Chestnut Mille Crêpes

This Mille Crêpes was made to show my appreciation to my husband and kids for they had brighten up my mother's day. Pynn made one yesterday to gave to her mum. I think she made a good decission for choosing this. Mille Crêpes means“a thousand crêpes” . That means she had actually sending her mum "thousand love" on mother's day :) To follow her foot steps, I choose this as well just to say thousand of thank you for my loves.

For the crêpes:

• 170g all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water or light beer
• 4 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon Grand-Marnier (optional)

For the chestnut cream:

• 500g chestnuts (use packets)
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons sweetened chestnut puree (optional)
• 1/2 whipping cream (whipped)

For the orange caramel:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup orange juice, strained

Method:

For the crêpes:

1. Combine all the ingredients by hand or in the bowl of a blender. Mix until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (Preferably overnight, this allows the gluten in the flour a chance to relax).
2. Place a 8 inch nonstick or seasoned crepe pan over medium heat. Using a paper towel, coat the pan with a little butter.
3. Pour about 2 tablespoons into the pan. Lift, tilt and rotate the pan so that the batter forms an even, very thin layer. Cook until golden. Turn the crepe over and cook a little longer. Remove the crepe to a piece of wax paper. Continue cooking the rest of the crepes.

For the chestnut cream:

1. Combine the chestnuts, the milk, the sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook over medium high heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and puree the mixture in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add the sweetened chestnut paste if using and process until smooth.
2. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Fold the whipped cream into the mixture and reserve.

For the orange caramel:

1. Cook the sugar in a dry heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar is melted into a deep golden caramel, then cool sauce.

To assemble :

1. Lay 1 crêpe on a cake plate. Using an icing spatula, completely cover with a thin layer of chestnut cream. Cover with a crêpe and repeat to make a stack of 15 to 20.
2. Chill for at least 2 hours. Serve cold.
3. Slice like a cake. Serve with orange caramel. Enjoy!