Gluten-Free Crepe Cake

A tall French-style crepe cake of about 20 thin gluten-free crepes stacked with a light vanilla cream made from pastry cream folded with whipped cream. It is made ahead and chilled so it slices into neat, striped wedges.

Prep: 60 min Cook: 60 min Total: 420 min Serves: 12

At a glance: This hard desserts recipe yields 12 servings in about 7h (60 min prep, 60 min cook). It uses 14 ingredients — including whole milk, egg yolks, granulated sugar — and walks through 6 steps. Updated October 24, 2026. Browse more desserts recipes or return to all gluten-free recipes.

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Cross-Contamination Warning for Gluten-Free Crepe Cake: When preparing this desserts recipe, use a crepe pan or skillet that has been washed well if it has been used for standard pancakes or crepes. Flour dust travels. Bake this on a day the kitchen is not also handling flour that contains gluten, use clean bowls, beaters and baking sheets, and keep the gluten-free flour blend in its own sealed container.

Gluten-Free Notes for Gluten-Free Crepe Cake: The crepes use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, and the cream filling is thickened with cornstarch. Use cornstarch, vanilla, powdered sugar and a flour blend labeled gluten-free.

Scale Recipe:

servings

Ingredient amounts update automatically

Instructions

1 For the pastry cream, heat 2 cups milk until steaming. Whisk the yolks, 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch, slowly whisk in the hot milk, and return to the pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it boils and thickens, then 1 minute more. Off the heat, whisk in 2 tbsp butter and 2 tsp of the vanilla. Press plastic wrap on the surface and chill until cold, at least 2 hours.
2 For the crepes, blend the 6 tbsp melted butter, warm milk, eggs, gluten-free flour blend, 1/4 cup sugar, salt and the remaining 1 tsp vanilla until smooth. Rest the batter for 30 minutes.
3 Heat a nonstick 8- or 9-inch skillet over medium heat and brush lightly with butter. Pour in about 3 tbsp batter and swirl to coat the pan thinly. Cook for about 1 minute, until the edges lift and the bottom is lightly golden, flip and cook 15 seconds more. Stack the crepes on a plate and cool. You need about 20.
4 Whip the heavy cream to firm peaks. Whisk the cold pastry cream smooth and fold in the whipped cream.
5 Lay one crepe on a cake plate and spread with a thin layer, about 3 tbsp, of the cream. Repeat, stacking crepes and cream, and finish with a plain crepe on top.
6 Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Dust with powdered sugar and slice with a sharp knife.

Tips & Notes

Rest the crepe batter for 30 minutes before cooking. The gluten-free flour blend absorbs the milk, and rested batter makes thinner crepes that tear less.
Spread the cream thin and even, right to about 1/4 inch from the edge of each crepe. Thick, uneven layers make the crepe cake lean and squeeze out when sliced.
Chill the crepe cake overnight if you can. It sets firm, and the crepes soften slightly into the cream for clean, striped slices.

Common questions

What cross-contamination risk is specific to Gluten-Free Crepe Cake?

Check whole milk, for the pastry cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar, for the pastry cream before they go into Gluten-Free Crepe Cake. Use a crepe pan or skillet that has been washed well if it has been used for standard pancakes or crepes. Flour dust travels. Bake this on a day the kitchen is not also handling flour that contains gluten, use clean bowls, beaters and baking sheets, and keep the gluten-free flour blend in its own sealed container.

Which gluten-free swaps does Gluten-Free Crepe Cake use?

Gluten-Free Crepe Cake relies on 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. Keep those gluten-free-labeled products in place of a gluten-containing flour or sauce.

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