We have made this Rainbow Crepe Cake for Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday) an easy way to make everyone in the household smile. It may look complicated or sophisticated but in reality, it's a pretty simple task, especially when you have some enthusiastic little helpers around.

My daughter is the one with such initiatives, she loves to spend time in the kitchen baking and making desserts in particular and this makes me happy. Makes me happy because firstly, it takes her off the social media (such an addiction these days ) secondly she learns how to cook or bake everything from scratch which will be such a bonus for her later on when she flies the nest and she will be a student. But, for now, she saves me from spending hours in the kitchen making fancy rainbow crepe cake which I would probably not chose to make otherwise - she loves anything rainbow.
This is how I did get to make this beautiful rainbow crepe cake, it is beautiful, you have to admit it. The perfect Valentines or pancake day treat!
Very nice to serve for kids parties or if you have some time and spirit for a nice weekend treat, just go for it. Any opportunity and absolutely any excuse!
I used to love pancakes or (clatite as we call them) as a kid and these were the only type we were making (calling them always pancakes and not crepes) not the small and thick American pancakes - I have only learned of those in the last few decades. I do love American pancakes too.
We used to make those and fill them with a sour cherry jam (dulceata de visine) and I can tell you they were the best! I also remember we used to make and fill them with cheese (a homemade cottage cheese type but a dry version) fold them in a specific way pour-over creme fraiche, bake them. Oh, they are delicious. I will share the recipe hopefully super soon.
Pancakes (disk-like) or the French crepe originate from Romans, so, so many centuries ago, and they are the perfect vehicle for any sweet or savoury filling, much like crepes.
Next time I will try and make them using my own natural food colourants - so much better.
How to make a rainbow crepe cake?
The impressive-looking rainbow crepe cake is also known as Mille crepe, despite the sophisticated look, they aren't complicated to make at all! You just need to make a thousand crepes (I am only joking! I did get away with just 24 🙂 so just go for it) and of course some delicious homemade whipped cream.
Yes, homemade of course because it is easy to make and so much better than the ones you buy in-store. Get some fresh berries if you wish and that will definitely seal a deal.
This cake is not very sweet (yay, just as I like desserts) but it is super decadent, a stunningly looking outcome with all these paper-thin layers sandwiched with fresh cream in vibrant rainbow colours.
When it comes to fillings, there are lots of possibilities for different flavours to use in this crepe cake.
Alternative fillings for rainbow crepe cake
- creme boolla boolla
- add toasted pecans or walnuts (chopped finely)
- Nutella, chocolate or cacao infused whipped cream
- add any fruits you may like (crushed raspberries or super thin sliced strawberries)
- make it a tiramisu style adding cacao powder, mascarpone with added coffee flavour spiked with a hint of rum. Oh, la la! We do reach true heights in here!
- layer them with some compote or some homemade jam and cream if you'd like them a tad sweeter
- lemon and sugar - this filling is super simple and can never fail to deliver
Other pancake recipes you may like:
- Mini Pancakes Cereal
- Dutch Baby Pancakes
- Simple Everyday Pancakes
- Savoury Dutch Baby Pancake with bacon and eggs
FAQs
Crepes do freeze well but not the crepe cake. You will need to place each crepe between sheets of clingfilm or parchment paper and then put either into a zip-top bag or an airtight container.
Use as many crepes as needed for a quick meal or dessert. Thaw at room temperature for a few minutes and microwave or pan heat them slightly to warm them up just sufficiently.
The answer to this is yes, well, partially! You may only make the crepes ahead and assemble when needed.
They cannot be filled with cream and stored. To store the crepes you can either make them, place them on a plate and cover thoroughly with clingfilm. They can be refrigerated this way for a good 3-4 days or simply freeze them as advised above. If you can vacuum pack them you can keep them refrigerated for over a week.
Easy Rainbow Crepe Cake
Equipment
- whisker (hand or electric)
- glass bowl
- ceramic soup bowls x 5
- pancake pan
- a little patience
Ingredients
- 280 g spelt flour (9.88 oz) or all-purpose flour unbleached
- 6 tablespoon heavy cream (double cream) or butter
- 770 ml almond milk (3¼ cups) dairy full-fat milk or light coconut milk
- ⅕ teaspoon salt I used pink Himalayan
- 4 tablespoon cane sugar add more if you like them sweet
- 900 ml whipped cream (3.8 cups)
- 4 med eggs
- 6 teaspoon food colouring 1 teaspoon for each colour
- 1 tsp vanilla powder or vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk the flour and the sugar, add in the eggs. Mix well then gradually pour in the butter and the warm milk. You can do one at the time or alternate between the two.
- When the batter is ready, divide this into 6 equal batter amounts. The easiest way would be by measuring this in a measuring jug and divide by 6. Pour the batter into the 6 bowls.
- Add a few drops of food colouring to each bowl, and whisk until the colour looks homogenous and the batter looks nice and colourful.
- Place a nonstick pan over medium heat, pour ¼ of the purple crepe batter in and tip the pan to cover the entire bottom surface of the pan. Cook the crepe for 30-40 sec to 1 min ( depending on the thickness. You should cook it until it starts to bubble slightly and then flip. Repeat until all the different colours crepe batter has been used. I normally get 4 pancakes for each colour but this depends on the thickness of the crepe as well as the size of the pan.
- Before you start creating a nice rainbow stack of crepes make sure these are completely cool. Start the stack with the purple, followed by blue, then green, yellow, orange, and top finishing with the red adding cream between each layer.
- Cover the crepe cake with a layer of cream you decide how thick or thin this should be 😉
- Slice and serve immediately or refrigerate for later. Serve with an optional drizzle of honey or caramel sauce.
Vicky says
The best crepe recipe I’ve tried in a while. You e got to know your flour though as the thickness of the batter depends on it.
Brilliant recipe. My kids had a lot of fun adding the colours - we used food colouring as I could not be fussed with the natural colourings. 🙈 Thanks for sharing!! 💞🙏🏼🤩
zheng kathy says
This rainbow cake looks so delicious. You did a great job. I like to eat cakes, but I don't know how to make them. It seems that I need to prepare a lot of things to make this. I also want to try to make cakes by myself. Is it difficult to make this?
Chef Dennis says
The colors are wonderful! And this really tastes delicious!
Raquel says
Such a pretty cake and delicious dessert.
Jenn says
So pretty!
Ramona says
Thank you so much Jenn xx
Jessica Formicola says
I will definitely be making this for St. Patty's Day! What a fun idea, and I know my kids will love it!
Jamie says
I love how festive and colorful these are! My niece will love it!
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
Mmm... I think I just heard my tummy growl. lol. Thank you for making me hungry!
Amanda Marie says
This is so cute. Reminds me of Smith Island Cake.
Audrey says
Both beautiful and tasty!