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

It’s a stunning looking, no-stress cake to share.

By
Joey Firoben
Joey Firoben
Joey Firoben

Joey Firoben is a food stylist, culinary producer, and recipe developer with over 9 years of experience. Starting off as an amateur baker, Joey learned on the job while working alongside seasoned culinary professionals. Joey's worked in Hollywood making fancy cocktails and donuts for TV shows and commercials. His written work can be found on Simply Recipes.

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Published December 11, 2025
Joey Firoben
Rolled crepe cake with berry filling dusted with powdered sugar and garnished with fresh raspberries and blueberries on a platter

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hausser
  • Skip the tedious pan-flipping by baking all your crêpe batter at once in a sheet pan and turning it into a fun rolled cake.
  • Mixing the batter takes just seconds in a blender with pantry staples you likely have on hand.
  • The jelly roll shape gives each slice a striking swirl of sweet jam and tangy cream cheese filling.

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.

Slices of a rolled crepe cake filled with a fruit compote sprinkled with powdered sugar placed on colorful plates with small berries

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hausser

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.

Sliced crepe cake filled with fruit compote dusted with powdered sugar served with berries on plates

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hausser

Lazy Crêpe Cake

Prep Time 14 mins
Cook Time 16 mins
Cooling Time: 30 mins
Total Time 60 mins
Servings 6 to 8 servings
Yield 1 (12-inch) roll cake

This recipe was developed in a Nordicware Half-Sheet baking sheet, which is an aluminum, silver-colored pan. If you have a darker pan on hand, keep an eye on the temperature and timing, as darker pans can cause accelerated browning.

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Ingredients

For the crêpe cake

  • Nonstick cooking spray

  • 1 1/4 cups whole milk

  • 2 large eggs

  • 3/4 cup (90g) all-purpose flour

  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling

  • 1 cup cold heavy cream

  • 3 tablespoons powdered sugar, plus more for dusting

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 4 ounces (half a block) cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces and softened to room temperature

  • 3/4 cup (8 ounces) fruit preserves or jam

  • Fresh berries, for garnish, optional

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

    Grease a 12x18-inch half-sheet rimmed baking sheet generously with nonstick cooking spray, making sure to get the sides and edges as well as the bottom. Set aside.

  2. Make the crêpe batter:

    In a blender jar, combine the milk, eggs, flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Blend on low to medium speed until the batter is perfectly smooth, at least 30 seconds. Stop the blender and use a rubber spatula to scrape down any unincorporated bits halfway through, if needed.

    Simple Tip!

    If you’re using a blender, there’s no need to melt the butter before mixing—the high speed of the blender will quickly pulverize it to bits in this liquidy batter. To make this recipe without a blender, you can easily whisk together this batter in a bowl instead, though you will need to melt the butter first.

  3. Bake:

    Pour the batter into the greased baking sheet and tip from side to side and front to back to spread into an even layer. Bake until the batter has puffed and the edges are golden brown, 16 to 20 minutes. Let the crêpe sheet cool to room temperature, at least 30 minutes.

  4. Meanwhile, make the cream filling:

    While the crêpe sheet is cooling, make the filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a medium bowl if using a hand mixer, combine the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Start whipping on medium-low speed and whip the cream, gradually increasing the speed to high as it builds up more air and thickness. Once you reach high speed, stop once the cream reaches soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes.

    Gradually add the softened cream cheese in 4 additions, mixing on high speed for about 10 seconds to incorporate each addition. After the second addition, the whipped cream will get noticeably thicker; you’re doing great, keep going until it’s all incorporated. Set aside until ready to assemble

  5. Fill the cake:

    Use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the crêpe sheet from the edges of the pan. Using the butter knife or an offset spatula, slather the whipped cream cheese filling evenly over the whole surface of the crêpe sheet, going all the way to the edges. Spoon the preserves onto the whipped cream filling—I made 5 lines going the short way across the filling to result in defined areas of cream cheese filling and blueberry preserves in every slice. 

    A hand spreading cream over a crepe cake layer in a rectangular pan with an offset spatula for the lazy crêpe cake recipe

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hausser
    A hand spreading berry compote over a cream covered crepe cake in a baking sheet for the lazy crêpe cake recipe

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hausser
  6. Roll the cake and serve:

    Starting at a short end, roll the cake into a log. Transfer to a serving platter and dust with powdered sugar. Slice and serve with fresh berries as desired.

    Cover and refrigerate the assembled cake or leftovers for up to 5 days. The powdered sugar will dissolve over time, so a fresh dusting will be necessary before serving leftovers.

    Love the recipe? Leave us stars and a comment below!

    Hands rolling up a crepe layer with cream and fruit filling on a baking tray

    Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hausser
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
374 Calories
21g Fat
41g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 374
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 21g 27%
Saturated Fat 13g 63%
Cholesterol 106mg 35%
Sodium 175mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 41g 15%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 26g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 3mg 13%
Calcium 92mg 7%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 151mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.