GoodFor
Rose Rhubarb, Raspberry & Almond Pancake Cake
Cook time: 45 minsPrep time: 45 minsServes: 8
A series of easy, delicious recipes from some of our favourite cooks. Food to cook, eat and share in good company.
Nicola Moores, Garden-to-Table cook and manager of the beautiful Te Arai Lodge shares this show stopper Rose Rhubarb, Raspberry & Almond Pancake Cake recipe.
There’s something so satisfying about cutting that first piece of cake to reveal its exquisite cross section, especially when that cross section happens to be comprised of 15 wafer-thin crêpes delicately layered together with silky smooth almond butter, glistening raspberry jam, creamy coconut yoghurt & rose poached rhubarb, not to mention the dark chocolate shards & toasted almonds scattered on top!
This cake may look like it requires more prowess than perhaps you possess, but don’t be fooled by its spectacular aesthetic, it’s actually quite straightforward to make, all it requires is that you dedicate a little of your time to bond with your frying pan. You’ll find that mindfully flipping crêpes is actually rather therapeutic and downright satisfying, as is seeing your pancake stack slowly grow taller before sandwiching the most delectable toppings in between each layer to create what is nothing short of a masterpiece.
So go on, dazzle your family and friends this Easter with this ultimate showstopper brunch item. You’ll be the talk of the town, earning more brownie points than you can shake a stick at.
Ingredients
Crêpes
- 5 free-range eggs
- 2 C oat milk (or milk of choice)
- 1 C buckwheat flour, sifted (or flour of choice)
- ½ tsp. flaky sea salt
- Extra virgin coconut oil* (for frying)
Rose Rhubarb
- 10 stalks / 250 g rhubarb
- ¼ cup rosewater or water
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 Tbsp honey
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground ginger
To Assemble
- ½ C almond butter
- ½ C raspberry jam
- 1 C plain coconut yoghurt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 ½ C Rose Rhubarb
- ¼ C almonds, toasted & roughly chopped
- 2 Tbsp dark chocolate shards or 70% Dark Chocolate Drops
- Freeze-dried raspberries, crushed
- Pink nasturtium leaf petals
Method
To make the crêpe batter, crack the eggs into a food processor or blender, add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Set aside in the fridge for 15-30 minutes while you prepare the Rose Rhubarb.
Cut the rhubarb into 2.5cm pieces and transfer to a large saucepan along with the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the rhubarb is cooked and starts to fall away. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
To make the crêpes, heat some coconut oil in a 20cm diameter non-stick frying pan on a high heat. Once hot, pour in a ¼ cup of the crêpe batter and fry for 1-2 minutes or until little bubbles appear on the surface and the base is golden. Run a spatula around the edges of the crêpe to loosen it from the pan. With a confident flick of the wrist (or the spatula), flip over and fry for another minute or until golden on the other side. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool on a wire rack. Repeat the same process with the rest of the batter. The batter should yield 15 crêpes.
To assemble the cake, place one crêpe on your cake stand / serving dish and spread with a ¼ of the almond butter. Cover with the second crêpe and spread with a ¼ of the raspberry jam. Cover with the next crêpe and spread with a ¼ of the coconut yoghurt & a sprinkling of the lemon zest. Cover with another crêpe and spread with a ¼ of the Rose Rhubarb.
Repeat the same process until you get to the last crêpe. Spread over the rest of the coconut yoghurt followed by the rhubarb. Scatter over the almonds, chocolate shards, some freeze-dried raspberries and the rest of the lemon zest and decorate with some nasturtium petals.
NB: To speed up the process, have two pans on the go when frying the crêpes and make them in advance along with the Rose Rhubarb. Simply store the crêpes and Rose Rhubarb in airtight containers in the fridge for up to a few days until you’re ready to assemble the pancake cake. Once assembled, the pancake cake will keep in the fridge for one day.
NB: If you want to make the cake even more impressive and that cross-section twice as irresistible, just double the recipe & you really will have the pancake equivalent of a mille feuille.
NB: Be creative and play around with the layers using different nut/seed butters, jams/chocolate spreads, cream instead of coconut yoghurt and whatever fruit is in season. In the summertime I love to layer the cake with finely sliced strawberries and banana sprinkled with cinnamon and to decorate it with fresh summer berries.
*Item not available online but is available in your local GoodFor store.
