http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/dining/the-magic-of-crepe-cake.html 2016-10-04 20:59:40 The Magic of Crepe Cake The street snack becomes something ethereal when it’s layered with cream for a cake. === As the French and Japanese can attest, the crepe makes a brilliant snack on the run. You can nibble on the crispy edges of a hot crepe oozing with chocolate hazelnut spread or billowy whipped cream, folded into a paper cone that keeps the whole thing neatly contained while you walk the dog and pick up the dry cleaning. Creperies all over New York specialize in that grab-and-go variety. It’s a treat unto itself to watch an expert crepier pour creamy batter over a flat griddle, use that special squeegee to swirl it into a perfect golden circle, paddle it over with a deft flip, and fold it up tight. So why go through the trouble of making a crepe cake, the fanciful dessert of custard and cream-kissed crepes stacked into a tower? It’s all about the layers. Just as two old items of clothing layered together can become a new outfit, a crepe cake works magic on its individual parts. A crepe cake is not one crepe plus one crepe plus one crepe, and so on. It is a crepe raised to the 20th power. The alchemy of fine hazelnut pancakes and chocolate cream intensifies flavors exponentially as you build up and up. There are other benefits, too: more toasty edges per serving, a better cream-to-crepe ratio, and the special ceremony of a cake stand, company, and oohs and aahs. This cake calls for conscious consumption. Layered but still light, even the dullest butter knife glides right through to reveal a beautiful interior. The perfect horizontal stripes are tree rings that tell the story of its growth. Each bite is multidimensional, too: silky chocolate custard slipping between sheets of tender, moist crepe, the fragrant crunch of a few scattered hazelnuts, and an airy puff of unsweetened whipped cream. No paper cones here. You can’t run errands and eat a slice of crepe cake at the same time. You wouldn’t want to. Its beauty is too fine. Recipe: