This strawberry crepe cake is guaranteed to impress any crowd! Layers of light and soft crepes with whipped cream and strawberry ganache create this beautiful and delicious cake, making it perfect for any occasion! If your baking skills are not up to scratch, this cake is a great alternative!
As it's a birthday season, as well as strawberry season coming to an end, today's recipe is a great celebration of both! You guys loved my Chocolate Crepe Cake , and I really wanted to create a similar version, but more summery, with a use of seasonal berries... So here it is!
Strawberry crepe cake- a different type of cake
What's so special about this cake? Well, to start off with, it's made of crepes! Layers of delicate, light and soft crepes sandwiched between whipped cream filling and covered in smooth strawberry ganache.
If baking layered cakes is not your forte, then this little number makes a great alternative to a traditional cake! There is no baking involved here at all. No need to turn the oven. No fancy equipment. It is made by simply cooking classic, French- style crepes and laying them on top of each other, with a spread of whipped cream in between.
How long it takes to make this cake?
That depends on how well you are going to plan it ahead. Just like with Chocolate Crepe Cake, it is absolutely possible to have the whole thing made on the same day. It will take a good 4-5 hours of your time, but it's possible!
However, to make this task much simpler, it's easier if you approach it in small, bite-size chunks. Almost every part of this strawberry crepe cake can be made a day in advance and assembled on a day.
Timings for each section:
Crepe batter- can be made a day in advance. Once you made your batter, you want to rest it for at least an hour. Resting the batter allows the flour to absorb more liquid and gives the gluten a chance to relax. While it may not be absolutely necessary to rest your batter, it is a secret to the most delicate and melt-in-your-mouth crepes.
Crepes- it took me just under 45 minutes to cook all of the crepes. This recipe should produce about 25- 28 individual crepes, depending on the size of your frying pan. My frying pan is 9 inches in diameter, but the bottom part of it is actually 7 inches.
Whipped cream- takes couple of minutes to make. Can be whipped and stored in the fridge until you are ready to use it. Will last for 1-2 days in the fridge.
Trimming the edges of crepes (optional)- 15 minutes. This step can be skipped, however, I find that it makes the cake look much neater. If trimming the edges, you can use a plate, bowl or any round object that is smaller in diameter than your crepes. I used the bottom of loose-bottomed, 7 inch round baking tin.
Assembly of the cake- it took me about 35-40 minutes to put all of the layers together. There are 25 layers on this cake you see in the photos.
Strawberry ganache- takes about 10 minutes to make. You can make it a day ahead, and then heat it in a microwave before using it. I prefer to make mine on the day, and use it straight away, but there is no right or wrong here, either way will work fine!
Handy tips for making this recipe
One of the things I love the most about crepe cakes, is how easy it is to make them. They look complicated and very flamboyant, but in reality, it is one of the simplest recipes! They never fail to impress the crowds, and I am yet to meet a one person, who doesn't like them.
Here are some helpful tips and tricks I developed over the time, when making crepe cakes:
- plan ahead! Make your crepes a day before. It will be much easier to manage the whole recipe.
- a good, non-stick frying pan is a must! There is nothing more annoying than your crepes sticking to the bottom of your pan. Good, non-stick frying pan will require almost no fat (butter or oil) and will guarantee perfect crepes every time!
- use an equal amount of batter for each crepe. I always use ¼ measuring cup, it's a perfect size for my frying pan.
- swirl the pan and twist your wrist in circular motion to distribute the batter equally over the bottom of the pan (see video)
- do not over cook crepes- your crepe is ready to be flipped onto the other side as soon as the bubbles appear on the surface and it no longer sticks to the pan. Other side only needs about 30 seconds to be ready. If you leave it for longer, the crepes will loose their colour (they will still taste fine, but if you are looking for that pink hue, make sure to not over-cook!)
- one side of your crepe will be much more golden-brown, the other side should be pink in appearance.
- spread thin, equal layer of whipped cream between each crepe. Do not over-fill, there are lots of layers here, so a little goes a long way!
Decorating the cake
There are few ways of decorating this cake, and you can choose your favourite method. I normally pour the ganache over the top, then over the sides of the cake. You may want to choose to pour the ganache only on top part of your cake. Fresh strawberries on top will be a great addition.
Any leftover whipped cream can be used to decorate the cake. Simply transfer it to the piping bag fitted with your favourite nozzle, then pipe it onto the cake.
As you can see on the photos, I used toasted, flaked almonds on the sides of this cake. You can do the same, by gently patting a handful of toasted flaked almonds into the sides. Coconut flakes, shredded coconut or your favourite sprinkles will also work and look beautiful on this cake.
Storing this cake
Crepe cakes are at their best when served fresh but it can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. It will become denser with time, but it will still taste delicious.
As it has cream- based filling, it is best to keep this cake in the fridge at all times, however, it will be fine to leave it out during the service for 2- 3 hours.
Anything else?
Just a couple of pointers to finish it off, based on the readers feedback for Chocolate crepe cake:
- few readers stated that the crepe batter felt way too runny and liquidy- I personally never had a problem with this crepe batter and it is my go-to, however, feel free to use your own, favourite crepe batter recipe if you have one!
- if you are not planning to trim the edges of the crepes, try not to swirl your frying pan too much when distributing the batter over it. This way your crepes will be more even in size. You want to cover the bottom of your pan with batter, not the sides of it.
I think this covers most of it, however, if you think I should add or mention anything else, feel free to let me know!
As always, I would love to hear from you if you try this, or any other of my recipes. Feel free to leave me a comment and a rating below my recipe card, in the comments section! You can also follow me on my social channels: Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.
Strawberry Crepe Cake
Equipment
- mixing bowl or an electric blender
- rubber or wooden spatula
- Non- stick frying pan
- offset spatula
- cake turning table (optional)
- ¼ cup measuring cup or a ladle
Ingredients
For crepes:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 L milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 135 g sugar white caster or granulated
- 305 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon oil or melted butter
- ½ teaspoon red gel food colouring
For the filling:
- 625 ml double cream
- 120 g icing sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste optional
For strawberry ganache:
- 250 g white chocolate
- 250 ml double cream
- 200 g strawberries chopped
- 3 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon red food colouring gel optional
Instructions
To make crepes:
- In a large bowl or an electric blender, combine all of the ingredients until you have smooth, runny batter. You can add more or less of red food colouring gel, to achieve the desired effect. Place the batter in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Place your non-stick frying pan over a medium high heat and allow it to heat up. Brush it lightly with melted butter or oil. Using a ladle or a ¼ measuring cup, pour the batter into the frying pan and make a large circle, twisting your wrist until the crepe batter covers the entire bottom of the frying pan.
- Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until lightly golden, then gently flip it onto the other side and cook for about 30 seconds. One side of your crepes should be golden brown, the other should be more pink in appearance. Remove the crepe from the frying pan and transfer into a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter until you have used it all. You should have roughly about 25 crepes.
To make the filling:
- Place the double cream into a bowl. Using a hand held electric mixer or a whisk, whip the cream for about 2 minutes until stiff peaks. Add the icing sugar and vanilla and mix to combine. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
To assemble the cake:
- If trimming the edges of the crepes, use a bottom of loose-bottom round baking tin which is slightly smaller in diameter to your crepes (you can also use a bowl turned upside-down, that is smaller in diameter to your crepes). Press it against the crepe and run a sharp knife around it, trimming the edges. Repeat with all of the crepes.
- Spread a thin layer of cream filling into a cake board or a plate. Lay down your first crepe (with pink side up). Using 1 tablespoon or a small cookie scoop as a measure, spread thin, even layer of the cream filling to the very edge of your crepe (using cake turning table comes handy here). Press another crepe on top (pink side up).
- Repeat with the rest of crepes and cream filling, leaving the last crepe on top uncovered. Place cake in the fridge for about 30 minutes to 1 hour to firm up.
To make strawberry ganache:
- Place chopped white chocolate into a medium bowl and set aside.
- Place double cream and chopped strawberries into a small saucepan over a medium heat. Keep stirring until it comes to simmer and the strawberries are soft and start to fall apart (it should take about 7- 10 minutes). Remove from the heat and pour this mixture over the white chocolate. Add 3 tablespoon of butter and leave the mixture, without stirring it for 2 minutes. Add food colouring and mix until smooth.
- Push the mixture through a sieve into a jug (to get rid of the strawberry seeds), then, while it is still runny, pour it over the top and sides of the cake. Put the cake in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set. Just before serving, top it with fresh strawberries and your choice of decorations
Please note that all my recipes are developed and tested in metric grams. I recommend that you use digital scales for a more accurate results. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
Video
Notes
- crepe batter should produce about 25-28 individual crepes, but the exact amount may vary. It will depend on the size of your frying pan.
- you can add more or less of the red food colouring to the crepe batter and to the ganache, to achieve the desired effect/ colour.
- make sure not to over-cook the crepes. It will take about 1-2 minutes on one side, then only about 30 seconds on the other side.
Nutrition
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Elina
Thank you for the lovely recipe.
I used haft the doubts cream and half the ganache and it was still delicious.
I made a rainbow crepe cake for my son and he loved it.
Anna
Hi Elina, thanks so much for this lovely review, I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe!
Sam
Wow, this cake is delicious! I made Tasty’s chocolate crepe cake last week and it was pretty good but this cake is on another level. I added a 1/4 of strawberry extract to the batter and used strawberry jam instead of fresh strawberries for the white chocolate ganache. I think I’m going to be making this cake regularly!
Anna
hey Sam, thanks so much for this awesome review and lovely comment! I'm so happy to hear that you tried and enjoyed this recipe! Have a great weekend!
Sara
This cake is absolutely stunning! The soft, pink color makes it so elegant. I love the perfect layers and all of your photos!
Anna
Thank you so much Sara, I'm so happy that you like the photos and the recipe!
Eva
This is so beautiful! And it reminded me that the first cake I made when I was 11-ish was a crepe cake! I didn't know how to make sponge cake but I knew how to make crepes, and I just spread yoghurt in between the layers! It wasn't very different from nalesniki z serem, after all! Seeing your beautiful crepe cake makes me want to make one myself! Your posts are always very inspiring.
Anna
Hey Eva, thanks so much! Hah, you are so right, this cake is a great alternative to making a sponge cake, and much easier! And you've made me crave nalesniki z serem, I've not had them for ages! So thanks for the reminder 🙂 pozdrawiam serdecznie!
Veronika
OMG! This cake looks so beautiful and your photos are just stunning! This is a great summer dessert for a cookout party!
Anna
Thanks very much Veronika, it would be a great centerpiece at any gathering! Glad you like the photos too!
Ramona
WOW! I have made crepe cake before, but it didn't look as pretty as this! When I saw this I knew I had to make it again. I love how you decorated it with nuts and a beautiful strawberry ganache. Looks so elegant and amazing! Thank you for sharing
Anna
Oh thanks so much Ramona, I'm sure your version looked beautiful and it was super delicious too! Crepe cakes never fail to impress the crowds and I couldn't agree more, they always look so elegant!
Kushigalu
I always wanted to make crepe cake. This looks gorgeous. Thank you so much for sharing. Pinned.
Anna
Thanks so much!
Candice
I was nervous to make this cake because I always imagined crepes are difficult to make, but as soon as I got the hang of it (only took 2) then the rest were so easy! And the cake came out so delicious. The texture is wonderful and the flavors are great!
Anna
Hey Candice! That's so lovely to hear!!! I'm chuffed to read that you've tried and enjoyed this recipe. And yeah, first couple of crepes are always a write off for me too 😉 Thanks so much for this positive review and feedback!
Sean
I don't really know why I've never made one of these before! I love crepes, and I love whipped cream in cakes, and I love no-bake desserts, so it's a perfect combination. I have to say, you've done an especially lovely job here - both in terms of presentation and with your helpful tips for the recipe. Thanks for sharing this!
Anna
Hey Sean! Thanks so much for stopping by and your kind review! So glad to read that you like this recipe. It's a great alternative to any traditional, baked cakes and never fails to impress!
Karen
This is the prettiest cake! I've never tried making a crepe cake but definitely inspired to make this for my daughter's birthday next month.
Anna
Hey Karen, thanks so much for kind words! I would be so happy if someone would make this cake for my birthday 😉 I'm sure your daughter is going to love it! Let me know how did you get on!
Chef Dennis
This strawberry crepe cake is the bomb! I'm sure every bite will be worth it. I will definitely make this for my wifey.
Anna
Hi Dennis! Glad to hear that you like this cake so much, and I promise your wife will love it too!
Schaeffer
Crepe flipping is not easy. Highly recommend a shallow sided frying pan and the baking gods to be on your side that day.
Kathryn Donangelo
There are so many layers of perfect strawberry crepes!! I can't get enough of this elegant dessert! Thanks!!
Anna
Heh, 25 layers of deliciousness! Thanks Kathryn!
Amanda
This is such an impressive cake! All those layers make for such a pretty presentation, and I love that delicate pink hue -- so perfect for summer.
Anna
Thanks Amanda! I'm so happy to hear that you like the look of this cake! It makes a perfect centerpiece at any table for any occasion!