Meyer Lemon and Raspberry Crepe Cake (Perfect Valentine’s Day Dessert)

 

So, I made myself and early birthday cake. My birthday isn’t for a couple weeks, but I needed an excuse to create this recipe I have had swirling around in my brain lately. I have so much to say about this cake! Lets break it down, piece by piece.

First of all, it has twenty layers! But these layers are a cinch to make. All it takes is twenty crepes and the ability to spread whipped cream (amazing Meyer Lemon Curd Whipped Cream and Raspberry Whipped Cream, that is). If you can spread peanut butter on a sandwich, you can frost this cake! No baking and no fancy frosting skills.

And lets talk about the Meyer Lemon Curd Whipped Cream. One word. HEAVEN. This stuff is an amazing dessert all by itself. I tasted it and I had to sit down and close my eyes. And then I had to dish a little bit up in a bowl and hide from my two year old while I ate it slowly, savoring every bite. It’s basically homemade lemon curd and cream cheese, folded into whipped cream . The lemon curd is actually very easy to make and its made even more decadent with Meyer lemons. Meyer’s are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange and they are sweeter and juicer. Sometimes they are tricky to find, so if you can’t find Meyer lemons just use regular lemons. Just know you might need to use more regular lemons than Meyer lemons because they aren’t as juicy. Regular lemons are more tart, too, so feel free to whisk in a little more sugar at the end while its still hot. You will have some extra lemon curd that is not used in the cake, too, which is wonderful on pancakes, toast, ice cream, inside cupcakes, or just for eating by the spoonful.

To make things even better, I thought I’d mix things up and add a light raspberry whipped cream to balance out the lemon flavor. I know raspberries aren’t in season in February, but I couldn’t resist them when they were only 69 cents for a container at the store. WHAT?  I folded some whipped cream cheese and sugared raspberries into whipped cream.

The best part of all? You can make everything ahead of time! The lemon curd can be made up to three days early and everything else can be made a day early. So if you want this cake to feel like a cinch and you have the patience, spread this out over three days. You can do it all in the same day if you want, of course. I just like recipes that I can spread out because my daughter is always cutting things short. Just remember to assemble the cake on the day you are serving it. Its way better the day of.

Wouldn’t this make the prettiest Valentine’s Day brunch dish? Or a fancy Valentine’s Day dessert?

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Crepes:

Ingredients:

• 3 C. milk (any kind works fine)
• 2 1/4 C. flour, all purpose
• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 C. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 TBSP. butter, melted, plus more for brushing the pan

Directions:

1. Add milk, flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt to a blender. Blend for about two minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. Don’t over mix or the crepes will be tough.

2. Add the melted butter and blend again for about 30 seconds. Put the lid on the blender cup and place in the fridge for at least one hour, but up to four hours. Letting the batter rest for at least an hour lets the flour soak up all the liquid and thicken just a bit. It also allows for all the air bubbles to settle or pop. Right before use, re-blend for a few second.

3. Heat a non stick pan over medium-high heat. You don’t want the crepes too big, so don’t go any bigger than a pan that has an 8 inch diameter in the bottom part, before the sides curve up. Melt a Tablespoon or so of butter and have it on hand. Use a silicone pastry brush to coat the bottom of the pan with butter.

4. Set a little plate close by to set your drippy measuring cup on after pouring the batter. Get out a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Always measure out 1/4 cup and don’t eyeball it so all your crepes are the same size. Normally this doesn’t matter much, but when you are stacking 20 on top of each other to make a cake, you want them to be similar in thickness. 

5. Quickly pour 1/4 cup batter into the center of the pan. Don’t drizzle it, just quickly dump it into the center all at once. As soon as the batter hits the pan, lift the pan off the burner and swirl the batter around in a circular motion until the batter stops spreading. I usually do about 3 swirls around. This will help coat the bottom of the skillet evenly. Set back on the burner.

6. Immediately use a silicone spatula to release the edges of the crepe from the side of the pan and push down and stray better that slid up the side while you were swirling. Cook the crepe for about 45 seconds.

 

You will know it is time to flip it when the bottom is golden and the top is dry.

Flip the crepe in one motion with the spatula and cook for another 30 seconds or until the other side is golden too. Transfer to a plate and start the next crepe.

7. Repeat until all the batter is gone, re-brushing with butter after every 3 or 4 crepes. If your crepes are burning or browning too quickly or if they are cooking before you finish swirling the batter evenly, lower the heat. I usually start at medium-high to get the pan nice and hot and after a few crepes I start lowering the heat to medium.

8. Stack all the crepes on top of each other. I made 23 crepes out of this batch of batter and I used 20 crepes for the cake, so its ok to snitch a crepe or to mess up on the first few until you get the hang of it. If it takes you more than four crepes to get the hang of it or if you can’t help but eating a few too many, its totally fine. Just make the cake a couple layers shorter. Let the crepes cool completely before assembling the cake.

If you get the hang of it and you have more than one pan of the same size, feel free to make two at a time. But only if you feel confident in your crepe making abilities.

NOTE: You can make the crepes up to a day in advance. Just cover and store in the fridge.

Lemon Curd

Ingredients

• 1 TBSP. fresh Meyer lemon zest
• 1/2 C. freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
• 1 C. sugar
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 eggs, large
• 2 egg yolks, large
• 5 TBSP. butter, cubed

Directions:

1. Wash and dry the lemons. Zest the lemons until you get one TBSP of fine zest. I use THIS zester and I love it so much! It makes zesting so easy and quick.Then slice the zested lemons in half and juice them until you have 1/2 C. I used four lemons for the zest and juice. You will need more if you are using regular lemons, because Meyer lemons are much more juicy. If there are seeds in the juice, run it through a mesh strainer. Set aside the juice and zest for later.

2. In a medium pot, whisk together the sugar and corn starch. Add the eggs and egg yolks to the sugar and whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest and whisk again until combined.

3. Add the butter and place over medium heat and avoid the urge to turn up the heat to speed things along. Whisk continuously until butter melts and the contents of the pot start to thicken. It usually take between 7 and 10 minutes. Once it starts to boil, pour the contents into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set in the fridge to cool. It will thicken more as it cools. Chill until its cold, between 1 and 3 hours.

NOTE: This can also be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Just store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Lemon Curd Whipped Cream:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 C. heavy whipping cream
• 6 TBSP. powdered sugar
• 4 oz. whipped cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 C. Meyer lemon curd (from above recipe)

Directions:

1. Beat together the whipping cream and powdered sugar unit stiff peaks form.

2. Gently fold in the whipped cream cheese and lemon curd with a silicone spatula until combined. Make sure the lemon curd is cold or room temperature. The cream cheese needs to be room temperature so that it will easily fold into the whipped cream. I always buy an 8 ounce tub of whipped cream cheese because it is lighter and softer than using a brick of cream cheese. I split the container between the lemon whipped cream and the raspberry whipped cream.

3. Place in airtight container and keep in fridge until ready to use.

Raspberry Whipped Cream:

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. fresh raspberries, plus more for topping
• 2 TBSP. granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 C. heavy whipping cream
• 6 TBSP. powdered sugar
• 4 oz. whipped cream cheese, room temperature

Directions:

1. Wash raspberries and sprinkle with the granulated sugar and set aside.

2. Beat together the cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the remaining 4 ounces of whipped cream cheese and the sugared raspberries until combined. Use the spatula or spoon to gently break the raspberries up by pushing against the side of the bowl.

3. Store in the fridge in an air tight container until ready to use.

Cake Assembly:

Ingredients:

• 20 crepes
• Meyer lemon curd whipped cream
• raspberry whipped cream
• extra raspberries and powdered sugar for topping

Directions:

1. On the plate of a cake stand, place one crepe in the center.

2. Spread on a layer of the Meyer lemon whipped cream.

3. Place another crepe on top and spread on a layer of the raspberry whipped cream.

4. Continue this process, alternating between the lemon and raspberry whipped cream until all twenty crepes are gone. Don’t spread whipped cream on the very top crepe.

5. Top with fresh raspberries and more whipped cream of either variety in the center or around the edges. Sprinkle with powdered sugar right before serving.

6. Slice with a very sharp knife.

NOTE: This cake is best eaten the day it is made. It is still good on the second day, but the crepes soak up some of the filling and the delicious whipped cream fillings become less present. If you want to make early, just make all the ingredients in advance and assemble the cake as close as you can before serving.

By Edible Experiments