Chocolate Crepe Cake with Green Tea Pastry Cream

My dad got me a cookbook called Chocolate Decadence. Yeah, he knows me perfectly! Love it! This is a creation from there.

Crepes:
2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
8 large eggs
2 cups + 1 tablespoon whole milk
Grated zest of one lemon
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, browned
1 cup heavy cream
Vegetable oil for cooking


In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, and salt. Then in another large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and zest. In three batches, add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth after each addition. Add the butter, then cream. Whisk very well until there are no clumps. Refrigerate for an hour, covered.

Remove from the fridge, whisk the batter again. Heat a medium pan over medium heat. Add a small amount of oil. To make each crepe, pour 1/3 cup of batter into the pan and swirl to cover the entire bottom of pan evenly.

Cook for two minutes, flip and cook another minute. Transfer to a plate to cool. Repeat this until all crepes are made (I got 18 crepes out of it).

Meanwhile, prepare the pastry cream while the crepes are cooling.

Pastry Cream:
2 cups + 1 tablespoon whole milk
2 tablespoons powdered green tea (I ground up green tea leaves)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
6 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup heavy cream

Bring the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the green tea.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. Add in the egg yolks and whisk until well combined. Once the milk has boiled, add about 1/4 to the egg mixture, continuously whisking so it doesn't curdle or cook the yolks. Then add this back to the rest of the milk on the stove top.

Whisk continuously as the milk is heated to prevent lumps from forming. Bring to a boil for at least 20 seconds so the cornstarch is activated.

Remove from heat and whisk in the butter. The cream should be thickened. Pour into a clean bowl and cover. Place in the refrigerator until completely cool.

Meanwhile, in a mixer, beat the heavy cream until it holds soft peaks. Once the pastry mixture has cooled, fold in the whipped cream.

Assembly:
Place one crepe on a plate and spread a small amount of cream on top (about 1/8 inch thick). Top with another crepe and spread more cream on it. Repeat until all crepes are used, ending with a crepe. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving so the cake can set.