• A classic French dessert, “mille” means thousand. This dish usually consists of 10 to 20 layers – but it feels like a thousand when you’re making the crêpes!

    Recipe, styling and photography by Katelyn Allegra

    Matcha mille crêpe cake with custard-crème filling

    Serves: 8 - 10
    Total Time: 3 hrs

    Ingredients

    • MATCHA PANCAKES

    • 375g cake flour, sifted
    • 5ml (1 tsp) salt
    • 6 large eggs
    • 750ml (3 cups) milk
    • 90g butter, melted
    • 60ml (4 tbsp) matcha powder + extra, to dust (find at speciality tea merchants and yuppiechef.com)
    • CUSTARD CRÈME

    • 3 large egg yolks
    • 60g white sugar
    • 45ml (3 tbsp) cornflour
    • 375ml (1½ cups) full-cream milk
    • 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
    • 5ml (1 tsp) gelatine powder, bloomed in 15ml (1 tbsp) water
    • 375ml (1½ cups) cream, whipped to stiff peaks
    • icing sugar, to dust

    Instructions

    1

    For the pancakes, place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Beat the eggs and 750ml (3 cups) milk in a jug, and whisk into the dry ingredients with the melted butter and the matcha powder. Cover with cling film and refrigerate, about 2 hours.

    2

    Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and spoon about 60ml (¼ cup) of batter into the pan. Swirl the pan around to evenly coat it with the batter. When the edges begin to lift, flip the crêpe over and cook the other side until golden brown. Repeat this step with the remaining batter until all of the batter is used up. This will go faster if you work with two frying pans. Keep your cooked crêpes covered with a clean, damp tea towel.

    3

    To make the custard, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and 60ml (¼ cup) of the full-cream milk together in a large bowl to make a paste. Heat the remaining 310ml (1¼ cups) full-cream milk in a saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil.

    4

    Remove the saucepan from heat and gradually add the hot milk to the paste, while whisking. Once all of the hot milk is incorporated into the paste, return the mixture to the saucepan and return it to the heat. Whisk continuously over medium heat until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Cook for a further 3 – 5 minutes then remove from heat.

    5

    Add the vanilla extract to the custard. Add the bloomed gelatine and mix into the hot custard.

    6

    Spread the custard out on a baking tray, cover the surface with cling film to prevent a skin from forming and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, transfer the custard to a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth, then fold in the whipped cream.

    7

    Place a crêpe on a cake plate or stand, then spread with a thin layer of the custard. Lightly dust with icing sugar and matcha powder. Repeat with the remaining crêpes and custard until they are used up and you have a stacked crêpe cake. Refrigerate for 2 hours to chill, then dust with matcha and cut into wedges to serve.

    Imka Webb
    Author

    Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine.  www.imkawebb.com