isn’t for another 6 or 7 weeks, but I already know what kind of cake I want.
writes LeslieLimonPerfect for birthdays (6 months and older).
writes VickyImpressive!!! That cake is simply stunning.
writes danielleWe made this cake for a dinner club we are doing with some friends and everyone raved! We didn’t cool things down enough so the cake was sliding around and didn’t end up looking as nice as yours BUT it was so delicious and nobody cared that we doused it in chocolate ganache to cover our mistakes :))
writes BaileyHa! Yes, I have a bad habit of being impatient and not letting things to cool down enough or heat up enough. Glad it tasted amazing anyways!
writes Vicky