Gateau de Crepes

Don't let your children watch cooking shows. Or, at least be prepared to make at least one dish of the many they are convinced would be better than whatever you may have planned to cook. Jacques and Julia spent an entire episode making crepes, so it was inevitable that we would do the same this weekend. Could we make single crepes with fruit and whipped cream? No. Perhaps Crepes Suzette, requiring only a simple reduction of orange juice, sugar, and butter? No. We were informed that only a Gateau (cake) of crepes would do. Fortunately, we had the necessary ingredients at hand: milk, flour, eggs, butter, nuts, and a partial jar of homemade cherry jam from Grandma and Papa.The MethodThis is a dish, when first attempted, to be approached with confidence and teamwork. The crepe batter is very simple to prepare with a food processor. (1 C. milk, 1 C. water, four eggs, 2 C. flour, 4 TB melted butter). Blended on high speed for a minute and refrigerated (supposedly for two hours, we managed 10 minutes). 

Two hot skillets. One small cup of canola oil and a brush. Two adults cooking. Two children watching intently.

We made 23 crepes in the batch and laid them out to cool more quickly. These were then layered on a plate separated by pureed cherry jam and finely ground almonds.
The ResultThe gateau (like la chat and le chien) sat expectantly during dinner. I'm not certain which of us was most excited about reaching dessert.We spooned a homemade chocolate sauce over each serving, and added some flowers the kids picked while the fish was cooking. (Our apologies to the unnamed neighbor who lost the blooms.)The gateau was amazing! We managed 16 crepe layers, and the final product was dense, fruity, and a perfect foil for the semisweet chocolate. One child remarked, "The cherry jam really put a 'touch' to it!" As good as we'd hoped ... unfortunately, it appears to have confirmed for the kids that we CAN make anything they show on TV. Then again, having them think you can cook like a real chef...maybe that will convince them those hotdog and baked bean meals really are tasty!