Pistachio Cream Mille Crêpe Cake 開心果千層薄餅蛋糕

Pistachio is one of my favourite nuts of all. Recently I saw lots of posts about Mille Crepe Cake that sold in stores. Most of them are vanilla, coffee, matcha, chocolate flavours etc. I feel bored about that and it always costs $5-6 per piece (So expensive). I would rather make one myself at home. Choose a special cream filling flavour. I decided to try the Pistachio custard cream and I think it will taste great! 

And of course, nuts are always expensive here in Canada. For this cake the cost of Pistachio is already ~$10. I bought raw Shelled Pistachio and I roasted them at home. I add water and grind the roasted pistachio to make a paste for cream filling. And the aroma of roasted pistachio stayed in my house for the whole day! 

For the 22 layers of crepes, it took my around 45mins to finish making them by using Salton Crepe Maker. And it took about half a day to finish this cake including chilling time and so. My friends love it very much and my husband is urging me to make it again. :P

Recipe adapted from: lovecommacake.com

For the crêpes: (make around 20-23 6" crepes)
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/3 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped +30g butter

butter for the skillet

For the pistachio pastry cream:
3 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons pistachio paste (I use about 1/2 cup of roasted pistachio + water)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 milk
1 cup of cream, whipped to soft peaks

1. Make the batter: In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together eggs, and milk. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the milk mixture. Gently whisk the center of the milk mixture, grabbing the flour around the edges, little by little, until it is all combined. Go slowly to avoid lumps. Whisk in vanilla seeds. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

2. Make the pistachio pastry cream: In a large, heavy pot, whisk together egg yolks, pistachio paste, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Slowly whisk in milk to combine. Set the pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick. You should be able to draw a line through the custard on the back of your spoon and have it hold. Do not let the mixture boil. Transfer pastry cream to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Cool completely.

3. Make the crêpes: Heat a little butter in a 10-inch nonstick pan over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup crêpe batter to the center and quickly swirl the pan to spread the batter to an even thickness. Cook until very lightly golden and set on one side, about 30 seconds. Using an offset spatula, pick up the edge of the crêpe and flip it. The best way to do this is with your fingers. It's hot but if you work fast you won't burn yourself. Cook until light golden brown on the other side, another 30 seconds. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue with the rest of the batter. You should have about 15. You can stack the crêpes once they're cool but spread them out until then.

This is my Salton Crepe Maker, it saved me lots of time ti make 22 crepes. It can maintain the consistency of the thickness of every crepes. 

4. Fold whipped cream into chilled pastry cream. Lay one crêpe on a cake platter or plate. Spread 1/4 cup pistachio cream on crêpe and then top with another. Keep going until you run out both. Make sure to finish with a pretty one! Wrap it up and chill it for at least 4 hours.

                                                

                                          Roast Raw Shelled Pistachio. Roasted it at 375F for 10-15 minutes