Nutella Crepe Cake

What kind of birthday cake do you make for your crepe and nutella loving boyfriend?  A Nutella Crepe Cake of coarse.  Layering these buttery discs and smearing them with gooey chocolate takes time, but it’s not too difficult, unless of coarse you’ve never made crepes before.  I usually whip up a stack of crepes once every few months so I’m familiar with the tilt and swirl technique.  When I make them for myself, I usually don’t use the whole stick of butter that the recipe calls for, but for Alan’s birthday party, I had to go whole hog, no pun intended, since I’d have a bunch of party people with which to share the calories.  And really, a crepe without a stick of butter is like a bagel without cream cheese. Unthinkable.

RECIPE

3 eggs, at room temperature

2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 stick butter (scary, I know)

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 jar Nutella (let the sealed jar sit in a bowl of warm water to soften the spread)

1.  In a saucepan, melt the stick of butter over very low heat then let cool while you start the rest of the batter.  In a mixing bowl,  whisk together eggs and milk.  Add in the flour slowly while whisking.  Add in the cooled, melted butter slowly while whisking.  Whisk in the salt and sugar and set batter aside for about 30 minutes.  

2.  Place a large round pan over medium heat and wait until it gets hot; the batter should make a light hissing sound as it hits the pan.  Pour a small amount of batter into the pan while simultaneously tilting and gyrating the pan slowly (above the heat of the stove range) so that the full surface of the pan is thinly coated with batter, which will start to set immediately.  Keep rolling the pan around until any loose batter has set and then place the pan down over the heat and wait for the edges of the crepe start to brown slightly.  Loosen the rim of the crepe with a spatula, then slide the spatula under the crepe and flip to brown the other side.  These cook quickly.  Transfer the finished crepe to a plate.

3.  Immediately spread a thin layer of Nutella all over the crepe, careful not to rip the crepe.  

4.  Make another crepe and place it on top of the first crepe.  Spread another even layer of Nutella on the second crepe.  

5.  Repeat this process until all the batter is gone.  Leave the top crepe naked and if you want, you can sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar and strawberries right before serving.