A showstopping French gateau of roughly twenty whisper-thin chocolate crêpes stacked with billows of silky chocolate diplomat cream and crowned with a glossy ganache glaze. It is a labour of love best made over two days, but the result is pure, melt-in-the-mouth indulgence.
Cook ModeMake the crêpe batter: Blend the milk, eggs, sugar, flour, cocoa, melted butter, vanilla and salt until completely smooth, then strain to catch any lumps.
Rest the batter in the fridge for 30 minutes so the flour hydrates and the bubbles settle.
Cook the crêpes: Lightly butter a 20cm pan over medium heat. Pour in about 3 tbsp batter and swirl thin, cook 45-60 seconds, flip, then cook another 15-20 seconds. Cool flat and repeat to make roughly 18-20 crêpes.
Start the chocolate pastry cream: Warm the milk in a saucepan until steaming. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until pale.
Temper and cook: Slowly whisk the hot milk into the yolk mixture, return everything to the pan, and cook over medium heat, whisking nonstop for 2-3 minutes until thick and bubbling.
Finish the cream: Off the heat, stir in the dark chocolate, butter, vanilla and a pinch of salt until smooth. Strain, press cling film onto the surface, and chill until cold, about 2 hours.
Make the diplomat cream: Whip the cold cream with the icing sugar to soft peaks. Loosen the chilled pastry cream with a whisk, then gently fold in the whipped cream to make a light filling.
Assemble: Lay down a crêpe and spread a thin layer of cream (2-3 tbsp) all the way to the edges. Top with another crêpe and repeat, keeping the stack level, finishing with a bare crêpe on top.
Chill the assembled cake for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, so it sets firm enough to slice.
Make the ganache: Heat the cream until steaming, pour it over the dark chocolate, leave 1 minute, then stir smooth. Cool slightly until pourable.
Glaze and set: Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and spread even, then chill about 30 minutes to set.
Serve: Slice with a hot, wiped knife for clean layers and serve cold.
Substitutions, timing tweaks — anything to remember next time.
Saved automatically on this device.
