Crepe Cake With Espresso Chocolate Glaze

Not a cake but a large stack of crepes, this dessert is delicious but not overly sweet. The crepes are mildly chocolate-flavored, but the majority of the flavor comes from the glaze.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• Crepes

• 3  cups all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1⁄4 cup  melted butter or 1⁄4 cup  vegetable oil
• 1⁄3 cup cocoa powder
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla
• 4  cups milk
• 4  eggs

• Glaze

• 3  ounces  unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1⁄2 cup  cocoa, sifted
• 1 1⁄4 cups sugar
• 1  cup hot water
• 3  teaspoons  espresso powder
• 1  dash salt

• Additional

• 1⁄2 cup butter
• 1⁄2 cup powdered sugar (approximate)
•  cooking spray

Directions

1. Combine all crepe ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Allow batter to rest in the refrigerator at least half an hour.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve espresso powder in water. (If you don't dissolve the espresso powder, the glaze will be grainy).
4. In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate over medium-low heat.
5. Add remaining ingredients and whisk thoroughly until smooth.
6. Heat until just boiling, then remove from heat and scrape glaze into a bowl. Refrigerate until batter has finished resting.
7. Bring an 8" non-stick pan to medium heat (allow about 3 minutes for heat-up time).
8. Spray pan with cooking spray. Pour in a few tablespoons of batter and quickly tilt the pan so that the batter covers the bottom of the pan in a very thin layer.
9. Cook crepe until edges barely start to peel away from pan.
10. Gently slide a long metal offset spatula under the crepe and flip it over.
11. Cook crepe just another minute and slide onto a plate.
12. Spread crepe with a thin layer of glaze.
13. Cook another crepe, stack on top of the first, and spread with a bit of butter.
14. Cook another crepe, add to the stack, and sprinkle with powdered sugar using a sifter or strainer.
15. Repeat this sequence until batter runs out, leaving top crepe bare.
16. Spread remaining glaze over top crepe and allow it to drip down the sides.
17. Slice with a sharp knife and serve. The cake will keep in the refrigerator for at least a day.