If this site could have a single prologue, it would go like this: It all started out so innocently. Because doesn’t it always? I wanted something simple but got carried away. A search for a lasagna I could love became a Mount Everest of a Lasagna Bolognese; a hankering for a great game-day snack became a mash-up of Welsh rarebit and pull-apart rye bread; and a hunt for a quiche that could serve a crowd became a 4 1/2 year vendetta until I triumphed over those 137 square inches of buttery flaky shell. Okay, I’m being a little dramatic. I’m likely scaring away people who just wanted something simple to cook (I promise, the next recipe will be so simple, you might, like me, weep and wonder where it’s been every rushed weekday night of your life thus far.)
In this case, I started daydreaming about the place where a simple crepe would intersect banana bread and from there, I couldn’t stop. Well, I had to stop for a week because my book’s first pass pages came back (guys? It looks so pretty, I can’t wait to show you) and when they dragged it from my apartment (I, um, wasn’t done yet), I found that my cooking mojo had left with it. If you’d like a delightful recipe for banana flatcakes (what I affectionately called the first flop), I’ve got one. Then, I was so low on groceries, I had only the exact number of eggs I needed for the recipe, and like something out of a bad comedy skit, I managed to smash the egg on the outside of the mixing bowl, all of my hopes of getting this recipe to you in a reasonable frame of time dribbling down the side and puddling on the counter. (If this ever happens to you, promise me you won’t leave the kitchen in disgust, if only because cleaning up that egg an hour later is only going to double your grump.) Then my son demanded the last speckled banana, the one I’d been saving to try the crepes again (the nerve!), and it was a few days before the next batch were ripe enough to use.
I am, if little else, the queen of excuses right now.
When I finally triumphed over the banana crepe, I was so relieved that I got carried away. Know this: You can make banana crepes for breakfast as soon as possible. You can dust them with powdered sugar or dollop them with a little plain yogurt mixed with a spoonful of maple syrup and drop of vanilla extract and everyone will love them. You can go a step further, maybe even turning them into banana blintzes, filled with lightly sweetened farmers cheese, and browning them in a pan. Or, you show no remorse and do as I did, and whip a lightly sweetened filling of cream cheese, Greek yogurt and a little bit of sugar, spread it thinly between each crepe as you stack them high and again, you can stop right there. You can dust this with powdered sugar and serve it in wedges and totally win at breakfast. Or, you can simmer a tiny batch of salted butterscotch sauce with toasted walnuts and serve it with this previously innocent wedge of crepe cake, either puddled over the top or passed alongside the meal and it will be almost insanely decadent (more insane if I hadn’t made a great effort to keep the sweeteness of the crepe stack within greatly in check), but I see no reason to let that stop you.
I bet you can’t guess which route I chose.
One year ago: French Onion Soup and Blackberry and Coconut Macaroon Tart
Two years ago: New York Cheesecake, Shakshuka and Easy Jam Tart
Three years ago: Chocolate Caramel Crack, Simple Potato Gratin and Cinnamon Swirl Buns and, oh yeah, a pregnancy announcement
Four years ago: Lemon Yogurt Anything Cake, Fork Crushed Purple Potatoes and Whole Wheat Apple Muffins
Five years ago: Potato Rosemary Bread, Gnocchi with a Grater, and The Tart Marg
Banana Crepe Cake with Yogurt and Walnut Butterscotch
A whole bunch of cooking notes and tips: First, crepes are magical. Once you accept that the first one always goes in the trash, that things are really much easier with a non-stick pan (I use this one; it’s my only nonstick these days and it is worth its weigh in gold) and if you struggle with crepe-flipping, try to embrace my weirdo two-spatula crepe-flipping technique, described below, you will hit your stride and wonder why you don’t make crepes more often. And you should, they keep fantastically well in the fridge, for a few days, even. They reheat well. They never stick to each other so you can just stack them up, no fancy separators required.
A note about banana flavor: The crepes taste the most strongly of banana when served simply. As other ingredients are added, like this filling, the banana flavor is less loud (but the overall flavor tumbles dreamily together). If you’d like it to scream banana, you might add paper-thin slices of banana throughout the crepe layers — it will also stack the cake higher.
This is perfect for a decadent brunch meal or party. I think of it as a replacement for french toast, coffee cake or buttery pastries. And although it sounds completely over-the-top, I made a great effort to keep it at least a little breakfasty: the crepes are barely sweetened, the filling remains tangy and only moderately sweet and the butterscotch is as small of a yield as needed to just cover the top. And it (pardon the pun) totally takes the cake.
If you’d like to pass the walnut butterscotch alongside cake servings, rather than drizzling it over the top of the cake, I recommend you double the yield, and keep it warm so it stays pourable. If it still seems too thick, a little extra cream will thin it.
Yield: 11 to 12 9-inch crepes, or a 1 1/2-inch cake
Banana crepes
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for greasing pan
1 large (will weigh 6 ounces/170 grams be about 6 inches long when unpeeled) speckly ripe banana (should yield a scant 1/2 cup peeled, pureed)
1 cup (235 ml) milk
3/4 cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons (25 grams) light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
Cream cheese yogurt filling
8 ounces (225 grams) cream cheese, well-softened
1 1/2 cups (345 grams) plain Greek-style yogurt
1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Walnut butterscotch topping
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup (50 grams) packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon (15 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (about 50 grams) chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, or to taste
Make the crepe batter: Blend banana in a food processor until totally smooth. Add melted butter, blend again. Add remaining ingredients and blend until they are combined. Transfer batter, which will look pretty thin, to a bowl (even easier later if it has a spout), cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour, preferably overnight, and up to two days. When you remove the batter, it will seem surprisingly thick. Stir it to redistribute the ingredients before using it.
Cook the crepes: Heat a medium skillet or crepe pan over medium-high heat. Once heated, brush pan thinly with melted butter. Pour 1/4 cup batter into skillet, swirling it until it evenly coats the bottom and cook, undisturbed, until the bottom is golden and the top is set, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip* the crepe and cook it for 30 seconds on the other side, before transferring it to a plate to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. You can stack your crepes and they should not stick together. Let crepes cool completely.
* Here’s my Weirdo Two-Spatula Crepe Flipping Method: I have two spatulas handy, one flexible fish-style spatula (these are my favorite, for everything, because they’re so thin) and one smaller, like an offset icing spatula. I slide the larger one just a little bit under the crepe and lift it enough that I can slide the smaller one under. I lift it enough that I can get the larger one far underneath the crepe, then use the larger one alone to flip it. It makes it very easy, I promise.
Make filling: Whip cream cheese until fluffy, then beat in yogurt, 1/2 cup at a time. When fully combined, add sugar and vanilla then beat until rich and fluffy, just another minute.
Assemble crepe cake: Lay first crepe on a cake plate or serving platter. Spread with 1/4 cup of the yogurt-cream cheese filling. Repeat with all but the last remaining crepe, which should be stacked but have no filling on top, as it is the lid.
Make walnut butterscotch sauce: Combine the cream, brown sugar and butter in the bottom of a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally in the beginning and more frequently as it reduces and thickens. You’ll know it’s done when it becomes thick and smells toasty. Stir in the vanilla and salt, then walnuts. Immediately pour over stack of filled crepes, nudging the butterscotch to the edges with your spoon — if it goes over the edge, so be it.
Serve immediately, or keep in fridge until ready to serve. Crepe cake keeps for up to 3 days, possibly longer, but good luck with that.
I had a slice of crepe cake years ago and since then it has been on my list of things to replicate. However, yours sounds even more amazing and looks delicious! I love the banana bread/crepe cake blend.
You are OUT OF CONTROL. That is all.
This looks AMAZING. I’ve always been intimidated by the notion of making a crepe, but I may just have to get over that to make this.
This looks sensational! Yes please.
I’ve been meaning to make a crepe cake soon (although I swear it’s been on my “to-do” list since I was 14, seriously), and this has just motivated me so much! I didn’t even know it was possible to combine the flavors of butterscotch, banana bread, and crepes all in one. So cool, and now this will have me going wild about what other types of combinations I’ve been missing out on. Really, really beautiful first photo, by the way.
And I am SO EXCITED to see that book when it comes out.
I heart anything with bananas. I’ve seen crepe cakes before and I’ve always thought they were tedious, but this looks too good not to try :)
Lordy this looks delicious!
My 16 year old sister just got back from a trip to France and she is currently obsessed with crepes. I know she loves bananas, especially in baked goods, and this. THIS looks like an eerily appropriate treat to make for her. Your creativity never ends!
OMG I am so addicted to Mille Crepe cakes :) Will definitely try this one out:) I LOVE your posts:) Keep it up and More power to you! Crepe Cakes RULE!!!
There was a Halloween crepe cake in some Martha magazine…anyone remember that one? It had caramelized hazelnut dagger things sticking out the top. It is the most memorable cake I’ve ever seen. This looks like that, but on the side of good instead of evil.
This just blows me away. Your crepe cakes inspire confidence in my baking scope. Nice work, as always and please keep it coming!
just took ‘nanas to a whole new level! AHHMAZING! can’t wait to try :) xxo em
as i was reading i kept waiting for the part where this turned out to be your birthday cake!
That slice looks so beautiful. I want to try this, love the idea of banana bread and crepes in together.
This is totally a Christina Tosi-esque creation.
My problem with crepe cakes is that I can never get the crepes evenly sized enough. Precision is not my forte as a cook.
I was just dreaming of a crepe and banana marriage! Although my last attempt at crepes turned out into a kind of “pancrepe,” somewhere between a skinny flapjack and a full-bodied crepe…Nothing a good dollop of homemade ricotta (thanks for the divine recipe!) couldn’t fix in the taste department, of course, but admittedly they were lacking that special something. But your perseverance in the kitchen is just as much an inspiration as this lovely recipe, so try, try again I will!
OMG . . . I think my heart stopped a little! . . . btw . . . if this looks a little blurry, it’s because I have been licking my screen . . . again . . . I swear, I can almost taste the banana and butterscotch and walnuts . . . *sigh* . . . you keep this up and I am going to have a hard time trying to explain all this to the computer repairman . . .
I made Alton Brown’s savory crepe cake years ago with mushrooms and thyme. It was so good. This sweet crepe cake looks outstanding! I bet you could pump up the banana flavor by putting chopped up banana in the butterscotch with the walnuts. Yum!
I love the layers! So pretty…and looks delicious! :)
Deb, I just want to say that you’re my hero. You make such awesome recipes that never fail to impress.
This is insanely amazing! I love all the layers of crepe and cream! Looks like it might take a while though… I would never make it to the final step!
dude, why do you hate my pants so much? meanwhile, i hadn’t realized the only difference between butterscotch sauce and caramel sauce was the brown vs. white sugar thing.
but. my real question – since you said the banana flavor was so mild would a chocolate sauce/peanut butter sauce (think of the elvis possibilities) kill this sweet banana riff requiring more diced bananas on top meaning i should just stick with a plain cake recipe with your sweet cream genius filling?
hurry! it’s already 5 pm here…
This is absolutely beautiful. The lines of crepe cake on top of your plate are just lovely.
You can just flip the crepes with your hands. Once the edges start to pull away from the surface of the pan, you can grab them pretty easily (without burning yourself) and flip the whole thing over. As long as you’re not yanking too hard, they should hold together without ripping.
I used to try a bunch of different flipping methods with spatulas and such, before reading this tip somewhere and smacking my forehead.
Hi Ryan — I do that sometimes, but these crepes, with their banana content, are softer and didn’t take a liking to the technique. Getting more support underneath will help.
Cindy — Ha! So, I think you should make these crepes. The thing is, even if the cake doesn’t scream banana it is delicious. They make it softly banana flavored and wonderfully spiced and the brown sugar in there is wonderful. They don’t have to taste like a flattened banana (a product I learned, in fact, actually exists at Trader Joe’s) to totally make this a muuuch better cake than they’d be without the banana crepes. Promise.
This looks divine!
Besides looking beautiful, this has my mouth watering! You had me at “bananas” and “crepes” :)
Perfect! I just made your jacked-up-banana bread recipe yesterday (my all-time favorite version), but was left with 1 banana left over….I felt so sad that it was left on its own. Now I know what to do with it!
Do you think that the crepes would be good with a splash of rum/brandy, as well? It’s such a perfect addition to the banana bread; however not sure if it would alter the consistency of the crepe batter too much.
Gorgeous Cake! love the idea of using the crepes in the cake…
I have one word to say about these crepes: Nutella. That is all.
Banana crepes? They sound heavenly! They also sound perfect for breakfast tomorrow!
Yum.
I love crepes but because they are so thin, they don’t satisfy my glutton. You gave me the solution to my problem… stack crepes with a heavenly filling in between, just perfect! This looks so darn delicious, I just have to make this.
I think I would like the stacked cake edition with banana pastry cream (definitely vacating the breakfast category and rolling full steam into dessert). The butterscotch sauce looks so amazing. Regardless the banana crepes on their own will definitely make it into my rotation. Yum!
Pure genius.
I have some very ripe bananas sitting on my counter. I now know what they were waiting for…this recipe!
The layers, the crepes, bananas, cream cheese, filling, butterscotch!!!! Deb this is all just too fabulous. The opening photo is so perfect with those layers it almost looks like play-food it’s so perfect!
One word: WOW. I love anything banana and anything breakfast, and the fact that you just put the two together and added butterscotch is blowing my mind right now. Must try!
I love you and the stretchy-waisted dress I’m wearing today :-)
Oh my god. Deb. You’re killing me!!! This looks AMAZING!! The butterscotch is pretty much genius: I want to eat that RIGHT now.
AAH! I love it!
You had me at salted butterscotch! Yum, yum! (Is that you reflected in the metal cup next to the blended with a sassy hand on the hip?)
Wow, this looks fantastic! The butterscotch topping took this right from innocent to obscene!
Genius. I had given some thought to making up a version of bananas foster that used a solid base and an ice cream substitute but hadn’t given it the time it really deserves (read, easily distracted). This is sure healthier but sounds sounds decadent enough (with your suggestion of added sugar, and I’d add booze) to certainly do the job using crepes. Looks so good, can’t wait to try it. Just genius.
PS..The picture of your son has that early 20th century kewpie-doll face but with a bit of a pout. Too cute!
Wow! You are a crazy girl, and I am totally drooling over your photos of this! I’ve wanted to try my hand at making something along these lines ever since experiencing the Lady M Mille Crepes Cake, and you’re inspiring me to finally take the plunge. My hips may not thank you for this recipe, but I know my taste buds most certainly will!
wow, that looks unbelievable. thanks for letting this one get out of control– I’m a big crepe fan and this is awesome.
Within the next few weeks I plan to make and freeze 300+ crepes for my folks’ 50th anniversary party. I’m looking forward to it, but I expect I’ll have a backache by the end!
oh my…I am so utterly impressed!
Dear SK, Could you add a printer function soon? We’d love it if you did!
This banana bread crepe cake is what’s for Mother’s Day for sure! Delish!
Oops, we just spotted that ‘tiny’ PRINT button! Sorry!
@10 Erica … I think this is the Martha recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/356131/darkest-chocolate-crepe-cake
looks delicious :)
Your patience is stunning! To make that many banana crepes (which in itself can be difficult) then proceed to layer them with incredible filling and top them with delicious butterscotch. TONS of patience! I have loved crepes since I was a little kid and thought I had come up with every possible crepe stuffing under the sun and rolled and folded, but never once thought to stack…also never once thought to top with butterscotch. I imagine a slice of this masterpiece to taste creamy with awesome texture from the layering and of course sweet and nutty from the butterscotch topping. Gorgeous presentation, wonderful idea and tasty recipe!!
oooh sounds exciting!
I don’t own a food processor, and my blender is broken. Think it would work if I just whisked all the ingredients together in the order you say to put them into the food processor? Thanks!
So, this is amazing. But I have a question. How on earth did you manage to take out such a flawlessly gorgeous slice? Maybe this is because I have little experience with crepes, but I just imagine trying to put a knife into that and everything squishing out everywhere and the end result being rather ugly. Yours, however, belongs on the cover of Southern Living.
Re, the pretty pictures and pretty slice — Crepe cakes slice fantastically. Always. All you need is a sharp knife. The only part that will give you any trouble is the lid, because it has a thicker texture, so be gentle there, but seriously. When you make this, I promise you that yours will slice as gorgeously. If you slice it from the fridge, where the filling will firm up a little, it will be even cleaner. But it’s not necessary to get a pretty slice.
Re, crepes of different sizes — If your crepes aren’t all the same size, this is a good thing. The rough edges are I think the prettiest part of a crepe cake.
That looks BEAUTIFUL. Absolutely perfectly put together – and I KNOW given your reputation (and how anything I’ve ever tried of yours is always amazing) that it also most certainly tastes delicious too. Seriously, I can’t imagine ever being able to get my crepes to stack that beautifully ever – BRAVO!
OH MY GOD! I can’t believe you WOW’d me once again. A crepe cake. I can’t take it. Butterscotch, too! :)))))))
This looks so light and and delicious! What an amazing idea.
~ Brenda
deb, see you tweets, i think i found the problem.
so far my pins are back to normal, but tried to re-pin something and it did not take, then tried again and it was all ok.
what i changed was the API settings. apparently all that stuff pinterest made changes to were the 3rd party stuff. i put the link in the tweet.
BUT….apparently with all the crap i did today, i also googled the pinterest troubles and they are having a whole boatload of problems. soooo if you do those changes and it works, then doesn’t, then does…hubby promises me it’s stupid pinterest and the algorithms working their junk out. does that make sense? lol
that would be the API settings in your Flickr account
(i’m super tired right now…)
Hi vanillasugar — Sorry, I dropped off that conversation earlier. Yes! Mine should be working now. I did indeed change the settings last night. But this morning, it still wasn’t working so I started asking around on Twitter. You can probably guess what happened next: It started working. I guess the changes took 12 or so hours to take effect. I do have a massive photostream so maybe it took longer than it would someone else. I successfully tried to pin stuff today while logged in to flickr and while not and both work. I hope that means (and a quick browse of Pinterest shows a bunch of folks pinned this already — thanks, people!) that it’s working for everyone else again. Thanks again for your help!
This is so lovely that I’m shaking in jealousy over your baking prowess.
Making a crepe cake has been on my to-do list for a while and this one looks absolutely delicious! Butterscotch has been a favorite for me lately, I definitely need to make this happen soon.
Not carried away, perfect! Colette said if I can’t have too much I don’t want any!
Getting lost in creativiity is a day well spent!
It is a commentary on your excellent and always amusing writing that even if I have no plans to make the recipe (like this time), I will always read through to the end of your posts. Yours was the first cooking/baking blog I’d ever read (my sister turned me on to smitten) and now I read several, but yours is the gold standard in terms of the writing. Thank you!
Crepe cake! My husband’s favorite, for sure, but I’ll be darned if you’ll ever see me attempting this thing.
You make it look too easy. (Thankfully, I’m not just looking at the pictures here, though: You at least are on the level with how simple things can snowball…)
Erica. Most memorable recipe ever. Maybe because I learned how to dip and drop the hazelnuts in caramelized sugar. To this day there are still flecks of burnt sugar in my kitchen.
Mother of God.
Love this post! Something for everyone – from simple to not quite so, but looks amazingly delish.
Oh my! I have no words for the deliciousness that this recipe is!
Hmm. Report for jury duty tomorrow or stay home and make this delectable concoction….?? Don’t you think the judge would understand??
I will be frustrated now until I can scare up some time to commit to this recipe.
I am wondering about some marscapone cheese in this mix…
Oh boy. OH boy. I think I may be in trouble, because I have dinner 90% done already and yet all I want to do is chuck it and make two or three of these instead… :)
Well, great. My head just exploded.
Will you come to my house in Carmel and make it for me? Please….
Ditto to Kelsie in comment 74. I was so impressed with myself for making buckwheat crepes in a cast iron skillet last week and you go and make a banana crepe cake, with butterscotch no less! I’ve seen some outrageously tall and entirely too perfect crepe cakes on pinterest and wondered who would bother, but your cake looks beautiful, feasible and worth the effort. Brava brava, Deb!
I literally started screaming when I got to the butterscotch part–I startled my cat.
You are amazing. And anything with Greek yogurt has to be good.
@Shannon–I have a word to go with your “Nutella”: strawberries.
This is getting a little freaky. I JUST told my husband yesterday, staring sadly at the pitiful brown bananas on the counter, that I needed to make banana bread. And this saves me! I love to make crepes; they are hubby’s fav, and this looks like the perfect non-traditional treat!! Thank god for your creativity, because mine was sorely lacking in a “oh banana bread again?” sort of way.
this looks absolutely amazing. deb, i’ve been following your work here and making much it much to the delight of our family. i had to comment on this because this looks ridiculous: cue water in mouth just mentally reliving the moment i saw the first image. ps. any recipe for salted caramel handy?
holy WOW. you outdid yourself again. Thank you for being such an inspiration!
I have been wanting to try my hand at a crepe cake and I think this is the one with my name on it. Very excited – thanks, Deb!
I can totally sympathize with having no ripe bananas…my 3 year old son will eat a banana at every stage (green, yellow, spotty, almost black) and he eats one for breakfast every morning. The only way to get ripe bananas for banana bread is to buy 2 bunches for the week…which I just might have to do!
Oh the life of a blogger and all the little mishaps and huddles that get in the way of these beautiful posts!
These are seriously gorgeous! I like your style for totally going for it :)
Oh my word! I’m in love!
I love when you post over-the-top recipes that you dreamed up yourself. This sounds fantastic! When listing the ingredients for the crepes, it looks like “schooled” got subbed for “should” (that’s my best guess for the word you were going for there, anyway).
girl, this looks amazing! if only crepes didn’t defeat me every time…i need some of your persistence! in the meantime i’ll just drool looking at your pictures…
Deb – did that banana really get “schooled” before it went into the crepe batter? Sounds intense. ;)
This looks incredible – I had no idea you could put banana in the crepe batter – genius!!
Hi Deb,
This reminds me of another cake I wanted to make. It’s made with those “waffle” wafers that are super thin. You can find big sheets of them in Russian supermarkets. These are not the doily looking things. They are plain waffle style. An amazing woman made a divine weepy cake with a chocolate hazelnut sauce (most likely a little liquor in there too for flavor). It was soaking in its juices for 2 days prior to the birthday party. I wished it was my birthday.
I honestly just made my first one of these with chocolate last month! So good! Would love for you to share a savory crepe recipe for dinner.
This looks so delicious. Would love to try this out.
Oh, my goodness, all of my favourite things in one scrumptious dish! Fantastic!
gorgeous presentation – i love the idea of using it for a brunch and will definitely try it ! i wonder if a strawberry version of this would work…
What a great idea! fantastic … I can’t wait to try this!
Good grief! A brunch party must-make item, thanks!
Not sure if that’s a typo in the ingredient list where the banana schooled yield about 1/2 cup?
Katie, Jess, Rebecca — It is a typo! Thank you, fixed now.
That walnut butterscotch is making my mouth watering. I’m probably just gonna make that and eat it with a spoon…and feel good about it!
OMG! wow thats looks reeeaaally good !
Whilst your recipe looks yummy, i’m more impressed with how you make usually mundane items i.e. a measuring jug, look like photographic works of art in your images! Very enjoyable blog :)
Talk about droolworthy! holy cow! want.some.
I am currently sitting in a library in Oxford revising for my exams next week and took a quick break to read your recipe! Looks so delicious! Post exam treat??? Btw love the blog and can’t wait for the book!
Lovely recipe. I love desserts. I like it <3
Lovely cake! A lot of work, but looking at the photos, I’m sure it’s worth making it. I especially like the butterscotch with the walnuts, it looks sooo good.
Did you hear a thud? I just swooned. I think of myself as not having a sweet tooth but I wish I was having just this for lunch. Now. Could it possibly taste as good as it looks? Emer
Gorgeous!
I have a picture of a crepe cake on my fridge (which, if you have stainless you know is not easy to do) so that every time I reach for an egg I am reminded that this idea (as well conceived as the quiche idea) will probably become my picture of what not to eat when you want to loose weight instead.
This looks soooo good and I adore banana anything. Well done, Deb!!
This looks amazing! I am so excited for your book!
Ohmygoodness. This cake looks wonderful. And for the record, you combine words as lovingly and creatively as you do ingredients. I loved this phrase: “tumbles dreamily together”, referring to the way the banana crepes subtly peek out in the layers of delicious-ness. And since I don’t have an oven, I am ALL over this cake. Will check back when I’ve made it. Cheers!
OMG. ‘Nuff said.
That cake looks dreamy. Coincidentally, I just make a crepe cake last night – honey lavender crepes, with a pastry cream-mixed-with-whipped cream filling. Your cream cheese filling looks even better though, and much easier to make and spread!
So pretty. Looks fantastic. What type of knife did you use to cut the slice so cleanly?
It looks perfect! And must taste even better! Can you send a slice over?
Are you sure you’re not Austro-Hungarian?? This is straight out of a Kaffeehaus menu! Dobos Torte meets Esterhazy meets banana bread! Nums. Or superlecker, as they say in the old country! Wonder if I could make it with sweetened chevre in the middle, as we have tons of chèvre at this time of year…hafta give it a whirl and see! Thanks for a lovely recipe!
Jill — Ha! I am my mother’s side is German and I would happily eat my way through Hungary and Austria. Also, I did indeed make a dobos torte for my birthday last year (and then fell off my chair when I saw it in a Google commercial).
Have not made crepes in years and now I will have to do this. This looks like a big class project that my students will love.
I don’t even want to read this entire recipe, or I might come up with a great excuse to leave work to go make it. Thanks, this looks absolutely incredible!
Oh. Dear. Me. I need to have this in my life immediately. I’ve been wanting to make a crepe cake for a while now, but this one has really put me over the edge into I’m-really-going-to-make-one-now territory. And that butterscotch topping! I die.
Do you think it would be a good idea to change the yogurt filling for whipped cream and the butterscotchtopping for dulce de leche?
Mmm this would never qualify as breakfast for me, but it would make a kickass dessert.
Another option that came to mind, and very Argentinian of me: you could fill the crepes with a thin layer of dulce de leche (dulce de leche and bananas have a long standing love affair). And if we weren´t taking crepe cake but normal crepes, I would do a thick line of dulce de leche with some banana slices on top and roll it up (maybe add some chopped walnuts for crunch). Ok, I´m getting hungry now.
Thank you, Deb. Another jaw dropping post! Can’t wait to make this one, talk about impressive! Quick question….your recipes used to save automatically to my beloved Paprika App with just a touch of the “save recipe” button. Now I have to go theough the step-by step “create recipe” function….not so hard, but a few extra steps. Is this change permanent and/ or intentional? BTW, can’t wait for your book!
Hi Lynn — Sorry, I am unfamiliar with the Paprika App. I can look into it, however.
Alternative fillings, such as whipped cream, dulce, Nutella, etc. — By all means, go for it. However, I should warn that things get very sweet, very quickly. I have tried to stack Nutella crepes in the past and found it achingly sweet, and too intense to eat. It’s possible that I’m a wimp. ;) I find that a more neutral filling with a decadent topping keeps things better in balance. And there’s a nice contrast. As for whipped cream, I don’t think it’s strong enough to hold up. As whipped cream un-whips itself, it’s just cream, and that will soak and sog the crepes.
By the way — There will be an even more insane crepe cake in my cookbook. Nobody will mistake that one for breakfast. ;)
Ok this looks divine! My pregnancy brain is screaming strawberries though! What about banana crepes with a hint of strawberry in the filling? And maybe fresh diced strawberries and almonds on top?
Is it possible to sub regular yogurt for Greek style yogurt?
I discovered while making crepes that a plastic rice scoop, the kind that comes free with your electric rice cooker, is perfect for flipping crepes without tearing. I haven’t looked back since. This cake looks amazing – I can see so many possible variations!
Looking so forward to making this. I have a bag of freeze dried bananas from Trader Joes that I may pulverize and add to the crepe batter…Deb. what are your thoughts on this??
This looks spectacular! Thank you for going all the way!
OMG these look fantastic. I really need to try this approach to crepes – my favorite breakfast food ever.
This looks like heaven on a plate! Banana, cream cheese, butterscotch…as a fellow blogger your creativity astounds me!
Having just been to Paris, I love the idea of playing with this Breton favorite. I can imagine these crepes might even become as beloved as the Jacked Up Banana Bread that is a household staple for us.
Deb, a stupid question, puree the banana peel and all?
No, you should peel the banana. I will note that.
I read it again, now it makes sense, how embarrassing!
Wowwwwwwwwww!!! I cannot wait to try it!!!
This all looks beautiful! …and like a lot of work :)
I’m speechless. That’s how delicious this sounds.
Where has this been all my life? I have definitely seen the idea of making crepes into a cake before but pardon the pun, this one takes the cake. It looks sssooo good!
So even if you have a non-stick crepe pan, you should butter it? And re-butter for each crepe? I have such a pan but have yet to use it, which now seems almost criminal….
Hi Teresa — Actually, if your nonstick is a champ, you do not. I actually butter my pan every few crepes, mostly because I’m forgetful. But if you’re unsure, better safe than sorrily scraping a stuck crepe into the garbage.
Erik — No, I updated it after you commented. It said that the weight was like 6 ounces unpeeled, which does indeed make it sound like you’d want to use the banana unpeeled. So, I fixed it.
Superb!! I usually tweak any recipe….but this seems JUST PERFECT as it is..like a work of art!!
Mmmm. I’m envisioning a version where the filling is ricotta-based, rather than cream cheese, because that’s what I have in my fridge right now. That could work … right? RIGHT? Because I might have to make these right now.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful recipe. I have always been very intimated by crepe cakes, but your wonderful pictures are helping me to understand the process. I can’t wait to try this out!
Banana cake? Pancakes? Butterscotch? Walnuts?! This looks sooo delicious. And your weirdo flipping method actually sounds quite sensible! I’ll have to try it.
p.s. schooled yield? ;)
Sera
Sounds AMAZING. I’m super scared of making crepes though – my pans aren’t great and I’m sure they will fall apart! Pancakes are hard enough!!
I guess I am *supposed* to comment about the recipe, but boy, is that a beautiful plate!
I made this creation the way it was written except I added sliced bananas to every other layer. I also garnished the top with bananas when served. Absolutely FABULOUS!
Oh, yeah. Now this is a birthday cake! I am making it this weekend for my daughter’s BD. I’m drooling at the thought of the first bite.
oooh, this looks naughty! if i made it i wouldn’t share, that’s for sure.
Utterly gorgeous and utterly mouth-watering. Bravo.
like many of your readers, i HAVE been dreaming of a crepe cake (crap cake hahah), especially since my boyfriend’s sister made one recently. yours looks fantastic- decadent but not lavish.. you know. the down-to-eath luxury sort of thing. thanks for making it without nutella or chocolate– it’s too common!
always such a joy to find a new recipe on your blog.
Oh yum, I still haven’t perfected the crepe but once I do I will be trying this!
Oh my god, this looks amazing!!!
My stomach literally growled aloud while I was rading this post. Thanks for another winning recipe!
Oh my! This is definitely on the menu for dinner this weekend. Crepes are so versatile, and this recipe will definitely see many variations. I’m thinking chocolate in some way, maybe raspberry. So many options.
I love this recipe. Looks like it can totally be made in stages. That’s what I love about this recipe. If I need it for a Saturday night I can make the crepes Thursday, the cream Friday and sauce & assemble for dinner Saturday. I will let you all know how it comes out.
Oh my. Simultaneously, my heart skipped a beat, my stomach started growling and my jaw dropped onto my keyboard. Plain, old “normal” banana bread will never do from now on… :-)
I love you and your recipe extravagance! Thank you, and I am so making this.
Unlike virtually every other one of your recipes, this is probably not one I will ever make or eat, because I am completely, 100% not a fan of the banana. However, this cake is, honestly, *so* incredibly beautiful. You impress me over and over again!
oh myyy!
i’m making this for my birthday thiis thursday,
so excited!!
Oh shut up. Wow. This flavour combo reminds me of my grandad. Must make…
Oh my… I’ve seen photos of this shared all over the internet, and after reading the recipe I can see why! Yum!
this looks amazing and i am going to have to try it. i do have a little request, over here in the UK i struggle sometimes with the conversions. i have ‘cups’, but not sure how you would measure a cup of butter (unless i guess it was REAL soft) do you happen to know what is the conversion for a stick of butter??
by the way, i am now OBSESSED by your site and am spending far far to much time on it when i should really be thinking about doing some work….
ignore me, i now notice that this is on your conversion chart, i just hadn’t scrolled down far enough!
I’m with Kate — can’t smell the banana without feeling a tad sick… however, I had to stop and say that your artistry knocks off my socks… truly astounding, Deb. You have lots of brilliant rolled up in that head of yours… well done and thanks for sharing your talent. CANNOT wait to see your book!! Do you (we) have a release/ preorder date??
Can you please share what pan size/brand you are using to make the crepes ? I want to get one please
I really can’t wait to get home now, I’m still at work I just scan some recipes for my family gathering tomorrow evening when I came across your blog.. I am famished so I can really make 4 of this and all for myself.. :)
This sugar fast is killing me!!! Ha- only when I torture myself by coming here and seeing insanely delicious-looking recipes!!! Better for my post-baby thighs, I guess. Sigh. This will be on a waiting list, for sure!
OK I can’t put it off another SECOND. I need to buy a non stick pan and STAT! I’ve been thru so many pans that I kind of gave up on them, only I can’t make a crepe without 1. The slice of your cake looks GORG!
It seems that the flour/butter/milk proportions are different in each of your crepe-based recipes. (crepe with plum and ricotta, mushroom crepe cake, and gateau de crepes) Is there a basic crepe recipe that you recommend between all of the ones that you have done?
Hi Elina — Good catch! Nope, different proportions for different recipes. The Sugar Plum Crepes are on the thick side; not thick, but have a higher proportion of egg to milk that makes them super, super easy to cook and flip. Want it easy? Use them. Want a great “wrapper” crepe for blintzes or other things? That’s the one to use. The Mille Crepe cake has the most difficult crepes. The ones from the Lady M bakery that inspired it are nearly paper-thin and very delicate, lacy-edged. They’re a pest to make but make an ethereal dessert. These are somewhere in-between but the banana element throws the recipe so that no traditional formula worked. The banana seems to thicken the batter quite a bit, so I used an amount of milk closer to the lacy thin ones but still ended up with something thicker than the mille crepes but still fragile — the banana, after all, doesn’t hold things together like egg does so these tear more easily than other crepes of the same thickness. Huh… was that enough information for you? :)
Sherry — There’s a link in the recipe’s headnotes to the exact pan I use.
Other crepe pans — Although I’m very happy with the one I have, I’ve been very tempted by this blue steel one. Does anyone have it? Can they recommend it? Some of the surface prepping tips scare me, but in general, I gravitate towards real steel pans over nonstick so I’m curious. Also, it is cheap and clearly something you’d only have to buy once in a lifetime.
Hi Tree Town — Thank you. So, stay tuned, on April 30th I will reveal the cover of the book (finally done as of 5 days ago! it took forever!), hopefully have an updated announcement about foreign publishers that have signed on thus far, and will tell everyone how to preorder it, if they wish, or in time for Mother’s Day gifting. Sound good?
M’Lass — Actually, my goal is to eventually get every single recipe on this site into weights/metrics as well but as of now, I’m doing it on an as-requested basis. If you see a recipe that you’d like to make and need switched over, just leave me a comment and I will put it next in the queue. I just did this one, too, as requested. ;)
All I can say is that I actually had this crepe cake on Sunday. As Deb cut slices for everyone, I kept saying “Thinner, thinner, half that size…” remembering that I would have to pay my dues at Weight Watchers today. After all that, she had the nerve to leave some here .. supposedly for her mother. Problem – her mother isn’t eating it fast enough! This is beyond GOOD!
An addendum to my earlier comment:
6 WW Points+ for 1/16th of 9″ cake. I can handle that!!!
are you saying the book will be out before the summer? I thought the date was in October or something. I have a friend who needs this for her birthday :) This crepe cake looks to die for. Now if only I could find an unsuspecting soul to make it for me…
Hi Megan — Sorry for the confusion. The book will be out this fall. It will be available for pre-order across a variety of large and independent sites (some already, but without a cover, what fun is it to look at?) very soon. Yes, they do things this early! In fact, booksellers look to pre-order numbers as an indicator of how many they’ll need to stock in their stores, so it becomes an important part of the process.
Must have this, this weekend for brunch! Looks awesome! :)
Wow! That looks amazing!
Just gorgeous- I’d used lemon curd as a fall back for crepe cakes before.Can’t wait to try this.
This is the most amazing idea ever. A seven (more?) layer crepe cake.
That is just too beautiful. There is something about a million thin layers of sweet goodness that makes you just want some RIGHT NOW.
mmmm delicious!
That looks DELICIOUS!!!! I am a crepe and butterscotch/ caramel fan so there will go at the top of my list of recipes to try! Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe was AMAZING! I was out of heavy cream, so I had to omit the butterscotch topping and just sprinkled the top with walnuts and seasalt. It turned out to be the PERFECT level of sweetness! I will most definitally be making this cake again!!
This is amazing! As always, I look to you for my weekly foodie fix. Crepes are surprisingly easier to make than I thought!
Oh. My. God.
That is all.
As to which route you took? I’m guessing “all of the above.”
That’s okay; not paying attention, I recently cracked an egg right into the compost bowl that was awaiting the shell.
Final suggestion: you add a bit of booze to the butterscotch sauce and serve it as dessert…
So I just finished making this beauty, and I think I’m in love. I made some (dumb) alterations because of what I had available. The main suggestion I’d give to other food adventurers is, don’t swap the banana for another fruit. I mistakenly switched apples(which I had already cooked until soft and spiced) instead of the directed banana. I really should know by now not to fool around with baking recipes, they’re formulas with specific ratios not to be tampered with. The result was delicious but not very structural. I ended up with about 4 (tasty) crepes in the trash. Plus I had to flip the par-cooked crepe from on hot pan, over onto another hot pan, because flipping it with a spatula was impossible. In the end my cake tastes amazing and looks good, but I know the banana would have been 1000x more manageable. Other than my errors this recipe deserves a double gold star. Not too sweet, but super satisfying.
@Santadad – Thanks for the review and the calculation of the WW Points + !!
I made your mushroom crepe cake awhile ago. I think I might have made crepes on time since then. Guess it’s time to break out the pan and make a sweet version!
Just saw over at Amazon that your cookbook can be pre-ordered. Is this true? I have been waiting for an announcement (maybe you made it, but I missed it) for the official pre-order/ordering of your book. My fingers are crossed over here!
Re, replacing the bananas — There’s no banana-textured non-banana fruit that I think would work. You could always make plain crepes and use the same spices, filling and topping. Applesauce could theoretically work, but I don’t think it would impart enough flavor to be worthwhile. Also, it will not thicken the same way overnight so it might make for a thinner batter that’s annoying to cook.
Hi Megan — I wanted to wait to make an official announcement until a) it was up at all stores (Amazon got it up real early, too early; long story!) and b) there was a cover to reveal. We’re putting the finishing touches on it now and I’m going to tell you all about it — plus a ton of other details about the book, as well as a sample recipe — on April 30th. Also: thank you! Thank you so much.
@Nancy – portion control, portion control, portion control … :-)
Loved it. Got this in my email and decided to make it for lunch dessert. I had a BIG piece and was just as I imagined. I did substitute 2 containers of the Chobani brand (honey & nana’s) yogurt in the filling. Also, I make my crepes in my cast iron pan and not one of them stuck. I also made my butterscotch topping and was wonderful
Deb,
This cake looks fabulous, but I’ve actually never liked the flavor of bananas… is there perhaps another fruit that might work in the crepe batter?
Thanks
Deb. This is epic.
Also: I loved hearing you on the Food Seen last week! I adore that podcast and was extremely excited when I saw you were being interviewed!
I never in a million years would’ve thought of making banana-flavored crepes! Now I’m also wondering why I’ve never made chocolate ones either. I truly enjoy making them too, by the way. The first one never gets right (but it never gets thrown away either. *ahem*), but the rest are usually a dream. Once you get your rhythm, it’s almost soothing. I will be making these tout suite!
Is that one of the marimekko plates from crate and barrel? I expected to adore all of them, but got kind of overwhelmed when I saw them up close. This one, though, is lovely.
HI Autumn — No, it’s a random discontinued salad plate from our also discontinued dish set, Calvin Klein Khaki or something like that.
I’ve tried a different variation of this banana crepe cake with a maple syrup topping rather than butterscotch…being from Montreal, Quebec that’s not surprising, as maple syrup is practically a staple here. You need to heat up the maple syrup a little to thicken it up to the right consistency (I prefer using organic maple syrup).It’s a great little twist especially if serving it up at brunch!
I happen to be in the market for a non-stick pan so I read your recommendation with interest. Since I work in book publishing, I’m trying to wean myself from ordering on Amazon so I tried cooking.com and was pleasantly surprised to see that the pan is on sale there for only $35 so–even with shipping–I saved a mint over Amazon and assuaged my conscience to boot. Just thought I’d share!
These look fantastic! Banana crepes are brilliant! I might try making them with flax eggs this weekend…
Lovely is all I can say! This is the dessert to make an impression on company!
Hi Deb. This cake looks good, but you didn’t indicate how long it took you to make. Is it possible to actually make this before guests come for brunch, or is it a night-before endeavor?
Oh. My. God. Going to have to throw a party just so I can make this without risking injury to myself trying to eat the whole thing. YUM!
My god! SOOOO beautiful! Love the idea of a crepe cake. As a parisian, i should have thought of it :)
Yay for crepe cakes! They’re my (and my family’s) favourite. I made one this weekend just gone with rhubarb compote, vanilla cream and crushed amarettis. Looks like I’ll be giving your recipe a try this weekend :)
I can’t wait for the book; I’ve just come back from the London Book Fair and I had to be so restrained not to pester Knopf for details!
I always wonder how you make that first slice come out so perfectly? Perfectly cut, no smears, no mess…
Re, a clean first slice — I promise, pinky swear promise, that when you make this, you will see how cleanly it slices. Crepes are soft and crumb-free. The filling, once chilled a little, holds a shape but is soft. Every slice will look as pretty as the top one.
Kelly — I don’t give time estimates because I cook very slowly, and don’t like to feel rushed. I always give things more time than needed. It might be able to be fully made in the morning, but it wouldn’t be a very enjoyable experience. I’d make the crepes the day before, wrap them in the fridge and assemble/fill/top it the next morning. You could also make the whole thing the day before. It keeps.
Deb, how do you keep your spatula from scratching the nonstick surface of your pan? I have a fish spatula that i can use for the two spatula method, but I am scared to use metal on my non-sticks…
Hi Kelly — I just try to be careful. I don’t press hard, I don’t scrape (neither will be necessary because it’s not really stuck to the pan, since it’s nonstick) and there’s not a mark on mine after several years. I’ve never been able to stand those plastic or silicon-tipped tools; they feel too clumsy. Hope that helps.
As soon as I saw this I knew I had found my birthday cake. So I’ve set aside this saturday to drink sangria and make this cake all day. I’m guessing that everyone will want a piece so I’m going to try doubling it’s size in height and maybe in circumference too….and if there’s time I’m going to try adding in caramelized banana slices. Thank you for this recipe, like other people here I’ve wanted to make a crepe cake since I saw that monstrous Martha Stewart hazelnut confection…but with all things Martha Stewart it seems daunting and just a little pretentious, this one looks like manageable perfection.
now I know what i’ll be doing on Sunday night…
Mmmm, this looks sooooo good!!
I adore a good crepe cake! If you happen to have leftovers, you know where to send them!
okay…that looks insane. I think I need that in my belly, like now!
These are beautiful! Ooh I’d love to make these.
FAO Kelly (208) Oxo Good Grips do a nylon spatula that’s safe for non-stick. It’s nice and thin and strong which makes it great for flipping crepes etc. Don’t worry, I don’t work for them – I just love mine.
http://www.oxo.com/p-610-large-nylon-flexible-turner.aspx
Made this yesterday for a dinner party and filled the crepe layers with — wait for it — NUTELLA. (Thinned the Nutella with a little Greek yogurt for tartness, and for spreadability.)
Banana crepes + Nutella + butterscotch. The heavens parted.
Once again, Deb makes me look like a genius.
Deb, I made this last night and my boyfriend did the actual crepe-cooking. He found it was simpler to flip the crepes using his fingertips (with a bowl of ice water to keep them cool) than to use a utensil. No fingerprints were singed in the making of this cake. Something to consider for those intimidated by complicated flipping procedures!
Deb,
I made this last night for my husband’s birthday and was absolutely blown away! What a testament to your mastery the kitchen. It’s a perfect combination of flavor, design and ease.
Amy
I was so excited to make this for my boys. Made it for breakfast Friday morning. pretty good. I used nonfat greek yoghurt, and its possible it made the filling too tangy for the boys. I think I’d use plain crepes last time. Also used a gluten-free flour mix (allergies) and though I didn’t make two versions, I don’t think ANYONE would know it was GF.
I made these for supper tonight. My little nonstick pan has finally lost its nonstickiness, and I was left with a vat of crepe batter, so I ladled it into my WAFFLE IRON. Of course they didn’t rise, but made nice, flat, waffled ‘crepes’ – and the day was saved. Added a bit more sugar to the filling. Husband is convinced that I’m a cooking genius. Thank you!
I can really relate to your last speckled banana rant.. happens regularly at our house. Seems even the most obsessive home bakers won’t deny our sweet munchkins the last ripe banana. Such delightful writing Deb. And as for your pics & styling, I can really feel the love. Bring on your recipe book! x
Look at this! Wow! Just beautiful. I wish I had the patience to make something like this.
I made this cake today, and it was wonderful. However, it’s not safe to make unless you have at least 10 people helping you eat it :). I added just a touch of nutella to the filling, but cut back a bit on the sugar too. And I melted some nutella over the top instead of making butterscotch. It was all so yummy! And now the leftovers are sitting in the fridge, calling my name…
I just made this for a brunch with friends. I used maple sugar in place of the white and brown sugar. It’s delicious!
Disaster! Well, it tastes good, but don’t make the same mistakes I did…
I used a 0% greek yogurt, against my better judgement, but it was all I could find. It turned waay too liquidy and made the filling run everywhere. This may have also happened because I used a food processor??
Then the topping made the whole thing fall over of course because it’s much heavier. We’ll eat it, and I’m sure it will taste fine, but it won’t be pretty.
Good thing it was a trial run.
Just made for a Sunday morning lazy family brunch and it was fabulous! Loved by kids and adults alike. :)
Oh, and someone asked for a banana substitute. How about pumpkin puree? That’s the only thing I can thing of that might be of use and still be in keeping with the flavor profile.
JC — I agree, pumpkin could be really fun. Thanks for giving me a new idea for this October! ;)
Hi Deb! Just made these for my family, though I didn’t have the energy to do the butterscotch topping. Could NOT believe how delicious the crepes are–wonderful, true banana-bread flavor and how gorgeous the cake looks when filled and sliced. I was also pleasantly surprised at how sturdy the crepes were–no issues with tearing or disintegrating, and filling / stacking the layers was incredibly fast. Thanks for sharing such a fun recipe. I have a 2.5 year old girl and I always draw inspiration from you b/c if you can muster up the energy to cook awesome things while caring for a toddler, then so can I! :)
This might be just the thing for a birthday party I’m in charge of dessert for on Saturday. The problem is I hardly have any time on Saturday to actually make anything. Which parts of this would be best to do in advance so I can assemble it quickly before the party? Or would it be better to make the whole thing a day or two ahead? If I made the topping the day before assembling the cake, would it get too hard in the fridge? What would be the best way to soften it up without a microwave?
Hi Deb,
Do you think this could be frozen?
Hi, I stumbled upon a website that had this recipe amongst others and I am really happy! this cake looks soooo good!
great recipe and great idea.
Angela
Brilliant. Just brilliant. This is definitely going on my ‘to make’ list!
I made this over the weekend and it worked great! I got 9 crepes out of it (because this was my first time ever making crepes and the first 2 were flops, albeit delicious ones). I wouldn’t change a thing about the crepe recipe. For the filling, I had two extra bananas lying around, so I food-processed one of them with the yogurt (then followed the rest of the recipe steps for the filling) to add a slight banana flavor in the filling. Then I sliced my second banana as thin as I could manage, and added a banana layer to every third crepe layer, with the butterscotch sauce on top. Yum!
Made this yesterday and between two of us, almost half of it is already gone. SO delicious! The crepes were so good I could have eaten them completely on their own, but once it was all made into the cake…it was OFF THE HOOK.
I think this cake would also go really well with a coffee/espresso component. Maybe espresso whipped cream on some of the layers or something? Idunno, I just really love banana with coffee!
I made these crepes this weekend. They were great! I didn’t stack them into a cake. Just spread the filling on half of each crepe and folded into quarters. I drizzled the butterscotch and sprinkled them with walnuts. I’m going to try nutella and sliced banana in the next batch. Yum!
I made this crepe cake for my friend’s b-day and it was a huge hit. I made the crepes smaller than pictured here so it really sloped down on all sides from the middle but it was still very good and I liked that the cake stood higher, with more layers. I would suggest adding a bit more banana to the crepe mix so that the flavor is stronger there.
omg incredible looking– a vertical crepe-cake?! can’t wait to try this…
Wow!! I love it!!
This was so easy to make, everyone enjoyed it, and it looked so different and ‘natural’. First time making that sort of sauce and it tasted like a dream!
Exactly my idea of heavenly food. Yummy!
This cake reminds me of another layered cake, that your M-I-L probably knows all about: it consists of a pack of 9″ (I think) wafer discs (sold at Russian grocery stores, the wafers have a tiny waffle-grain texture to them, if that helps). You spread these discs with cooked condensed milk (there is an element of danger, as you allegedy cook the condensed milk very carefully in the unopened can, so says my mother) and finely chopped walnuts. The result is a homey, satisfying 3-ingredient dessert. It’s so, so good.
This cake looks amazing. No one at my house likes banana-flavored baked goods as much as me. That means I get to have a whole cake to myself. And that’s totally okay.
I always have way too many bananas lounging around. Will def give this a try. Thanks!
I love the idea of a crepe cake, with banana, even better. I’ll give it a try this week-end.
I make crepes regularly and keep them in the freezer for quick breakfasts. I’m sure my son is the only second grader who routinely eats crepes with nutella before heading to school.
I’ve yet to try my hand at a crepe cake, however, and this looks amazing! And adding banana to the crepe batter? NEVER would have come up with that. THANKS!!!
I made this for my friends’ birthday with much success. I prepared the crepes and filling a day in advance and assembled/topped it the day of which worked out really well. It takes a lot of time to make 12 crepes so I’m glad I thought to do it in advance. The cake was beautiful and delicious. The banana really came through which made me start thinking about additives to the filling. I think adding some strawberries or coconut would be phenomenal. For something so simple to make, it comes out looking like a challenge to produce. So much so, that one of my guests called it, “a triumph!”.
Thanks for the recipe!
I made this, but instead of whipped cream i used banana bread batter (the cooks illustrated ultimate banana bread recipe, with a bit less flour than called for) between the layers and then baked it in the oven like banana bread. It was amazing. I didnt put any bananas in the crepes themselves.
Being from Chile where everything is manjar (dulce de leche) my husband requested this cake but filled with manjar….I’ll give it a try and let you know. Thank you! Oooooooh, I’d like it even better with nutella, but alas, his cravings come first!
Made this last night and LOVED it! Feels like it’s one of those recipes that you can change up a little (different nuts, thinly sliced fruit, different yogurt flavors, etc.) and it will still be super yummy. Easy to make, yet something you can impress people with! :)
I was so obsessed about this. For days. So today I made it. Everything went smoothly, the crepes were incredibly easy to make (YAY! I’m no longer afraid!) – I admit, I did start flipping them by hand.
BUT – Deb, my stacking was really wobbly. Maybe 1/4 c filling was too much? Maybe I pushed it too far to the sides? It’s cooling in the fridge now, so I’ll have to report back.
Okay – off to make butterscotch now.
Hi Jillian — What size were your crepes? If a tad smaller, it could definitely be too much.
I can’t believe you talked me into making this cake. You and my new non-stick pans (Swiss Diamond or something like that – I decided to never buy a new non-stick pan again and just bought the most expensive ones at the store – I would have paid double for these things – they completely rule).
Never made crepes before and they all came out beautifully – as did the cake. I even skipped the 1-2 hours in the fridge and it did not seem to matter? Does that really matter?
Also – I’ve never pre-ordered anything before and I just pre-ordered your book. Can’t wait.
Goodness gracious that cake looks amazing! perfect excuse to break out our crepe stone :)
I have to admit I was a bit relieved to read your note that the next recipe you posted would be easier. When I first saw the picture of this cake I almost rolled my eyes – fancy stuff, I didn’t realize what i was and I couldn’t help but think who could make this……well guess what? Me. It was fun and fabulous.
I’ve not commented on your site before but I thought I should thank you for all the cooking inspiration I’ve gotten from your recipes. I’m excited for your cookbook! Congratulations!!
Love this! Reminds me of a Hungarian cake! So yummy!
I think it’ll also turn nice with some apricots or pears…
I made this and it was delicious!
Unfortunately I am a novice crepe-maker and only 7 of my crepes turned out (as opposed to the 11-12 yield). But I used non-stick spray and they didn’t stick to the pan at all. They were beautiful! I also made a filling with whipped cream, a little bit of cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla because that’s all I had on hand. It turned out great!
Thanks for the recipe! Maybe I’ll try making it again, but properly next time.
Perhaps I missed it in my skimming, but how many layers of crepes should be used? I have a birthday coming up, and this would be quite amazing!
My version is in the fridge, chilling. This was my first never attempt at crepes, and only the first one was ugly. My dad and I made the ultimate sacrifice and ate that one. “Had” to use some homemade drained yogurt / Lebanese lebne, so it was much thicker than Greek yogurt. I compensated by adding a bit of heavy cream to the filling. I didn’t realize until I was filling the cake and saw some strange flecks in the filling that my mom had gotten some zatar in the lebne. Whoops. Can’t wait to try it.
Very Nicely Done.
I made these yesterday – WOW! Crazy good combination! Each element of the recipe was yummy on it’s own, but together made something like I’ve never tasted before!
You were right, the the dog got the first crepe. I managed to flip the others without much difficulty. Assembly was easier than I thought. There’s a nearly ripe banana on my table as I type this – I’m making it again this weekend.
Thank you for your great article on Crepe. I really appreciate your work on that one. Cheers, Jacueline.
What do you think about making this amazing crepe cake a day before it is supposed to be eaten?
I made this recipe yesterday, and it was a hit! I substituted pumpkin puree in for the banana and everyone loved the flavour. Thanks for the idea JC!
I made this for mother’s day for my crepe-loving mom! She absolutely loved it! I health-ed it up a bit using whole wheat flour and fat free everything except for butterscotch topping. Next time, I think I’d make the crepes a bit thinner- they were a little too coarse with the whole wheat flour, and I’d make an additional batch of the topping for dipping (for sweet lovers, ie me). Thank you so much for the recipe! I love your blog- check it and cook from it constantly!
Pretty cake!
I found the filling plainly sweet and therefore a good foundation for adding other flavors. To amp up the banana taste, I added a 1/4 cup of pureed banana to it. If you want to combine flavors, I’m pretty sure you could add a 1/4 cup of a pureed complementary fruit.
Thanks for calling out a time for cooking each side of the crepe. I’ve made crepes with other recipes that required less time on each side, so am glad you said 2-3 minutes for the first side, and 30 seconds for the second.
I just made the banana crepes and they were good. Of course, I read after I started making them that the batter needed to be chilled… I was making them on Sunday morning and luckily Monday was Memorial Day so I could make them for my husband and me the next day. It was my first time grating nutmeg. Is chilling them overnight at all related to how when you chill cookie dough for a day or two the cookies taste better?
Deb-this sounds amazing. My boyfriend basically only desserts if they involve bananas, so I am always looking for something new and different, as well as delicious. THANK YOU :)
*eats. sheesh. I got so excited I omitted words.
I’m in the middle of making this, and so far I have a few notes:
1. I 1.5 x the recipe, and I still had just enough for 12 crepes. I don’t know if I made my crepes thicker or not – hard to tell from the picture.
2. I also 1.5x the filling, and had just enough to go between 12 crepes.
All the ingredients taste great in their parts. I’m making this for a graduation party; can’t wait to taste everything together later today.
Just made this for a second time with a change worth mentioning. The first time around we made it as pictured as a cake for a lazy family breakfast. It was delicious, but the kids basically butchered their slices as they ate. It wasn’t pretty. This morning I added a spoonful of cream to the center of each crepe, folded as a parcel and topped with a heavy zig zag of butterscotch sauce. This familiar presentation made it a lot easier for the kids to dig into, and just as delicious for Mom & Dad.
I made this for Father’s Day breakfast and it was out of this world! I followed the recipe exactly and had no problems. It was easier to make than I expected but the finished result was so fancy. I definitely think making this the night before was better as it was easier to slice and had a more pronounced banana flavor the next day.
I just made this last night. I love making crepes so the crepe part was easy for me. All in all a pretty simple recipe. It tasted awesome. I’ll definitely make it again! I just need to remember to make more of the walnut butterscotch.
a friend requested i make this cake for her birthday party in 2 weeks – i just made a test run of the crepes this morning. i’ve never tried making crepes before, and didn’t have what i thought was a suitable pan, so i bought the blue steel crepe pan from amazon, that Deb mentioned in one of the other comments (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019N4ZHQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=smitten-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0019N4ZHQ). the batter didn’t thicken up much at all in the fridge overnight, but after i burned the first crepe, the other 11 came out beautiful and delicious! the pan definitely helped.
I recently made this and it was a huge hit with all of my family and friends who tried it! I skipped the butterscotch topping this time because I wanted to taste the banana flavor as much as possible, but I may try it next time. With all of the wonderful nutmeg and other spices, I think this would taste excellent with pumpkin replacing the banana! A must try in the fall.
This is a great alternative to a more traditional sponge cake. It is not the most attractive cake when whole, but once sliced looks fantastic. I loved the banana crepes and will definitely be making them again for brunch. All the adults in our house loved this however it didn’t go down so well with teens, not that I was bothered as it meant more for me!
My friend and I are working in Guatemala for the summer, where we are oven-less, unable to find many ingredients, and definitely not in possession of a crepe pan let alone a non-stick pan. Nevertheless, we were in serious need of a baking adventure. Brown sugar and Greek yogurt don’t exist here, so we used white sugar for the crepes and normal yogurt for the filling (which we then had to thicken by adding a bit of gelatin, bringing it just to the boiling point, and sticking in the fridge). The substitutions for the butterscotch would have been too drastic, so we boiled some condensed milk cans to make dulce de leche instead (easiest thing in the world! Google, Google, Google this!). It was exactly the adventure we had been searching for; we prepared this cake for two days before digging in on day three.
About that digging in. This thing is unbelievably good. Like, I’m surprised there is any left in the fridge… as I write this, I’m thinking I may need to go get another slice. The perfect hint of banana, the perfect not-too-sweet level of sweetness, and, to my shock, the perfect layered slice that you promised over and over again. All we can say is: muchas gracias. (From our hearts, not from our waistbands.)
I’m going to stick to the recipe when I make it this weekend, but next time I may replace the butterscotch with molten Nutella, a la gay Paree.
How many does this serve?
Thx-
Beki
Deb,
You are a star: how do you make your cake look so evenly filled?! I promised to make this for a friend for his birthday and my stacked cake is DOMED. wah wah. But in the frequent taste tests throughout, all I could say was, “good God, how is this so GOOD?!”
Thanks for a fabulous recipe, and I am looking forward to my copy of your cookbook – live in Taiwan, so it takes a holidaying family member to get it to me!
have a good weekend and thanksgiving!
– yijang
I made this for a brunch today, wonderful. Crepe cakes are my new go-to for impressiveness. And it let me use my offset spatula that I’ve owned for 3 years yet never used. Thank you!
Hi Deb!
I hope that the book tour, part II is going well and that you are having a blast!!!
I know you might not have the time to answer to comments, but I’ll take my chance :)
I would like to use a butterscotch sauce as filling for a three-layer cake (yes, I can no longer imagine birthdays without a layer cake, and it’s all your fault! And we all thank you for that :) ). I was wondering if I should use this one or your “ridiculously easy” one… This one seems thicker (or it looks that way in the photos because it firmed up once cold), so it may be a “sturdier” filling (i.e. a filling that won’t ooze out of the cake, such a disaster… :p) but, looking at the ingredients’ lists it has a) less sugar (not necessarily a bad thing) b) less butter (wouldn’t this make for a runnier sauce? I’m confused…)
Any thoughts would be more than welcome!!!
Thanks in advance!
Eliza
(Trying to catch up on comments due to in-flight wireless from SLC-NYC right now, thanks Delta!)
Hi dancing gal — I think it would work but it’s not very firm at room temperature. I’m not sure of the temperature off-hand, but if you cook it closer to a caramel candy stage, the kind you can pick up and wrap, it might work better.
Thanks so much for answering so quickly! You’re always so kind! I’ll try it and I’ll let you know!
Eliza
My daughter is getting married in July in our back yard. She would LOVE a crepe wedding cake. See photos here: http://thecakeblog.com/2011/08/300-layer-french-crepe-cake.html My husband, while not the primary cook, has always been the crepe maker in the family. I’m the decorator. I’m hoping we can do this! Wouldn’t it be great to say “and now the wedding cake, made by the bride’s parents, will be served”? Ha! Well, I’ve been searching and I think your instructions have inspired me. The filling sounds easy and yummy. I’m going to try this! So – have you ever tried freezing the crepes? I’d like to make them as far ahead as possible. Have you tried making without the banana? While it sounds delish, my daughter is really not a fan of banana. Hope I still fit into my dress after all the sample cakes we may need to try! Thanks.
Karen — Try starting from this recipe instead. I have not frozen crepes before, but given the significance of the occasion and the amount of lead time you have, I definitely think it would be worth making a mini-batch of plain crepes and freezing them for a week or so to see how they taste/feel/look when the defrost.
Just finished making this for a dinner party. It is an investment of time and cleanup, but looks amazing! Can’t wait to eat it! Here’s how mine turned out… http://instagram.com/p/aCKBoDrgKa/
I just made the banana bread crepes alone for Father’s Day with your strawberry coulis from that cream cheese pound cake. They came out great, and you are beyond right about the first crepe. I’ve been making my usual recipe so long that the first crepe is usually good enough to eat, but the first one here didn’t even look like the other ones. Delicious, yummy, and just a hint of banana.
Hi Deb! I accidentally messed up when cooking a few of the crepes and forgot to make less of the cream cheese yogurt filling. Any suggestions as to what I can do with the extra filling? Thank you!
Elle — On a muffin, scone, pancake… :)
Hi Deb, LOVE this recipe. My neice is turning one and her two favorite foods are banana and crepes…. so we want to make her a 1 year old friendly version of this cake for her first bday! (ie. less sugar etc). Do you think the filling would be too soggy if it was just greek yoghurt with a little bit of creme cheese and some honey perhaps instead of sugar? Love your idea of layering in banana slices too, I will def try that. If you have any other ideas for a baby friendly topping etc please let me know! Obsessed with your site, thanks for all the incredible inspiration! x
Katrina — I think honey will be fine instead of sugar. I guess to me this is a baby-friendly dish for a treat? It’s not terribly sweet until you add the topping, and even then, not over-the-top.
This looks amazing!!! So I want to try making a crepe cake for the first time. I was going to make the hazelnut layer cake from your cookbook, but wanted to ask a question! I’m being slightly crazy and making it for a dinner Friday night, but I can’t stay home all day and make it that day! Could I assemble it all on Thursday night and leave it in the fridge? Will the pastry cream be ok overnight without making things soggy (say if I assemble the pastry cream two days in advance)? Should I wait on the ganache until the day of? Thanks so much!
Danielle — The cake should keep just fine in the fridge, for even two days.
I’ve made the crepes before as directed and they were great! I have not made the cake, but that looks good, too.
Today, for a fall variation, I made them with roasted butternut squash puree instead of banana puree. I also used half white whole wheat flour, half unbleached all-purpose flour, and I added 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger to the spices to give it a pumpkin-pie flavor. The crepes were great! They were a nice light orange color and had plenty of flavor and sweetness from the squash. I served them simply with some sorghum-sweetened whipped cream. Yum!
Now I’m thinking that squash crepe cake would be a nice Thanksgiving-weekend brunch item with some pecan-maple-bourbon sauce drizzled over top, bringing together both pumpkin pie and pecan pie flavors…!
Is there an alternate topping recipe you can think of off of the top of your head that could replace the butterscotch and would pair nicely with the banana flavor of the crepes? Never been a huge fan of butterscotch so was wondering if you maybe had any suggestions. Thanks!
Caroline — You can just skip it or use a regular caramel sauce. Or maybe a ganache.
When I read this recipe, I was doubtful that the crepe cake was going to be easy. But, guess what? Deb was not exaggerating when she said crepes are easy. Because I was making this for kids for breakfast, I decided not to do the topping. To intensify the banana flavor (my kids love bananas), I cut down the sugar in the filling to 1/4 cup and added a carmalized banana (I cut the banana into 1 inch pieces and cooked it for 5 minutes in 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp light brown sugar; I then puréed it in the cuisinart before adding it to the filling.). Next time (yes, there will be a next time), I’ll probably cut the sugar in the filling to 1/6 of a cup and add the camalized banana again.
Amazing flavor. My batter sat overnight, probably closer to 18 hours thanks to a busy weekend. I had a really hard time flipping them even with two spatulas because they’d tear. However, they were delicious. I am going to slice up another banana and layer it and some sweetened whipped cream into the crepes tonight.
Has anyone tried this filling instead of frosting for a layered (carrot) cake?
Deb- you mentioned your son ate the last speckled banana and you were days away from ripe ones. Well- I think I have something I can teach you! You can take a yellow Banana to a beautifully black ripen one ready to be used for cooking in 40 minutes in a 300 degree oven. I’ve done it many times and it works great!! So now you can bake with bananas in demand!
They look amazing!!
Deb: Just thought I would let you know I am getting married Memorial Day weekend – a morning wedding with a brunch reception – and in lieu of a “traditional” wedding cake we are serving crepe cakes – your banana bread crepe cake and a mocha hazelnut and a matcha green tea. Everyone is very excited!
Pam — (I just typed “Pam!” because I’m so excited.) That sounds so cool. I love that you’re doing your own thing. I bet everyone will be talking about your cakes for much longer than they do the usual tiered and buttercreamed type.
Help! I made this and the filling made it super wobbly, was oozing out of the sides of the crepes, and doesn’t look nearly as pretty as yours. Should I chill the cream cheese mixture first next time? Tips for stopping the ooze? In the meantime I’m going to double the butterscotch recipe so it can purposefully drop over the edges and hopefully hide my mistakes!
Follow-up: Wedding was perfect, reception was perfect, and the crepe cakes… to die for! Thank you! You were right. Everyone is still talking about them.
Pam
I tried making the filling and it turned more runny than fluffy. Any idea why? Or, rather, what should I watch out for while making the filling? Thanks!
I made this last night for a special Sunday dinner. It turned out fantastic, and for once in my whole cooking career, looked just like the picture!! It was a lot of work, honestly, and I ripped probably half of my crepes, but I pieced them together anyway and had a full 10 layers. The filling is delicious — tangy, sweet, rich — and the banana flavor came through just enough that you could really discern each component. Also, the topping really adheres to the cake and sets after several minutes (still soft, just not runny), which is a huge plus in my book!
Do not fear the crepe cake! It was relatively easy to make. I did it in 3 parts. Make the crepe batter the night before. Make the crepes in the morning and let them cool. Then make the filling and stack those crepes! Other comments: I LOVED the butterscotch walnut topping – it needs the sweetness and texture. I did not taste enough banana. I do not like cream cheese fillings (but I made this for someone that does and loved it) it is similar to an icing for a carrot cake or red velvet cake, but way less sweet, more tangy. It held up really well for 2-3 days and I think it was a success! Definitely would make again – but I would make a custard or mousse filling of some sort instead of the cream cheese. Making crepes comment: I did not use a crepe pan…I used a stainless steel fry pan. I used A LOT of butter since it helped them slide out of the pan, but then I patted the crepes dry of butter with paper towels after. I also did not flip them…I don’t have the utensils or the skills. I coated the pan very thinly with the batter and it cooked all the way through. I let them get a little crispy on the bottom though. I also got 12 layers.
Hi, Deb,
I’m interested in making this cake for a birthday celebration this weekend. I’m not a huge banana fan, but the birthday boy will lose his mind.
To amp up the banana flavor, I’m considering substituting banana extract for the vanilla in the cream cheese filling (or using it in addition to the vanilla?), and also adding the fresh thinly sliced bananas you suggest above. When adding the banana slices, would you put them in every layer or just a few? Thoughts about the banana extract in the filling?
Thanks for your time!
Kellye
I have never used banana extract; if it’s natural, it might be good, if it’s not, I think it could detract. I think you could put bananas between each layer if very thin, although it will of course make the cake much taller, which is fine as it’s not very the way its written.
WOW, Banana Crepe Cake with added butterscotch is blowing my mind right now..Thanks For Sharing Receipe ..
This was wonderful, thank you! It was my first time making crepes, so they came out in all shapes and sizes, so in the end we just ate them individually with the cream cheese filling. It was a wonderful breakfast!
These crepes are the most banana-ey morsels ever! They are darn near perfect, and I’m putting them in my regular breakfast rotation. Oh, the possibilities!
So here’s MY weirdo crepe flipping method. It has the benefit of not being scary AND speeding things up. I use two pans on two burners; one non-stick skillet and one griddle. When it’s time to flip, I flip the whole skillet over the griddle, landing the crepe in the middleish. Then I can start a new crepe in the skillet while the first finishes on the griddle.
I made this cake gluten free (substituting with 1/2 cup oat flour and 1/4 cup cornflour), and it turned out great! Used peanuts instead of the walnuts. This cake is better the day after it’s been made, so the crepes have time to soak up the moisture of the filling. Perfect go-to cake for when you want to make a cake ahead of time or don’t want to turn on the oven. I’ve also made this tiramisu flavoured, which was a winner too.
I love walnuts with bananas, so it never occurred to me to change it, but my brother in law, who is not a fan of cake, loves banana and peanuts, so this could be perfect.
Made this today as a thank you to my neighbour for taking in my mail while I was away.
I changed the filling a bit as I knew the original filling would not be to her taste. Switched whipping cream in for the Greek yoghurt, kept the vanilla essence but added 1 1/2 teaspoons freeze dried banana powder and a cap full of VOK banana liqueur. Also made the buttersctotch topping but left out the walnuts and salt.
It really was rather yummy.
I wanted to ring in the new year with decadence, so this morning I made a double batch of crepes and butterscotch sauce. Knowing my family, some would enjoy the cream cheese and yogurt filling, while others would not, so I made approximately a 3/4 batch. I also whipped cream and added a little brown sugar and nutmeg (I wanted it to have a different flavor profile from the yogurt filling), and I warmed some blueberry jam in addition to banana slices. In the Keweenaw Penninsula of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, there is a delightful place called “The Jam Pot”, run by monks who grow and collect much of what goes into their jams. They are also known for their boozy fruitcakes and other baked goods. We once had a blueberry banana walnut “muffin” from there (the size of my head) that was wonderful, and that flavor profile was not only delicious, but now also brings back wonderful memories. The crepes and fillings/toppings were wonderful. Sometimes my kids use the whipped cream, sometimes the yogurt, and sometimes both. They all delight in making their crepes look beautiful, so it becomes a bit of breakfast + art project, and I cannot think of a better way to start the new year. Thank you for a great recipe!
For a stronger banana flavor, could you beat in a smashed banana to the yogurt filling instead of having sliced bananas?
You probably could but I’m not sure what the texture would be like.
What are your thoughts of adding a banana to the cream cheese filling when mixing all the filling ingredients? Would like to increase the banana flavor a bit since I am not a fan of adding sliced bananas.