This insanely delicious Blackberry Cannoli Cream Vegan Crepe Cake is sure to impress everyone! it has NO DAIRY, NO EGGS, but plenty of flavor and decadence!
Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Whisk the wet ingredients in a jug, and then combine with the dry ingredients while mixing. Whisk until well combined, smooth and the batter has no lumps.
Heat a non stick pan (diameter of about 5 - 6 inches) on medium heat. Coat it with some vegan butter or oil. When the oil is heated, add about a 1/4 cup of the batter (about a ladle-full) to the pan and swirl the pan to coat it.
Cook for a couple of minutes on both sides, or until it lightly browns and the edges are crisp. Stack the crepes on a plate until you need them.
For the Cannoli Cream
Once you have made the firm ricotta in the food processor, add the blackberries and process further until the berries have blended through.
Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the icing sugar and lemon juice (to taste). Keep it in the fridge and chill until needed.
Assembly
Place one crepe on a cake tray, and spread about 1-2 tbsp of the cannoli cream filling on it. Place another crepe on top and repeat with the cannoli cream filling. Repeat with the rest of the crepes (about 12 crepes).
If you are serving the crepe cake without the caramel coating, finish the crepe cake with a layer of cannoli cream on top. If you do want to pour caramel, do NOT add the last layer of cream on top of the crepe cake.
Chill the cake in the fridge (if not adding caramel), or store in the freezer for at least 1 hour to pour the caramel on top.
Caramel coating
Sprinkle the sugar at the bottom of a saucepan as evenly as possible and add the corn syrup. Pour the water all along the edge of the saucepan (this is to help melt the sugar evenly).
Heat over medium heat (without stirring) to melt the sugar. If needed gently swirl the saucepan, but not too much. You can use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush the edges of the pan to remove sugar crystals stuck to the side, in order to avoid crystallization.
Once the sugar has melted, cover the saucepan with a lid for about 1-2 minutes. Then uncover, and let the sugar caramelize (do not swirl or stir the sugar at this point) over medium to medium high heat until it turns golden.
Final touches
When the sugar is starting to colour, take the frozen crepe cake out of the freezer and place it on a piece of cardboard or foil (smaller than the diameter of the cake). Then place it on a cake cooling tray, and place that over another metal tray/cake tin (to catch the hot caramel drip).
Chop some pistachios and dark chocolate (vegan) and set aside.
When the sugar is ready, carefully pour it in a steady stream, over the top of the crepe cake. Once sufficiently covered, sprinkle the pistachios on top before the caramel sets. Add some chopped chocolate as well.
Allow the caramel to set. Leave the cake at room temp for a few hours, till the cake thaws out but is still chilled.
Alternatively, top the crepe cake with fresh berries, chopped pistachios and chocolate just before serving. When cutting into the cake, crack the caramel on top to make it easier to cut slices.