Blood Orange Millecrepe

I’ve had a hankering to make/eat a millecrepe (crepe cake) for a couple of weeks now.  No reason for the hankering, it was just there.  I found myself with some time today to commit to making 20+ crepes, so it was the perfect opportunity.

I love millecrepes because they’re so decadent, yet also light.  They’re also very versatile, although I’m partial to the bright freshness of citrus flavours (see my Lemon Mascarpone Mille-Crepe post for proof).

Blood oranges are reaching the tail end of their season, so grabbed the bull by the horns while I still could.  It creates such a delicate pink cream, which is a joy to look at and eat. I feel like this could be a fabulous end to a girls weekend brunch.

Have you tried any crepe cake flavours that you adored?  Let me know in the comments!

Crepe Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp melted butter

Blood Orange Curd Cream Ingredients

• 6 tbsp softened butter
• 3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 large egg, plus 3 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup plus a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup blood orange juice (I used 3 blood oranges)
• Squeeze of lime juice
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Zest of half a blood orange, to garnish

To make the crepes, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Add eggs, 1 cup of milk and vanilla and whisk until smooth.  Add remaining milk gradually while constantly whisking until fully mixed.  Whisk in melted butter until smooth.

Heat a 9 inch non-stick pan over medium heat and brush a small amount of butter to grease the pan.  Pour batter 3.5 tbsp at a time into the pan, swirling around until it takes up the pan (the first crepe is usually a write-off, best to eat it…).  Flip the crepe once edges are browning and easily come off the pan.  Cook other side for 10-20 seconds and place on a plate.

Once you’ve cooked half your crepes, place them in the fridge to get a headstart on the cooling process.  Allow all crepes to cool completely in fridge.

To make the blood orange curd, whisk together the butter and 3/4 cups sugar in a medium bowl until fluffy.  Add the whole egg, then yolks one at a time, whisking well in between each addition.  Add lemon, blood orange and lime juices.  Place bowl over gently simmering water (creating a makeshift double boiler) and cook, stirring constantly until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.  You’ll know the curd is fully cooked when you can run your finger along the back of the spoon coated in curd and it remain a clear path with no drips running into it  Allow to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream and 3 tbsp sugar until soft peaks form.  Fold 1/3 of this cream into the curd, until uniform.  Then, pour the curd cream into the remaining cream and fold until completely incorporated.

To assemble, place a crepe on a cake plate and spread on 3 tbsp of curd cream, alternating between crepe and cream until complete.  Top crepe cake with remaining curd cream and sprinkle on blood orange zest (I coated mine with a bit of sugar).  Chill for 2 hours before serving.