Layers of paper-thin French crêpes, bananas, diplomat cream, and a crunchy caramel top come together to make the perfect vegan banana crème brûlée mille crêpe cake.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Prep Time 1hour
Cook Time 20minutes
Total Time 1hour20minutes
Servings 9inch mille crepe cake
Ingredients
French crêpes
540gunbleached all-purpose flour(4 ½ cups)
150gwhite granulated sugar(¾ cup)
¼teaspoonfine sea salt
1750gplant-based milk(7 cups)
2teaspoonvanilla extract(8g)
Oil spray
Diplomat cream
100gwhite granulated sugar(½ cup)
60gcornstarch(½ cup)
500gplant-based milk(2 cups)
2teaspoonvanilla bean paste
60g(¼ cup) vegan margarine
500gvegan whipping cream*, like Ambiante by Puratos (2 cups)
Garnish
5medium bananas, for layers
2medium bananas, for garnish
50gwhite granulated sugar, for the bruléed top (¼ cup)
Instructions
French crêpes
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Make a well with the dry ingredients and place the milk and vanilla in the center. Slowly whisk in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to dislodge any dry ingredients and then strain through a medium sieve to remove any lumps in the batter.
Over medium-high heat, preheat a 9-inch non-stick skillet. Lightly oil the skillet and whip off any excess fat. Using a large container with a spout, pour approximately ⅓ cup of batter (adjust according to your skillet) into the preheated skillet. Immediately swirl the pan to coat the bottom of the skillet evenly with the batter and pour out any excess batter if needed.
Cook each crèpes for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the crepe looks set all over and the edges start to curl up and release from the pan. Flip the crepe and cook for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute and then set it aside to cool. Continue cooking the crepes until you have no more batter. If the crêpes start to stick, re-oil your pan. Let the crepe cool completely while you make the filling.
Diplomat Cream
In a small saucepan, dry whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Slowly whisk in the milk and vanilla into the sugar mixture. Bring the cream to a full boil over medium heat while whisking constantly to prevent sticking.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the margarine.Transfer the cream into a medium-sized bowl, place a saran wrap directly in contact with the surface of the cream and refrigerate until completely cold.
Whip the vegan whipping cream by hand or with an electric mixer on medium speed until you reach medium to firm peaks.
Once the pastry cream is cold, mix it with a whisk or sturdy silicone spatula until it becomes creamy again. Fold in the whipped cream in three additions into the pastry cream using a silicone spatula.
Assembly
Select the 15 to18 best looking and most even crepes and trim off any too crispy edges as needed. Thinly slice the 5 bananas to ⅛ inch thickness (2 to 4 millimeters).
Stick a crèpe to a large plate or cake board using a bit of cream.Put some diploma cream in the middle of the crepe and spread evenly to a ⅛ inch (3 millimeters) thickness, leaving the outside edge without cream. I use a heaped large ice cream scoop or between ¼ cup and ⅓ cup of cream for each layer. I suggest using a long metallic offset and a cake turntable for leveling each layer.
Place a crèpe on top of the cream and repeat the process of stacking crèpes and spreading cream. Every third layer of cream, gently press in the thinly sliced bananas onto the cream. Repeat the layering process until there are no more crèpes.
Garnish
Right before serving the cake, evenly spread half the sugar on top of the mille-crèpe. Using a blow torch in sweeping motions, burn the sugar until it starts to melt and turn a light yellow. Spread the rest of the sugar on top of the first layer and repeat the process, this time torching the sugar until you get a nice and deep amber.
Thinly slice the 2 bananas, press lightly on top of the banana with the palm of a hand using a sliding motion to fan the slices. Pick up the fanned bananas with a small offset spatula, place on top of the cake, and char the edges of the bananas with a kitchen torch. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Whipping cream: If your whipping cream is unsweetened, add 65 g (½ cup) powdered sugar halfway through the whipping of the cream.