Valentine's Day Chocolate Mousse Crepe Cake

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, some of you may be looking for a romantic breakfast food. France, as usual when involving romance, has a solution! This recipe is for a simple 12 layer vanilla crepe cake, with 2 ingredient chocolate mousse filling. I am by no means a professional chef, but rest assured this cake will still amaze!

Please note, however, that while the filling and crepes can be made the day before, the cake MUST be assembled before serving, as it cannot be reheated as a whole without melting the filling.

Filling

1 Box Chocolate Pudding Mix

3 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

Crepes

1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour (Sifted)

3 Eggs

3/4 Cup Milk

3/4 Cup Water

1/2 Tsp Salt

2 Tbsp Sugar

3 Tbsp Butter (Melted)

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Toppings (Optional)

Raspberries

Whipped Cream

Chocolate Sauce

Strawberries

This chocolate mousse that will be used as a filling can be made the day before and chilled in your refrigerator until ready to use. To make the mousse, mix the pudding mix and COLD whipping cream in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until it begins to thicken. It should be a consistency between whipped cream and frosting.

Some important things to note are that if your whipping cream isn't cold, it won't whip well. Adding on to the recipe, you can make the flavor more intense by adding 1 tsp of espresso powder or instant coffee. If you're making your filling the day before, now's the time to refrigerate it.

Before you start any other steps, whisk your eggs until they're smooth. Next, add 1 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour to the eggs and whisk until combined. Gradually add in your 3/4 cup each of milk and water, whisking as you add. Now, add your butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine, your batter should now be finished.

There are several important things to remember when making your crepe batter. One of those being that if you don't whisk the eggs, when combined with the flour they will be more difficult to mix. Similarly, if you don't sift your flour you might end up with lumps in your crepes that burn after they're flipped. If you don't have butter on hand, you can make a substitute with vegetable or olive oil.

Now it's time to cook your crepes. This step can be the easiest, but also the longest depending on the power of your stove. Heat a lightly oiled small skillet to medium-high heat, and add 1/4 cup batter to the pan, swirling the pan to make the batter cover the bottom. Now, cook your crepe until the top appears to have a satin or shiny texture, at which point you can flip, and cook until both sides are golden brown. Continue to make crepes, using 1/4 batter each time, until you have no more batter remaining. Stack your crepes on a large plate until ready to fill.

There's a couple things that can help you with your crepes. For instance, using a rubber spatula will make flipping far easier by allowing you to get under the edges. Another useful piece of information is that using butter instead of oil to grease your skillet will cause bubbles in your crepes from the boiling butter. As well as that, stacking them will allow them to remain warm and soft until they're ready for use.

If you want to store these crepes overnight, you can put parchment paper between each piece and store them in the fridge, and when ready to reheat you can simply microwave them or put them into the oven for a short time. I would advise that making them fresh is better, although possibly difficult if you aren't a morning person.

Now it's time to fill / frost your crepes! Take your thickest crepe and put it on the bottom, building up to your thinnest crepes at the top. Put a decent amount of filling on each crepe, spreading it out leaving about 5mm from each edge, making it as level and smooth a layer as possible. Now add another crepe, repeating the previous steps until you've built up a full cake.

Now for topping time, this whole step being optional of course, load a piping bag with whipped cream and add dollops to the top, in a pattern of your choosing. You can then add chocolate sauce to the top of your cake, and add strawberries or raspberries on top of the cake to add flair.

It's very important to remember to allow your crepes to cool to room temperature. If you don't, your filling will melt and cause your crepes to slip. Also, chill your cake for about 15-30 minutes before serving to make cutting easier. Cutting can also be made easier by cutting with the edge closer to you, from the center outwards.