Chocolate Eclair Crepe Cake

Everyday with Rachael Ray is one of my favorite magazines...just might be my fave. I should probably subscribe to it...lol. I am always looking for the new issue when I go grocery shopping. When I came across this recipe, I was so excited to try it. I love making crêpes. They are so versatile! You can put just about anything you can dream of in one...savory, sweet, etc. etc. Crêpes are actually not very hard to pull off. I always say the 1st one never comes out. I'm not sure why, but it never does for me. Maybe because it's the one that "warms up" the pan for the rest of the batter...who knows! My favorite way to eat a crêpe is to fill it with a sweet cream cheese mixture (just some cream cheese and powdered sugar mixed up), fresh strawberries, rolled up, and topped with whipped cream. Simple but OH SO GOOD! Anyways, back to the recipe. This was definitely not the best dessert I have ever made. In my book, this is a flop. Did not taste like an éclair to me. Though, it was okay, just wasn't saying "éclair!" My parents said the same as me..it was okay. So, if you try this out...lemme know how it came out for you and what you think! Couple of things I would do differently: 1) I would cook the crêpes a tiny bit longer to make them a little more crisp, and not so flimsy. 2) I would use less pastry cream in between the layers. Mine tended to slide to one side a little. I think the pastry cream played a role in that. Hey, the less you use in between each layer, the higher you can go, thus more awesome presentation! It is a very good looking cake. ;) Ok, so now that I've written a short novel...on to the recipe! Enjoy!

 INGREDIENTS:

• 2 2/3 cups flour
• 3 ¼ cups whole milk
• 6 large eggs
• 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• Salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp dark rum - I used Captain Morgan.
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped - I used Baker's Semi-Sweet.
• 1 Tbsp light corn syrup

DIRECTIONS:
1. Using a blender, mix 2 cups flour, 2 cups milk, 4 eggs, ½ teaspoon vanilla and ½ teaspoon salt until smooth; refrigerate.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cream, remaining 1 ¼ cups milk, ½ cup sugar and 1 pinch salt. Cook over medium heat until steaming, 2 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 eggs and ½ cup sugar, then whisk in the remaining 2/3 cup flour until smooth. Gradually whisk half of the hot cream mixture into the flour-egg mixture, then whisk into the remaining cream mixture. Cook, whisking, over medium heat until thick, about 2 minutes; stir in the rum and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla. Scrape the pastry cream into a bowl and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

3. In an 8-inch crêpe pan or nonstick skillet, melt 1 teaspoon butter over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 cup chilled crêpe batter and swirl to coat the pan. Cook until set on the bottom, about 1 minute; flip and cook for about 30 seconds more. Turn out onto a rack to cool. Repeat with the butter and remaining batter to make 10 crêpes.

4. Place a crêpe on a cake stand or flat plate; spread 1/3 cup pastry cream on top. Repeat with the remaining crêpes and pastry cream, ending with a crêpe. Refrigerate.

5. In a medium saucepan, whisk the chocolate, 3 tablespoons water, the corn syrup and remaining 2 teaspoons butter over medium-low heat until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes, then spread on top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days before slicing.