Gateau des Crepes

I got this recipe idea from a Martha Stewart’s magazine… since I saw it, I have been meaning to make it myself.

We got together a few friends from my French group to celebrate la Fête de la Bastille – France’s  National Holiday – and it seemed only fitting to make one of this gateau to celebrate.

I modified the recipe a bit to make it more vegetarian – particularly made spelt crepes without any eggs.  The results are fabulous and extremely delicious.  The filling is basically the same exact filling as the mixture we made for our Spinach Croquetas, but added some gruyere cheese to make it more French and decadent.

Photo Courtesy of http://www.marthastewart.com

GATEAU DES CREPES

½ medium onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, smashed lightly

2 tbs butter

1 tbs olive oil

2 tbs spelt flour

2 cups plain soy milk

2 ounces of cream cheese (optional)

1 ½ cups Gruyere cheese, grated and reserving ¼ cup for garnish

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

12 egg-free Spelt Crepes

 

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and olive oil.  When the butter has melted, add the chopped onion and the 2 smashed garlic cloves.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the onions cook and look translucent.
2. Take out the garlic clove pieces.  Add the spelt flour to the onion mixture and stir to become a paste.  Cook the paste moving it around for a few minutes to make sure there will not be raw flour taste later on.
3. Slowly add the soymilk to the flour/onion paste and whisk it all while adding the milk.  The sauce will thicken once the mixture boils a few minutes. 
4. After the sauce has thickened, take off from the heat and add the cream cheese, gruyere cheese.   Mix well together to make sure the cheeses melt.  Take out about ¼ cup of white sauce and place it aside.  Add the dried spinach.  Mix well to incorporate the spinach well into the sauce.  Set aside.  The sauce will thicken while standing, and this is a good thing.
5. After the spinach sauce has cooled, we’ll assemble the crepe stack…
6. Pre-heat oven to 450F.
7. On a rimmed buttered baking sheet, place one crepe.  Slather with about 1 tbs of spinach sauce until almost the edges.  Place another crepe on top, slather again with spinach sauce.  Repeat this same thing 11 times and finish off the gateau with the 12^th crepe. 
8. 
9. Top the last crepe with about 2tbs of the reserved white sauce.  Place the reserved gruyere cheese on top.
10.        
11. Place gateau on the oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheeses melt and create a golden lovely top.

Allow the gateau des crepes to cool off a bit before slicing into wedges, just like any other cake.  I served this alongside a green salad with a mustard vinaigrette.

When I made this, the oven was not fully at 450F and the gateau slid out of place and the filling spilled a bit out into the baking sheet.  I have asked if someone else had this same issue, but no replies so far.  I think the oven was too cool still and instead of just heating the filling and making the top golden, it just melted the cheese all over again.  Maybe using the broiler would be a better alternative.

The next few times I have used my leftover crepes, I have rolled them up and served them individual style.  This makes more sense to eat alone or for just two people… and it’s just as delicious.

Tags: bechamel sauce, crepes, gruyere, spinach