Vegan Crêpe Cake with Strawberries
If you're looking for a cake recipe that's more refined than a loaf cake, but not quite as extravagant as our vegan almond cake, a crêpe cake is just the right choice for you. What looks so instagrammable is not even that complicated to prepare. The most important detail for success is a nonstick frying pan because you'll just get in a bad mood if your crêpes will stick and tear apart before you even stacked them. Regarding batter and cream, there are possibilities for adjustments, though.
The crêpes: I used oat milk for this cake, but you can use any plant-based milk of your choice for the batter. However, make sure to check if it's sweetened or not as you might want to reduce the sugar otherwise to not end up with an overly sweet crêpe. We keep getting questions on whether the wheat flour can be replaced by a gluten-free option. Unfortunately, we're not experts on this topic. In general, of course, you can prepare gluten-free crêpes, e.g., from buckwheat flour, coconut flour, or arrowroot flour, but we're not sure if you could replace them one-to-one. So if you have any experience on the topic, feel free to comment below. To prepare a chocolate variant of the cake, replace approx. 2 tablespoons of the flour with cocoa powder.
The cream: Please notice that not every plant-based heavy cream is whippable (usually, you should find this piece of information on the package). Sometimes, you might need to use a cream stiffener for the process, and in general, it doesn't do any harm, and you'll be on the safe side to get a stiff, heavy cream. Instead of strawberries, you can use any type of berries you like. We will probably get the question if you could replace the plant-based curd with vegan yogurt. In this recipe, this should work but don't just it in the same proportion. Start with less vegan yogurt and then adjust the amount depending on the consistency of the cream – also note that the cream will firm up a bit while it's refrigerated. If you are looking for the simplest way of preparation, just spread jam or chocolate cream on each crêpe layer.
Vegane Crêpe Cake with Strawberries
Ingredients
For the crêpes:
- 500 g (4 cups) flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp vanilla sugar
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 400 ml (1.66 cups) plant-based milk
- 400 ml (1.66 cups) sparkling water
- vegetable oil for frying
For the cream:
- 500 g (17.5 oz) strawberries
- 150 ml (0.66 cups) whippable vegan heavy cream
- 1 tsp cream stiffener
- 150 g (0.66 cups) vegan curd or yogurt
- 75 g (0.66 cups) confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tbsp (tonka bean) vanilla sugar
For topping:
- fresh berries
- fresh mint
- sugar for caramelizing (optional)
Instructions
We start with the cream. Hull strawberries, add them to a liquid measuring cup and blend until smooth. Filter through a sieve over a bowl to save the liquid. Add the filtered strawberry puree to a small pot. Let simmer over medium heat for approx. 10-15 minutes, or until it’s reduced to half of the volume. This way, you get a concentrated puree, so to say. Remove from the heat and let the puree cool down to room temperature.
In the meantime, whip plant-based heavy cream until stiff. If needed, you can add cream stiffener. Refrigerate until the strawberry puree is at room temperature. Add vegan curd, confectioner‘s sugar, and vanilla sugar to a bowl and stir to combine. Now it‘s time to add the concentrated strawberry puree, then stir again. Finally, carefully fold in whipped vegan heavy cream. If desired, sweeten to taste with more confectioner’s sugar. Refrigerate the cream until the crêpes are done.
For the crêpes, sift the flour into a large bowl. Add baking powder, sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt, then mix. Little by little, add plant-based milk and sparkling water. Stir until a smooth, thin batter forms. If needed, add more plant-based milk until you’ve reached the desired consistency.
Heat vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add a ladle of the batter into the frying pan off the heat, then swirl the batter in the pan until it‘s spread in an even layer. Fry for approx. 2 minutes, or until the bottom of the crêpe is golden brown. Flip and fry until it’s golden brown from the other side as well. Remove crêpe from the frying pan and repeat this step with the remaining batter. You should get approx. 12-15 crêpes out of it.
As soon as all crêpes are done, it‘s time to layer the cake. Use a nice serving platter and start with the first crêpe. Spread some of the cooled strawberry cream on top until it‘s covered up to the edges. Place a second crêpe on top, then repeat the step until all of the crêpes are stacked with cream in between. If you should have some leftover cream, just serve it as an extra side. Garnish with fresh berries and mint on top. If you have a flabé burner at home, you can also sprinkle the top crêpe with sugar and caramelize it before adding the berries.
