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Ratatouille Crepe Cake

Ratatouille Crepe Cake

You’ve seen the movie, you’ve looked at the New York Times recipe and thought wow, I don’t have time for that, now let’s make it even more complicated! Bringing to you the savory mashup you didn't know you needed, buckwheat crepes will be layered with ratatouille and pesto ricotta to make a towering impressive dream of cake.

Ingredients

For the Ratatouille

1 Large Yellow Onion

2-3. Zucchini

2 Eggplant

3 Bell Peppers

4 sprigs Rosemary

6 sprigs Thyme

6 cloves. Garlic

5. Sauce Tomatoes (San Marzano, Romas etc)

For the Crepes ( Thank you Alice Waters!)

1c. Whole Milk (or alternate milk, I used oat!)

4oz. Butter (Melted)

4ea. Eggs

1t. Salt

1t. Sugar

3/4c Buckwheat Flour

3/4c. Spelt or AP Flour

1T. EVOO or vegetable oil

1c Lager type beer

1c Milk (as needed)

For the Pesto

2c Packed Basil Leaves

3T. Pinenuts

3ea. Cloves of garlic

1/2c. EVOO

1T. Lemon Juice

TT. Black pepper

1/2t. Salt

8oz. Ricotta (I used Kite Hill Almond Ricotta for us dairy free folks)

Preparation

For the Ratatouille

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop your onion, zucchini, eggplant and bell peppers. Separate them onto different trays, or if you want to do less dishes do your onion and peppers on one tray (split halfway down the tray) and the zucchini and eggplant on the other tray. Add your garlic cloves and rosemary to your onion and your thyme to your zucchini. Give everything a generous coat of olive oil and seasoning of salt. Roast for 30-40 minutes. You want everything to be well cooked with some nice browning. As it roasts prepare your tomatoes. I am lazy and this recipe is already a whole lot of work so I just chop up my tomatoes, throw them in a blender with a bit of salt and blend on high until they’re pulverized. No peeling or straining necessary. I’m sure some people will have very strong opinions that I should not be doing this but hey, I think it still turns out pretty well! When your veggies are all cooked combine them in a baking dish and mix in your tomato. Check your seasoning, keeping in mind that the flavors will intensify and concentrate as it bakes. Turn your oven down to 350 degrees. Cover your dish with a lid or foil and bake for an hour. Let cool completely. Most people (including myself) say that ratatouille is better the day after you make it. I told you this recipe takes for friggin ever.

For the Crepes

Like I said, I am lazy. Combine all your ingredients (minus that last cup of milk) in a blender and blend on high until combined. You want to let the gluten relax a bit so let it rest for at least two hours or overnight. Use the remaining milk to loosen up the batter before you cook your crepes.

For the Pesto Ricotta

Combine all ingredients minus ricotta in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Add in your ricotta and process again. Feel free to add a little milk or water to get it to a spreadable consistency.

To Cook your Crepes

Heat a nonstick pan on a medium-low heat. Oil your pan with pan spray or wipe it with a paper towel coated in oil. Ladle in a a few tables spoons of batter and swirl the pan to get a nice round shape. Cook until the first side is set and begins to get a nice golden color. Flip. Cook until the other side is done. Remove from the pan and if you’re being fancy trim the edges using a cake form or plate as a guide. Repeat for all the other crepes. I do 15 per cake.

To Assemble.

Transfer your ratatouille to a food processor and process until smooth. This is not strictly necessary, if you want the texture of the vegetables that is totally fine, your cake just will not sit totally flat. Put a crepe down and spread a thin layer of the ratatouille down. Put a crepe on top of that and spread an equal layer of ricotta. Repeat until you are done! Let set for a few hours or overnight. Garnish with leftover ricotta and fresh tomatoes. If you’re not totally sick of looking at this thing, eat it and enjoy!For the Ratatouille

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop your onion, zucchini, eggplant and bell peppers. Separate them onto different trays, or if you want to do less dishes do your onion and peppers on one tray (split halfway down the tray) and the zucchini and eggplant on the other tray. Add your garlic cloves and rosemary to your onion and your thyme to your zucchini. Give everything a generous coat of olive oil and seasoning of salt. Roast for 30-40 minutes. You want everything to be well cooked with some nice browning. As it roasts prepare your tomatoes. I am lazy and this recipe is already a whole lot of work so I just chop up my tomatoes, throw them in a blender with a bit of salt and blend on high until they’re pulverized. No peeling or straining necessary. I’m sure some people will have very strong opinions that I should not be doing this but hey, I think it still turns out pretty well! When your veggies are all cooked combine them in a baking dish and mix in your tomato. Check your seasoning, keeping in mind that the flavors will intensify and concentrate as it bakes. Turn your oven down to 350 degrees. Cover your dish with a lid or foil and bake for an hour. Let cool completely. Most people (including myself) say that ratatouille is better the day after you make it. I told you this recipe takes for friggin ever.

For the Crepes

Like I said, I am lazy. Combine all your ingredients (minus that last cup of milk) in a blender and blend on high until combined. You want to let the gluten relax a bit so let it rest for at least two hours or overnight. Use the remaining milk to loosen up the batter before you cook your crepes.

For the Pesto Ricotta

Combine all ingredients minus ricotta in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Add in your ricotta and process again. Feel free to add a little milk or water to get it to a spreadable consistency.

To Cook your Crepes

Heat a nonstick pan on a medium-low heat. Oil your pan with pan spray or wipe it with a paper towel coated in oil. Ladle in a a few tables spoons of batter and swirl the pan to get a nice round shape. Cook until the first side is set and begins to get a nice golden color. Flip. Cook until the other side is done. Remove from the pan and if you’re being fancy trim the edges using a cake form or plate as a guide. Repeat for all the other crepes. I do 15 per cake.

To Assemble.

Transfer your ratatouille to a food processor and process until smooth. This is not strictly necessary, if you want the texture of the vegetables that is totally fine, your cake just will not sit totally flat. Put a crepe down and spread a thin layer of the ratatouille down. Put a crepe on top of that and spread an equal layer of ricotta. Repeat until you are done! Let set for a few hours or overnight. Garnish with leftover ricotta and fresh tomatoes. If you’re not totally sick of looking at this thing, eat it and enjoy!

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Here is a quick tip that is useful when making a Crepe Cake. I definitely recommend utilizing this tip to cut down on the lengthy process.

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