Mille Crepe Cake

A decadent vanilla mille crêpe cake with 50 layers of homemade sweet crêpes and crème légère. A vanilla whipped cream filling that is stabilized with pastry cream for a rich, yet light vanilla flavor. 

Let me take you to France! This mille crêpe cake is a simple yet elegant dessert, with layers of thin, soft crêpes alternating with a light, creamy vanilla crème légère filling. Don’t forget to top the cake with your favorite in-season fruit! 

I love when a dessert lets simplicity shine! I genuinely think the French do it best, like with vanilla crème brûlée or crème caramels. My household is home to two vanilla-loving fiends, so this moist vanilla cake recipe is also on heavy rotation. 

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Whole Milk: I would not suggest using milk alternatives for this recipe. You really need the fat from the milk. If you would like to use milk alternatives, I would use this pastry cream recipe. 
• Whole Eggs: Using whole eggs rather than yolks allows for a lighter texture. This does mean that it is essential to cool the custard completely, ideally covered overnight, to let it set up. 
• Vanilla Powder: Vanilla powder is more potent and easier to combine in cooked custards. You can use vanilla extract or a vanilla bean. 
• Sweet Crêpes: You will need a 2x batch of this sweet crêpe recipe. 

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations for Mille Crêpe Cake

• Change the filling. You can layer your crêpe with a creme legere made with this caramel pastry cream recipe. This cake would also be delightful layered with my lemon curd whipped cream recipe, or layered with this chocolate pudding recipe or butterscotch pudding!
• Add your favorite jam or spread. Add in a swirl of mixed berry jam or this easy strawberry jam recipe. This cake would also be delightful with pockets of Nutella or peanut butter. 
• Pumpkin crêpe cake?! Add this pumpkin spice recipe to the crêpe batter. Layer the spiced crepes with the no-bake pumpkin cheesecake filling from this pumpkin trifle! 

Professional Tips 

• Use a 4-oz ladle. I’ve found that using a 4-oz ladle is the sweet spot for making these crêpes. It allows for a quick, even swirl to distribute the batter across the pan without having to master the technique of spreading it out. This also ensures a perfectly circular crepe every time. When I tried to make thinner crepes by using closer to 3oz, they would be irregularly shaped, or I would tear a hole trying to spread the batter so thin.
• Make the crêpes and pastry cream one day and assemble the next. To make everything easier on yourself, make the crêpes and pastry cream the day before you want to assemble. This allows the crêpes to cool and the custard to set fully. 
• Allow the cake to set overnight. Once you have assembled the cake, let it sit in the fridge at least overnight. I have found that letting the cake sit longer helps the flavors meld, much like my linzer cookies!
• Let the crêpes cook. Most will tell you that your crêpes should be blonde (i.e., spot-free) to make a good crêpe cake. I am here to tell you that those golden brown spots are the caramelization of the sugar in the crêpe batter. It adds additional flavor to your cake! 

How to Make Mille Crêpe Cake 

Use these instructions to make this elegant mille crepe cake recipe! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Prepare the crêpe batter:

Step 1: Whisk together the eggs, salt, milk, and melted butter. Slowly whisk in the flours, adding a little at a time, as with popovers. Whisk in the water last (photos 1-2). 

The batter will be very liquidy. Thick batter makes thick crêpes. 

Step 2: Let the batter sit in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 1 hour at room temperature. This allows the flour to hydrate properly and any gluten to relax (a wet batter also helps reduce gluten formation even while sitting overnight). 

How to cook crêpes:

If you refrigerated your batter, remove it from the fridge about an hour before you plan to start cooking. 

Step 3: Preheat a crêpe pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Slow and steady wins the race. 

Step 4: Using a fork, stab a piece of butter and quickly butter the pan. You only need to do this for the first crepe (photo 3). 

Step 5: Pour in a ladleful (just shy of 4 ounces) into the center of the pan with one hand, and swirl the pan with the other to distribute the batter evenly. 

I found the swirl technique ideal for crepe cakes because it ensures every crepe is perfectly round and sized.  

Step 6: Cook over medium-low heat on the first side until the edges begin to brown and you can see some darker spots forming near the center. The outer edge is an excellent barometer for readiness. For my pan and heat, it took 6 minutes to make a 12-inch crepe. 

Step 7: Flip by sliding the spatula underneath the center of the crepe and flipping it over like a pancake. If it folds, just unfold it. If you flip it too early and it’s blonde, flip it back. Don’t stress (photo 4). 

Step 8: Continue to cook on the second side for an additional 1-2 minutes. Remove the crepe to a wire rack to cool before stacking, assembling, or storing! 

Step 9: Repeat with the remaining batter and cool. At this point, you can refrigerate the crepes overnight before assembling. 

Prepare the pastry cream:

Step 10: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or plastic wrap. 

Step 11: Whisk eggs, sugar, and starch. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla sugar, half the granulated sugar, the vanilla powder, and the cornstarch until smooth and homogenous (photos 5-6).

Step 12: In a medium saucepot, whisk together the milk and the remaining half of the sugar. This keeps it from scorching.

Step 13: Temper the egg mixture. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then temper into the egg mixture by pouring a little of the hot milk into the mixture at a time while whisking constantly. Continue with a little milk at a time until all the milk has been added (photo 7). 

Step 14: Add the milk mixture back into the pot and return to the burner over medium heat. 

Step 15: While whisking constantly, cook the custard until it comes to a boil. Be sure to get into the corners so you don’t end up with a chunky pastry cream. 

If the pastry cream starts to clump, remove the pot from the heat and whisk until it becomes smooth again.

Step 16: Once it boils, continue boiling and whisking for 1 minute. Pour onto the lined baking sheet, spread it out, and cover with plastic wrap (photo 8).

Step 17: Chill pastry cream in a thin layer. Poke a few holes in the plastic and refrigerate until completely set and cold. I generally do this overnight in a home refrigerator. 

Assemble the mille crêpe cake:

Step 18: Whip the heavy cream.  Add heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl. Whisk by hand or on medium speed. I take it to soft peaks, then transfer it to another bowl.  

Step 19: Scrape the pastry cream from your baking sheet into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. This can also be done by hand with a stiff silicone spatula. Beat the pastry cream on medium-high speed for 30 seconds to a minute to loosen it. 

This will not get out any lumps. If your pastry cream is particularly lumpy, consider straining it. 

Step 20: Prepare the crème légère. Take about a half cup of the whipped cream and fold it into the loosened pastry cream aggressively. This is called “sacrificing” in the professional world. This brings the pastry cream closer to the consistency of whipped cream, making combining easier and preserving more volume. 

Step 21: Delicately fold the remaining whipped cream into the pastry cream until completely combined (photo 9).  

Step 22: Start layering the crepe cake. Place one crêpe in the center of a flat cake plate. Place about ½ cup of the crème legere in the center and spread it out using a large offset spatula. You want most of the crepe to be covered without too many thin spots. 

Because the crepes bubble, you won’t be able to get a perfect layer of cream on every crepe. 

Step 23: Repeat with all the crêpes except one for the top! Place the final crepe on the top. Wrap the whole cake and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to overnight (photo 10). 

Step 24: Decorate. When you are ready to serve, cover the top with lightly sweetened whipped cream, sliced fruits, and chopped candied nuts (photo 11). 

Recipe FAQs 

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this classic French recipe. Check out our other easy breakfast and brunch recipes like these cinnamon scones or this cinnamon raisin French toast!