Crêpe Cake with Peach Pastry Cream

This crêpe cake includes layer upon layer of buttery crêpes, vanilla pastry cream and fresh peaches, and is covered with a generous layer whipped cream and more fresh peaches.

Peach Pastry Cream:
2 recipes Vanilla Pastry Cream, chilled for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours
4 peaches, skinned and diced into chunks that are about the size of a pinto bean

Crêpes:
3 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
½ tsp. sea salt
4 Tbsp. granulated sugar
8 large eggs
2 sticks butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
5 cups whole milk

Whipped Cream Frosting:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
⅓ cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Make the Peach Pastry Cream:
Make a double batch of Vanilla Pastry Cream, chilled for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.

Gently fold in the diced peaches right before assembling the cake. (The juice from the peaches will make the pastry cream runny if added to far in advance.)

Make the Crêpe Batter:
In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and sugar with a wire whisk until combined.
Add the eggs to the flour mixture and mix to form a paste.

Add the milk and butter slowly in two additions: Add half the milk slowly, whisking constantly to prevent large lumps from forming. Then add the butter slowly, whisking constantly. Then whisk in the rest of the milk.

Pour the crêpe batter into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or up to 3 days.

Cook the Crêpes:
Heat a tsp. or two of butter in a 10" non-stick skillet over medium heat. (I like to use clarified butter because it won't burn, but regular butter works too. Just wipe the skillet with a paper towel in between crêpes to remove butter that is starting to brown.) Pour in ½ cup of crêpe batter into the center of the pan. The batter will spread out into a disk.

Cook the crêpe until the bottom is golden brown and the batter looks semi-set, about 1½ minutes. Lift the edges of the crêpe with a spatula and flip. Cook until the other side is a light golden brown and flip out onto a plate to cool. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Assemble and Frost the Cake:
To assemble the crêpe cake, simply layer the crêpes with thin layers of the pastry cream filling, staking the layers as high as you dare. If you want a tall cake, but the lower layers seem to be slipping around a bit, cover the cake and put it in the refrigerator for about an hour before continuing to stack.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Make the Whipped Cream Frosting:
With an electric mixer, beat the cream, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until medium-firm peaks form. Be careful not to beat the cream into butter, but you want it to be stiff enough to be able to ice the cake without it dripping down the sides of the crêpe cake.

With a sharp, serrated knife, trim around the edges of the crêpe cake to create straight sides all around. Frost the cake with the whipped cream, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Makes 12 servings.