This Lazy Crêpe Cake Is 1,000 Times Easier Than Making Crêpes (But Just as Special)

I’ll admit that making crêpes has never been a passion project of mine. It’s a hard sell: tediously pouring just enough batter into a perfectly heated pan, an immaculate swirl, a flawless flip, and repeating until your stomach is growling. I prefer projects with a little downtime to kick my feet up. 

Enter: the lazy crêpe. With this method, instead of making a small mountain of individual pancakes, you can bake the batter all at once in a sheet pan and roll it up with fillings to make a jelly roll-inspired crêpe cake. Best of all, making the batter couldn’t be easier—just throw all of the ingredients in a blender, buzz it up, and you’re ready to go.

A Party Hit

When I appeared at a weekend brunch party with this crêpe roll cake in hand, jaws hit the floor. Not only had my friends never seen a crêpe in this form, they were delighted by the not-too-sweet mix of fruity blueberry preserves and tangy whipped cream cheese inside. The roll cake sliced like a dream and was easily transferred to plates for serving. My friends loved the defined swirl that each slice had, beckoning the mystical aesthetic of a jelly roll. 

This cake is great for entertaining as it can be fully assembled and chilled days in advance, and it slices even better when it’s cold. Just give it a fresh coating of powdered sugar right before serving and add a handful of berries to each plate, if you like, for freshness and color.

The Best Fillings to Use

If I’m not making my own preserves or jam, there’s one brand I always turn to: Bonne Maman. As basic as it may sound, I love that you can tell you’re eating real fruit with this brand. My favorite is their Wild Blueberry Preserves flavor, but you can use any flavor you like in this cake.The jars are a significant size, so you can fill your roll cake with lots of preserves, then still have plenty leftover. 

I love using preserves or jams in the filling because they bring a hefty hit of sweetness, and when combined with the tangy, dairy-rich whipped cream cheese, the pairing is perfect. Feel free to try curds or other sweet fillings like Nutella in place of the jam if you desire, there are dozens of possibilities. This cake is a blank canvas for whatever flavor combinations you can dream up, and your guests will be sure to love it.