every year 30,000 victorians are diagnosed with cancer, and each year 11,000 will unfortunately die from cancer. started in 1937, the cancer council victoria raises much-needed funds, focusing on innovative prevention, support and research programs. one of the cancer council’s largest fundraising events each year is australia’s biggest morning tea, and this year my office joined in and encouraged everyone to bake something to contribute, with staff then making a gold coin donation for each slice or item they wanted to try. it was a wonderful morning, and one close to my heart – a very close friend of mine passed away last year from cancer, and another just recently reached the milestone of 5-years in remission from breast cancer.

spurred by my love of crepes and inspired by mille + b’s irresistible cakes, i decided to bake this delicious orange cremé crepe cake and thought i’d share my recipe which was my own adaptation of these two recipes i found on pinterest: pineappleandcoconut and whatscookingamerica.

to make crepes:
i recommend doubling or tripling the recipe so that you get a good height on the cake, the below quantities made approx 12-14 crepes

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups milk
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons granulated sugar
• pinch salt

1. in a small pan melt the butter until lightly browned, remove from heat and set aside
2. in a separate small pan warm the milk until steaming, remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly
3. in a large bowl using your electric mixer at a low speed mix together the eggs, flour, sugar and salt
4. slowly add in the warm milk and browned butter
5. pour the batter into a sealed container to refrigerate for several hours or overnight
then
6. to cook crepes: using a crepe pan over medium-low heat, evenly distribute approximately 1/4 cup crepe batter, swirl to cover the surface of the pan (depending on your type of pan, you may wish to lightly oil)
7. cook for approximately 1 minute or until the bottom of the crepe becomes lightly browned (the crepe edges will lift away from the pan, the crepe should be very thin + will look slightly translucent)
8. gently and carefully turn the crepe over (using egg-lifter and/or fingers) and continue cooking for a few minutes longer
9. remove the cooked crepe onto baking sheet (do not stack the crepes on top of each other)

to make filling:
(again double or triple to match your quantity of crepes)

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon plain flour
• 2 tablespoons castor sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn flour (or custard powder)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon hot water
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 cup double cream or whipped thickened cream

1. in a small bowl add egg, flour, sugar and cornstarch and beat until smooth
2. in a saucepan over low heat bring milk almost to a boil (simmer)
3. immediately remove from heat and slowly whisk the milk into the egg mixture
4. return all ingredients to the saucepan, constantly stirring for about 3-5 minutes until thickened and just comes to a boil
5. remove from the heat
6. add vanilla extract, orange juice and hot water and stir until dissolved into the mixture.
7. set aside to cool until firm
8. when the pastry crème has cooled, fold in the whipped cream
9. refrigerate mixture until thick (best if refrigerated overnight)

to make sauce:

• 100g butter
• ½ cup castor sugar
• ½ cup orange juice
• generous dash of cointreau/triple sec
• zest of 1 orange
• slices of fresh orange

1. melt butter, sugar and orange juice in a pot until the sugar is dissolved, take off the heat
2. once cooled stir in the cointreau and orange zest
3. place in a bowl or container with the slices of fresh orange resting in the liquid overnight

to assemble crepe cake:

1. place one cooled crepe on a large cake plate
2. with a small spatula or back of a dessert spoon, cover the crepe with a thin layer of the filling (approx 1/4 cup)
3. layer another crepe on top and repeat to layer filling until you’ve used up all the crepes (25-30 layers are probably ideal)
4. don’t put filling on top of the top crepe
5. refrigerate the prepared cake for a minimum of 2 hours and then allow to stand at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes before serving
6. warm up the orange sauce and dribble over the top of the cake
7. arrange orange slices on top and then dust with icing sugar (the cake topper was just something i made to pretty up the presentation)

please feel free to ask any questions and happy baking everyone – would love to see your photos if you attempt this one!

note: this was not a sponsored post… just a cause close to my heart.