Matcha-Blueberry Mille Crepe Cake

A Mille Crepe Cake is a French classic that layers 20+ thin crepes with French pastry cream. It`s an absolutely delicious and light dessert and there is nothing wrong with the simple and classic vanilla flavour in the original. That being said, in the Wild Grounds spirit of modernizing classic foods and mixing flavours of different world cuisines, we decided to make the Japanese style of Matcha Crepes layered with a sticky blueberry brigadeiro, a purple take on the Brazilian dessert.  It`s a much more decadent take on an otherwise light dessert.

Rinse 2 cups of frozen blueberries in a strainer under cold water for a few seconds, until there`s no more ice. Keep it in the strainer and pat lightly with a paper towel to drain most of the water.

Make the brigadeiro by mixing 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, 1 can of condensed milk and the blueberries in a medium pot on medium heat. Stir often with a rubber spatula to prevent it from scorching, and if it still seems to be burning a little at the bottom, lower the heat slightly. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes, until the mixture becomes much thicker, and then add a slurry (a mixture of ½ teaspoon of cornstarch and ½ teaspoon of cold water). Cook for another minute or so and remove from heat. Let it cool and put it in the fridge while you make the crepes.

Tip: To make sure your blueberry brigadeiro is ready, slide a finger on a rubber spatula coated with the cream. If the brigadeiro doesn`t slide down into your mark, it`s ready; if it does, cook for a bit longer and try again.

Make the crepe batter by mixing 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, 3 eggs, 2 cups of milk, 1 tablespoon of matcha powder, a pinch of salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, whisk until you have a very smooth light batter. It should be thinner than a pancake batter; if it’s too thick, add a tablespoon of milk at a time until you reach a crepe batter consistency.

In a small non-stick frying pan pre-heated on medium heat, add 2 oz of batter with a ladle and immediately rotate the pan above the heat so the crepe covers the entire surface of the pan in a thin layer. Once the batter is not running anymore, place it back on the heat and cook on medium heat for about 2 minutes a side, use a rubber spatula to flip them. Repeat this process until you have no more batter left and reserve the crepes on a plate. You should get about 20 crepes out of it.

To assemble, place a cooled crepe on another plate and spread a thin layer of the cooled blueberry cream on it with the back of a spoon, top it with another crepe and repeat this process until you run out of crepes. The last layer should not be covered with the spread, but you can add a few dollops of the leftovers to decorate. Let it cool in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Lightly sprinkle icing sugar on top with the help of a sieve and serve each slice by itself, with fresh or dry berries, or with a scoop of ice cream.

Matcha-Blueberry Mille Crepe Cake

Servings: 4

Time: 1 hour + 1 hour to set

Ingredients

1 ½ Cups AP Flour

3 Eggs

1 tsp Baking Powder

2 Cups Milk

1 Tbsp Matcha

Pinch of Salt

3 Tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Can Condensed Milk

1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

2 Cups Frozen Blueberries, thawed and drained

1 tsp Cornstarch

1 tsp Cold Water

Icing Sugar and/or Fruit to decorate

Step-by-Step

1.       Make the brigadeiro by mixing condensed milk, butter and drained blueberries in a medium pot on medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes and stir often with a rubber spatula to prevent it from scorching, add the slurry (cornstarch and water mixed together) and cook for another minute or so. Check for a thick and stable consistency and remove from heat. Let it cool completely and reserve it in the fridge.

2.       Make the crepe batter by mixing matcha, flour, milk, eggs, salt, sugar and vanilla extract. Add more milk if the batter it too thick. Place a small frying pan on medium heat and pour 2 oz of the batter onto it. Rotate the pan to spread the batter evenly onto the whole surface and cook for about 2 minutes a side. Repeat this step for all the batter and reserve them on a plate to cool.

3.       On a clean plate, layer cooled crepes with a thin layer of the cooled brigadeiro in between them. Cool in the fridge for one hour.

4.       Decorate and serve.