Crêpe Cake

I made a chocolate mousse. As I poured it into the bowl that it was destined to chill in, I realised that I had made, maybe, a bit too much mousse for a household that is made up of two adults and two cats. Cats don't eat mousse. Mouse. Maybe. Mousse. No.

I decided I could serve the mousse with pancakes. Then I remembered at the back of my favourite recipe book, there was a recipe for a crêpe cake.

So whilst my offering for Pancake Day may have an identity crisis (am I a pudding? Am I a cake?) I would definitely recommend trying this. I love how the layers of crêpe and chocolate give it a stripy effect, much like a baumtorte.

Ingredients

The Mousse
200gr dark chocolate
4 eggs, separated
Small splash of liqueur (optional - I used ameretto)
100ml double cream, whipped lightly

The Crêpes
4 eggs
150ml milk
150ml water
1tbsp olive oil
250gr plain flour, sifted
Small pinch of salt

Method

1, Start making the mousse by melting the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Whilst the chocolate is melting, whip the egg whites to a medium soft peak and set to one side. When the chocolate is fully melted remove from the heat and beat in the egg yolks, liqueur and a pinch of salt.
2. Fold through a couple of large dollops of the whipped eggs whites to loosen the mixture before folding through the double cream and finally the remainder of the egg whites. Using a cutting and folding technique with a spatula until there are no visible heavy white streaks of egg whites. Pour into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and pop in the fridge to set.
3, Whilst the mousse is cooling, make the crêpes by gently heating a non stick frying pan and wiping it with a little melted butter on a piece of kitchen towel. Beat the eggs, milk and water together in a mixing bowl and sift in the flour. Whisk until you have a smooth, lumpless batter.
4, Make the crêpes by pouring around 60ml of batter (I used a 1/4 cup US measuring cup to do this) into the frying pan and swirl to spread the batter as much as possible. Cook gently until there is no raw batter on the surface of the crêpe, flip it and cook it for a couple of seconds before sliding onto a dinner plate. Layer the hot crêpes between sheets of baking parchment to stop them sticking and repeat until you run out of batter. I used 18 crêpes for my cake. The first one is always duff and a couple got taste tested. These need to cool completely before spreading the mousse between them or else it'll melt and leave you with a big sticky pile.
5, When everything has cooled and you're ready to construct your cake, simply lay down a crêpe, spread a dollop of mousse on it, top with another crêpe and repeat. When the crêpe cake is completed, pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill before slicing.

Disclaimer
This is quite a rich and heavy thing to eat. I was defeated by ONE slice. Lighten it up with plenty of fresh fruit.

"Cats don't eat mousse"