Desserts – Dandy Bakes

Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Pancake Day…whatever you call it, whatever your beliefs, I’m sure we can all agree it’s a day to look forward to. As the day approaches (March 5th this year!) I thought I’d try something new for me- a crepe cake!

Here in the UK we tend to make French-style thin, crispy crepes on pancake day. As a child I doused all mine in lemon juice and sugar. The whole process was pretty magical- as soon as my plate was empty another hot, golden pancake would be slid onto it. One year I insisted that we experiment with a savoury bolognese pancake which went quite well. Sometimes we would have smaller, softer, sweeter pancakes (we call these Scotch pancakes).

The big stacks of fluffy pancakes which the Americans ate (with a slab of butter- why??) weren’t really our style. Hopefully one day I’ll travel to the states and get myself a big stack of pancakes (gluten free, of course). Until then, I’ve decided to try my hand at at a crepe cake, or as the French call it, ‘mille crepe’, meaning ‘a thousand crepes’. I’ve seen crepe cakes all over the internet and wanted to give it a go for myself!

This cake features twenty gluten free crepes stacked together with a thin layer of sweetened cheese (ricotta and cream cheese) filling between each crepe, a fresh orange compote, orange slices and toasted almonds. The result is more sophisticated than I’d anticipated, with subtle sweet flavours. I also love the way the layers look once you cut into it.

This dessert is also a surprising amount of work! But so worth it if you want to impress brunch guests, or perhaps for the birthday of a pancake lover. It keeps cold but it’s a bother to move in and out of a tin, so I recommend making it for an occasion. It also slices a bit neater when chilled but you could serve it at room temperature. My advice would also be to serve the compote on the side and just put fresh orange segments and almonds on the top. If you can find amaretti biscuits, crumble them up for a nice crunchy addition.

Orange + amaretto crepe cake

For the crepes:

500g plain flour

4 eggs

1 litre milk

For the filling:

250g ricotta

100g cream cheese

125g icing sugar

Splash of almond liquer (use almond extract for a non-alcoholic alternative)

For the compote:

5 oranges (I used a mixture of blood oranges and regular oranges)

1 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tbsp almond liquer (or tsps almond extract)

For the topping:

One orange

Toasted flaked almonds

Amaretti biscuits

Combine the crepe ingredients to make a smooth batter. It would be best to make the crepe batter in two batches.
Heat a small non-stick frying pan (mine was 20cm across). Once the pan is hot, pour in enough batter to just cover the base of the pan. Let the pancake cook on one side until you see bubbles on the top. Lift up the edge of the pancake to check if it’s ready to flip; it should be golden and crispy. Flip it and cook the other side briefly until it has golden spots. Place the pancake on a plate and leave it to one side.
Repeat the process with the rest of the batter, stacking the pancakes together on a plate (they won’t stick together, don’t worry!). I found that this amount of batter made just over twenty pancakes.
Once your pancakes are ready you can begin on the compote. Segment the oranges into a saucepan. This is a great YouTube video which shows you exactly how to do it.
Add the sugar and liquer to the saucepan and bubble over medium-high heat until the orange segments have softened.
Whisk the filling ingredients together. The mixture will become looser, but don’t fear.
Place your first pancake down on your plate or cake stand. Spread a spoonful of your filling mixture over the pancake. Place another pancake on top and repeat.
Once you’ve placed your final pancake on top, you can decorate with icing sugar, almonds, fresh orange segments, or even crushed amaretti biscuits if you wish. Serve the cake immediately.

Like many British children I turned to steamed sponges for warmth and comfort during the long winter months. I loved the chocolate puddings that my mum would give me at home, rich with sauce and humming with sweetness, but the stodgy syrup and jam sponges at school were just as welcome.

As I was discussing with my parents last night when we tucked into this particular pudding, the flavours and textures of a steamed pudding are what make it so distinctive and moreish. Technically, I use the same recipe for this pudding as I do for my baked sponges, but the steaming gives the sponge a unique, tender bite which distinguishes it from any other cake.

Classic Steamed Pudding with Marmalade + Sultanas

Warm sponges like these call for something sweet and sticky to top them. Traditionally jam or golden syrup is used. I still remember the excitement at school when syrup sponge was on the menu; it’s a total crowd pleaser. I suppose it’s the trifecta of sticky, soft and sweet which appeals to our inner child.

I was inspired to make this recipe when I spotted some marmalade with stem ginger in the supermarket sitting nearby a large bag of plump bronze sultanas. Nigella Lawson has a well-known baked marmalade pudding recipe which is a favourite in our house (we’ve made it many times over) and I suddenly had the idea to make a steamed pudding- something a little more grown up.

In the interests of being grown up this pudding has sultanas in, something which my younger self would baulk at. Feel free to omit them if you feel similarly, but I think they add a nice texture and compliment the bitter orange flavour of the marmalade. Also regarding texture, I think that marmalade with peel looks and tastes better than marmalade without peel, but this is a matter of preference.

Steamed puddings can be served with any number of sauces or sides: cream, custard, ice cream. We have some yoghurt lovers in our house who douse any and all cakes with it. The good thing about steamed puddings, however, is that they do tend to be moist, and can be eaten without accompaniment.

I hope that you give a steamed pudding a go this winter if you’ve never made one before. It’s actually very easy to do, though they take a bit of time to cook, and they don’t require any equipment which isn’t readily available. I got my cooking instructions from St Delia Smith, but this is my own recipe.

Gluten Free Steamed Pudding with Marmalade + Sultanas (serves eight)

Equipment required:

One large steamer

One ceramic pudding bowl (2 pints or 1 and 1/4 litres)

Aluminium foil

String

Ingredients:

170g GF self raising flour

110g light muscovado sugar

170g butter

3 eggs

Two handfuls sultanas

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp marmalade

Prepare your steamer.
Grease the inside of the pudding bowl well. Place the marmalade into the bowl and smooth it so that it covers the base of the bowl in an even layer.
Combine the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth.
Pour the mixture into the pudding bowl and smooth it out.
Cut two pieces of aluminium foil large enough to cover the top of the pudding bowl and place them on top of one another. create a ‘pleat’ or ‘fold’ along the middle of the foil (this allows for expansion). I’ve inserted pictures below this recipe to help.
Place the pleated foil on top of the pudding bowl and tie it to the bowl with string. You can create a loop with the string to make it easier to remove the pudding bowl from the steamer when the pudding is ready.
Place the pudding bowl in the steamer and steam for an hour and a half.
Once the steaming time is over, remove the lid from the steamer and allow to cool for a minute before removing the pudding bowl. Cut the string, remove the foil and flip the pudding onto your serving dish in the same way you would make a sandcastle. Serve immediately.

Category: Desserts

Orange + amaretto crepe cake

Classic steamed pudding with marmalade + sultanas