Chocolate Crepe Cake Roll

Move over Christmas Yule Log! Spring has its own fancy rolled dessert now and it is a Chocolate Crepe Cake Roll. Crepes are not as intimidating as you think. If you give making them a try, you'll be totally surprised by how easy they are. Having a crepe pan is nice, but if you have limited space, a high-quality nonstick fry pan will work. The first one might not come out perfect (there's some swirling wrist technique involved), but by the second or third crepe, you'll be a total pro. So then what? Well, you can experiment with all sorts of fillings and flavors. After that? You can blow your friends minds with a crepe cake or even better a crepe cake roll. Making all the crepes for this Chocolate Crepe Cake Roll will take a little time as will the assembly but wow is it impressive! Serve this at your next family celebration and just watch the reaction you get. Regardless of what's on the menu, this light dessert is perfect.

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 1½ Hours

Yield: 6 - 8 Servings

Difficulty: Easy

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE MASCARPONE FILLING: ½ Cup heavy cream

16 oz. Mascarpone cheese

1 tsp vanilla extract

1½ Cup powdered sugar

FOR THE CREPES:

4 large eggs

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 Cup sugar

2½ Cup all-purpose flour

4 Tbsp dark cocoa powder, unsweetened

4 Cup cold milk

1 Cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

For the mascarpone filling:

1. Beat the mascarpone, whipping cream and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
2. Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until it begins to thicken and still spreadable. It will be slightly heavier than a buttercream.
3. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the crepes:

1. Combine the eggs with the next 5 ingredients (through cold milk) in a blender and process until smooth.
2. Preheat a 9.5" Swiss Diamond XD Nonstick Fry Pan on medium.
3. Lightly brush pan with melted butter.
4. Pour 1/3 cup of the crepe batter into the pan and slowly rotate the pan in a counter-clockwise motion allowing the batter to slowly fill the pan.
5. Fill any gaps with additional drops of batter.
6. Cook about 2 minutes until slightly brown at edges.
7. Carefully flip the crepe over and cook an additional 1 - 2 minutes until slightly brown on the other side.
8. Remove from pan and keep moist with a damp paper towel on top.

Assembly:

1. Spread enough filling to just cover one crepe.
2. Top with another crepe and cover with just enough filling to cover.
3. Place the edge of the next crepe in the center of the first two stacked crepes and spread with enough filling just to cover.
4. Place another crepe on top and cover enough filling to cover completely.
5. Continue placing and topping crepes with filling until you run out of room on your work surface.
6. Carefully begin rolling the stack of crepes, making sure to press them together as much as you can.
7. You can then shift the crepe cake roll down and continue topping and stacking crepes until you're either tired or have used as many crepes as you want.
8. Place two pieces of plastic wrap on your work surface, overlapping.
9. Carefully roll the crepe cake roll in the plastic wrap and twist the ends to tighten the cake roll.
10. Refrigerate until you're ready to slice and serve.
11. Slice the rough edges off of each end with a serrated knife.
12. Slice the chocolate crepe cake roll into 6 - 8 slices.
13. Top with whipped cream, sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with sauce (chocolate, raspberry, strawberry, coffee, etc.) and serve.

NOTES: If you just want to make the crepes, cut the batter in half.