This pumpkin crepe cake is beautifully layered with alternating layers of thin pumpkin crepes and cinnamon spiced whipped cream. It's the perfect elegant Fall dessert!
I'm so incredibly excited about this one, guys!! Everyone's knee deep in pumpkin recipes right now so I had to throw another one in the mix. This pumpkin crepe cake is seriously one of the best things I've made this season! Yes, it does take forever making all those crepes. Yes, multiple layers means high probability of messing up a layer and you won't know how it looks until you cut into it. Yes, it tastes freaking amazing and you should make it ASAP!!
The very first time I made a mille crepe cake was this matcha strawberry one. It tasted great but definitely had some character flaws. I think I figured it out this time.
What is a mille crepe cake?
Mille crepe cakes are cakes created by stacking alternating layers of thin, circular crepes with thin layers of filling, usually whipped cream.
They don't actually have a million layers as the name suggests. More like the random number of 16 layers, in this case. I was aiming for 20 but life happens... I'm pretty sure I lost two because they were too ugly or too small and lost another two for "taste testing" purposes.
The good news is that it doesn't really matter. The shorter the cake, the more stable it is. Even with less than 20 layers, this cake looks beautiful and very impressive with not too much effort.
If making layer cakes stresses you out like it does to me, crepe cakes allow much more leeway for mistakes. I find that crepe cakes can look very rustic and whimsical when they're not "perfect" and no one will even know if it wasn't intentional!
How to make the best pumpkin crepe cake
The key to a great crepe cake is making thinner crepes but more of them. This way, they cook faster and you get more layers to work with.
Spreading an even, generous layer of whipped cream between each layer creates more separation between each individual crepe. This time, I pressed down on the whole cake to push out excess air bubbles, smooth out the whipped cream layer, and to ensure great crepe-to-cream contact (this is very scientific stuff here, people).
Wrap the crepe cake firmly with plastic wrap and let it chill and "mature" in the fridge overnight before cutting into it. This prevents the crepe layers from sliding around when you stick a fork into it all comes together into one beautiful cake slice.
Last of all, be patient! Crepe cakes can be tedious and take a long time but they can look amazing if you don't rush through the process.
Other Fall dessert recipes
- Spiced Apple Cake with Salted Maple Caramel
- Chai Spice Cupcakes
- Apple Frangipane Tart
- Earl Grey Almond Croissants
Pumpkin Crepe Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Crepes
- 4 large eggs
- 185 g all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp allspice
- 70 g granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 70 g butter, melted & cooled
- 615 g pumpkin puree
- 500 mL milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon Whipped Cream
- 500 mL whipping cream
- 60 g granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Pumpkin Crepes
- In a large mixing bowl, add eggs and gently whisk to loosen.
- With a sieve, sift flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice into the eggs.
- Add sugar and salt and mix until combined.
- Add melted butter and mix.
- Add pumpkin puree, milk, and vanilla and mix until combined and smooth.
- Pour batter through a sieve to remove any chunks. This may take a couple minutes to push through the pumpkin puree, just keep scraping!
- Heat a medium pan on medium heat. The pan is at the right temperature when it sizzles immediately when the batter hits it.
- Add a teaspoon of cooking oil to the pan and gently wipe away with a paper towel, leaving only a thin film of oil.
- Using a ¼ cup measuring cup or ladle, scoop batter and pour into the pan. Quickly swirl the pan in a circle until the batter coats the entire bottom of the pan and creates a large circle. Stop swirling and return to heat when the batter stops "running", about 4-5 seconds. You may need to adjust your heat if the batter cooks too quickly or too slowly.
- Cook for about 1-2 mins on one side. Flip with a spatula when the edges of the crepe begin to lift off the pan and cook for another 30 seconds-1 min on the other side.
- Remove from heat and place on a tray or parchment to cool completely.
- Repeat steps 8-11 until you use up all the batter.
Cinnamon Whipped Cream
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together whipping cream, sugars, vanilla, and cinnamon until it becomes thick and fluffy.
Assembling the crepe cake
- Lay down one crepe on a cake plate or stand.
- Drop a mound of whipped cream on top and spread evenly with an offset spatula, leaving about 1-2cm of the outer edge of the crepe empty.
- Layer another crepe on top and repeat until you've used all the crepes.
- Press down on the cake gently (you can also do this after each crepe layer) to mesh the layers of crepe and cream together.
- Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Dust the top of the cake with icing sugar or a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before serving.
Nutrition
Not what you were looking for? See the rest of my recipes!
Jess @choosingchia
This cake is gorgeous Gail! I need to try making this!
teakandthyme
Ahh thank you Jess! Let me know how it turns out for you if you try it!!
Samantha
Hi, any chance you can provide links to the plate and cake stand you used? I really like the organic shape of them. Thank you!
Gail Ng
Hi Samantha! The plate was from Anthropologie but the designer is Suite One Studio. It doesn't look like they make the exact one anymore but here is a similar one: https://www.suiteonestudio.com/collections/made-to-order/products/pre-order-dessert-plates-in-white-with-gold-splatter-set-of-two
The cake stand here is actually just a plain white plate flipped upside down and balanced on top of a small bowl!