This mango crepe cake has 40 layers of thin crepes and luscious ombre mango mascarpone filling. It might be the easiest cake you could make with this many layers - without an oven! It’s perfectly fruity, creamy, and delicate. This recipe goes through how to make foolproof crepes with a shortcut that you will love and hopefully use forever!
The key to making ridiculously easy crepes for the mango cake? Dumping all the ingredients into a blender and pulsing 3-4 times until smooth. Let it rest for at least 20 minutes and then cook ‘em up! I promise that you will not find an easier way to make crepe batter. No more gradually mixing the wet and the dry ingredients to prevent lumps. This method does all of that for you!
The filling is an ombre mango whipped mascarpone cream. It's fluffy, perfectly fruity, creamy, and so easy to make. The mascarpone cheese gives it stability and lots of rich and creamy milky flavour. This recipe goes through how to make an easy homemade mango puree made from fresh or frozen mango - whichever you have on hand. If you can't find mascarpone cream, you can substitute it with a full fat cream cheese.
🥄 Making the batter
Just toss everything into the blender or food processor and pulse a few times until smooth! It doesn’t get easier than that. Throw it into the fridge and let rest for at least 20 minutes.
Take a hot, buttered, well seasoned cast iron pan or non stick pan and pour a bit of batter in. Swirl the pan around so that the batter spreads all the way around. If you need a bit more batter to cover some holes, drop some in. If you have too much batter and the crepe will be too thick, pour some out of the pan back into the rest of the batter.
You want to flip the crepe when you see it start to pull away at the edges and little bubbles form at the top.
Don’t worry when the first one or two crepes don’t come out! They rarely do. That is because the pan needs to heat up and season properly before they start coming out perfectly. This crepe batter recipe will make a little more crepes than you will need for the cake.
You can make the crepes the day before and store covered in the refrigerator. Let them sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes so that they are easier to pull apart.
🥭 Making the filling
To make the fluffy creamy mango filling, I like to start off by making a mango puree. You can use fresh or frozen mango. Simmer all of the mango puree ingredients in a saucepan until tender, let cool, and blend. You can make this a day or two ahead of assembling the mango crepe cake.
To make the mascarpone whipped cream , beat the cream, sugar and vanilla until medium peaks form. They should still be pretty floppy peaks. Add the softened mascarpone and beat until stiff peaks.
You can now gently fold all of the mango puree and mascarpone whipped cream together. Or you can make a subtle ombre effect by dividing the mascarpone whipped cream into two bowls. Add all of the mango puree into one of the bowls and fold. Take a third empty bowl and add half of the mango mixture and half of the plain mascarpone whipped cream. Fold until incorporated. You should have three different shades of yellow.
🥞 Stack ‘er up!
Spread a heaping tablespoon or two of mango filling on a crepe, starting with the darker shade. You want to cover the whole crepe all the way to the edges. The filling needs to be about ⅛ of an inch thick. Continue with the rest of the crepes and filling, creating an ombre effect (darker yellow to lighter yellow filling).
Pile any remaining cream on top of the mango crepe cake and add your chopped mangoes, berries, edible flowers, and any other decorations. Let set in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes so that it is easier to slice, and enjoy!
✔️ Questions, Tips, and Tricks:
I prefer a well seasoned cast iron pan. See if you can find one with very shallow edges so that it is easier to flip the crepes! It gives me the best crispy edges and all natural non-stick surface. And you never have to replace the pan like you would a non-stick, just season regularly! These pans are passed down generation after generation.
Non stick pans work really well too. A nonstick pan is the best option if you want to use something that you probably already have on hand.
I would not recommend a regular pan (stainless steel) because it is very difficult to get the batter and technique just right to prevent the crepes from sticking.
Some troubleshooting that I do when that happens to me are: I butter up the pan extra well. I usually add a lot of butter the first few crepes that I make so that it gets properly greased up. Afterwards you can adjust the amount of grease you need to prevent sticking. I usually find that I don’t need much more afterwards.
Use a metal spatula if you’re using a cast iron pan or a thin plastic spatula if you’re using a non-stick pan. I find that wooden and rubber spatulas don’t work well for me.
Make sure the spatula doesn’t have any bits of batter stuck on it because they can grab onto the crepe and cause it to tear.
Maybe your batter is too thin. Weigh the flour instead of using measuring cups for most accurate results. If the batter is too thin, try adding an extra tablespoon or two of flour and pulsing one or two times in your blender or food processor. See if this will make a difference. TIP: weigh the flour for the most accurate results!
Make sure you let the batter rest before cooking the crepes. This will also help prevent it from sticking and tearing.
You sure can! That is my secret shortcut to making smooth, thin crepe batter. Just pulse 2-3 times and scrape the sides halfway through if needed. Only blend just until everything is combined and smooth. Do not over blend or your batter will develop too much gluten.
If you don't have a blender or food processor you totally can! Mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls, and gradually add in the wet into the dry, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Continue with the rest of the recipe.
Yes you definitely can! The batter needs to sit for at least 20 minutes before cooking - even better if it sits for a bit longer. This gives plenty of time for the gluten to relax and flour to hydrate, giving you thin, delicate crepes that won’t tear or stick.
This mango crepe cake is best eaten the day of assembly but will keep well for a few days in the refrigerator. To prep in advance, make the crepes the day before, cover, and refrigerate. Let the crepes sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before assembly so that they can soften up and are easier to pull away from each other. You can also make the mango puree the day before and store it in the refrigerator.
For extra thin crepes I like to keep the batter on the thinner side. Be careful with having the batter too thin because they may be prone to tearing. Add an extra tablespoon or two of flour and pulse one or two times.
The batter needs to sit for at least 20 minutes before cooking - even better if it sits for a bit longer. This gives plenty of time for the gluten to relax and flour to hydrate, giving you thin, delicate crepes that won’t tear or stick. You can even make the batter the night before and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
If you can't find mascarpone cheese, you can easily substitute it with full fat cream cheese. It will taste a bit cheesier than with mascarpone which has a very creamy and subtle taste.
Let the mango crepe cake firm up in the refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes after assembly. This will help the filling to stiffen up a bit so it doesn't ooze out of the sides. Use a very sharp knife to cut into slices.
🍓 Check out my other fruity desserts
Happy Baking! x
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Mango Crepe Cake
Equipment
- 9" cast iron or cake pan
- blender or food processor
Ingredients
Crepes
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cup milk
- 1 ½ cup water room temperature
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon butter for oiling pan
Mango Filling
- 2 ½ cups mango fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 cups whipping cream 35% cream
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup mascarpone cheese 120 g, softened for 10 minutes at room temperature
Assembly
- 2 mangoes fresh, cut into pieces
- berries optional
- edible flowers optional
Instructions
Crepes
- Add all of the ingredients into the blender or food processor in the order listed. Pulse about 4 to 6 times, or until everything is just incorporated. Scrape sides of blender halfway through if there is dry flour stuck.4 large eggs, 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ⅛ teaspoon sea salt, ⅛ teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ cup milk, 1 ½ cup water, 2 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pop the blender into the fridge for 20 minutes or overnight to rest the batter. Get started on making the mango puree for the mango filling so it has time to cool.
- Heat a 9” nonstick or cast iron pan on medium-low heat. Butter it up by sticking the bit of butter on a fork and rubbing it over the pan.2 tablespoon butter
- When the pan heats up, add a few tablespoons of batter into the pan. Swirl immediately to coat the bottom, adding more batter if needed.
- Wait until the crepe develops bubbles on top and dries up on the edges. Run a spatula under the crepe along the edges to loosen. Carefully flip the crepe using a spatula and cook until the bottom side has golden brown spots. Transfer the crepe onto a plate to cool.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter, stacking the crepes on top of each other and buttering as needed.
- Let the crepes come to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until use.
Mango Filling
- Combine chopped mango, water, and granulated sugar in a small saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a simmer and stir frequently so that it does not burn. Simmer until the mango pieces soften, for about 4 minutes. Transfer to a heat safe bowl and let cool to room temperature. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use - can be made ahead.2 ½ cups mango, ¼ cup water, 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- Right before assembling the cake, beat the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until medium peaks. Add the mascarpone into the whipping cream and beat until stiff peaks.3 cups whipping cream, ⅔ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ⅔ cup mascarpone cheese
- Fold the mango puree and whipped mascarpone cream together. For an ombre effect: divide the whipping cream evenly into two bowls. Fold the mango puree into one of the bowls. Take a third bowl and add half of the mango cream and half of the vanilla cream and fold. You should have three bowls filled with different shades of cream.
Assembly
- Pick out 20 of your prettiest crepes (save the rest for a snack).
- Place a crepe on your serving plate. Spread a heaping tablespoon of filling, starting with the darker yellow. Spread all the way to the edges. It should be about ⅛" thick. Repeat until the filling runs out, then continue with the lighter shade of yellow, and then with just the vanilla.
- Pile any leftover filling on top and decorate with fresh mango, berries, and edible flowers. Place cake in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before serving to get cleaner slices. Cut with a sharp knife. The cake is best eaten the day of but will keep well in the refrigerator.2 mangoes, berries, edible flowers
Notes
- Substitute mascarpone with full fat cream cheese if you can't find it
- Make sure you follow all of my tips and tricks for getting the perfect crepes above the recipe for troubleshooting
- You can prep the batter, crepes, and mango puree ahead of time
Beth
I loved how easy it was to make the crepes. It takes a bit of patience to fry up the crepes but I made them the day before so that helped. The filling was phenomenal!
Mary
So happy you loved it, thank you so much! 😀