I’m sharing my birthday cake with you today! I wish that I could share a slice with all of you but it’s physically impossible right now. (I’m sure someone is working on the solution as we speak, hehe.) I’m sharing my recipe for this Boston Cream Crepe Cake, it’s a cake that has custard layered in between crepes and topped with ganache frosting.
For the past couple of years, I’ve been making my own birthday cake. I know you will say “On, no, you can’t make your own cake!” But those who know me, know how picky I am. I don’t really like store bought cakes because they tend to make the soooo sweet that my teeth screech.
My mommy used to always make my cake, but lately my birthday has been falling on weird days and I don’t get to see them on my birthday. So, I make own cake. It’s really a good thing since I love to bake and I get to be extra creative. I also put in extra thought into it since I am my biggest critic.
I knew that I wanted to make something Boston Cream because I’ve been craving the custard and ganache flavors for a while. I’ve sifted through several cake ideas in my head and ran them by my husband. Since he’s been pretty good at coming up with ideas for baked goods lately, I went with the one he chose. The cake turned out amazing!!
(Rest assured, I’m still planning of making the other cakes that I came up with.)
Boston Cream Crepe Cake
Ingredients
- Crepes:
- 2 cups flour
- 3 eggs
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup veggie oil
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 4 tbs sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups of boiling water*
- Consistency should be like melted ice cream!!
- Custard:
- 1 cup of whole milk
- 2/3 cup of heavy cream
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Ganache:
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 1/2 cup heavy cream boiling
Instructions
- Custard: Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until completely combined. Add flour, whisk very well and set aside while heating the milk. Heat milk, heavy cream, butter and salt until simmering. Slowly add the heated milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture stirring constantly. Whisk well, slowly. Return the mixture into the pot and bring to simmer stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken within 30-45 seconds. Take off heat! Whisk in the vanilla, set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Crepes: Preheat a non-stick pan on medium high heat. Combine flour, eggs, milk, oil, salt, sugar and baking soda. Whisk all well. Slowly, start adding 1/4 cup of the hot water at a time to the batter. Whisking constantly until the batter reaches the consistency of melted ice cream. Pour about a ladle-full into the hot pan and swirl slowly. For this cake, I used a little bit more batter on each crepe and spread around to about 8-inch round crepe. (Normally, I use 1/2 ladle-full.) Cook for a few seconds on each side, until golden.
- Ganache: Bring the heavy cream to boil, be careful not to let it actually boil or it will raise.
- Pour the boiling cream over the chopped chocolate and stir until melted. Cool to a little warmer then room temperature.
- To assemble the cake: Spread a somewhat thin layer of custard on each crepe as you stack them of top of each other. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to let the cake set.
- Ganache can also be poured on the cold cake, before serving.
- (*Suggestion:* if you want extra security to keep the cake from sliding off while it's chilling, use one of those long, wooden kebab sticks in the center of the cake.)
Nutrition
Heavenly Bakings says
Hey! This cake was a great idea. Could you tell me why do you need to add the boiled water to the crepe batter? I did it the first time, then didn`t really know why and the second time I just used water straight from the tap, and I really didn`t notice any difference in taste or texture. I made my crepes really thick and only got 9 crepes, but in my opinion it was just enough so that I had enough filling.
BTW, I also highly recommend adding a zest and juice of one orange to the custard – it is a match made in heaven with the dark chocolate ganache…:)
This is how the cake looked like http://heavenlybakings.blogspot.fi/2014/06/boston-cream-crepes-vaihtoehto.html ( sorry, the site is in Finnish only)
lyuba says
Boiled water was my grandmother’s secret to a beautiful crepe. It helps the crepe to cook with a pretty pattern. It also makes them softer. Ideally, crepes should be as thin as possible, that’s why the batter is runny. But if you liked them thick for the cake, it’s really up to you! I will definitely try the zest next time! Thank you!
J. DaSIlva says
I made the crepe cake as per recipe and it was awesome!!!! The only thing is that I did not have enough of the custard filling for all the layers. I improvised by intercalating custard and Nuttela as filling. Great recipe. Thanks!
lyuba says
I’m so glad that you liked it! Thank you 🙂
It sounds great to add Nutella!
Ginnie says
Oh my goodness … this looks absolutely to die for, Lyuba! The perfect birthday cake. Thank you so much for sharing at my link party:)
KARACAKE says
Hi Lyuba, I have to thank you for yet another knockout recipe. I made this birthday crepe cake for a friend this past weekend. He is a lover of crepes & Boston Creme. It was a bit of work getting it all together, I would change the order of some of the instructions slightly. Once you have everything prepared, it comes together really quickly. The cake cuts beautifully & looks spectacular on the plate-mine looks just like your photos. It tasted so good, the custard was perfect and soaked into the crepes a bit. The chocolate is not too sweet which works with the custard & crepes. My husband said, “you nailed it!”. The crepes have kept their texture despite being in the refrigerator for 2 days..it gets even better the next day. What a beautiful, comforting, familiar but different cake for a special occasion. My first attempt at crepes…a delicious success! Thanks Lyuba! I am a fan!
lyuba says
I am SO happy that it came out just as you hoped! This makes me feel very good 🙂
Thank you for such as nice comment!
Jo says
I just made this for my family and it tastes divine
lyuba says
I am so happy that you liked it, Jo! Thank you 🙂
Angela says
Talk about a beautiful dessert! this is gorgeous and looks delicious! http://www.handmadeintheheartland.com
Becca from It's Yummi! says
Boston Cream Crepe Cake….Whaaat?! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! I need this in my belly SOON, Lyuba!
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Becca 🙂
Alyssa Zb says
I totally make my own birthday cakes too! I love to bake so I use my birthday as a chance to go all out or try something new. People feel bad for me when I tell them I’m going to make my own cake, but the ones who really know me know It’s one of my favorite things to do on my bday. Anyways, I love crepes so I’m excited to try this out
lyuba says
People feel bad for me too but I like to make my own cake!
Thank you, Alyssa!
Katie says
Hello!
This cake looks amazing! I was considering making this for my Food Studies class and i was wondering how long this took to make?
Thankyou,
Katie 🙂
lyuba says
Actually it didn’t take that long. It a little work spreading the custard between the layers but not bad. To cook and put it together, it was about an hour and then time to refrigerate it. Good luck! I hope it works out great 🙂
RHONDA says
OH-MY-GOD! This looks incredible! Gotta get some.. Gotta get some… Gotta get some…
lyuba says
Awww, thank you so much, Rhonda!
Jane says
Happy, Happy Birthday! Good for you for making yourself a Birthday Cake; I love your take on and old classic! Thanks so much for sharing, I love your recipes and will try this one soon.
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Jane!
hildi says
Just finished making the cake for my husband, and it turned out awesome! Such a great recipe, thank you so much! I definitely didn’t use more than 3 cups of water for the batter. We’re having a birthday breakfast party tomorrow morning, and this will be a real treat.
lyuba says
Sorry to get back to you late (backed up in emails a bit)! I’m so happy that you liked it!