Lemon Mascarpone Mille-Crepe

What’s better than a crepe?

How about 20+ crepes.

Layered with lemon curd cream.

Topped with mascarpone cream.

I’m in.

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a big fan of lemon desserts and for this crepe cake it was a no brainer.  One of my favourite crepe fillings is one of the most simple, a squirt of lemon juice and a sprinkle of sugar.

I’ve seen crepe cakes a lot recently and it’s always been in the back of my mind to just make one, so I put on some 80s new wave and got to work making a double batch of my favourite crepe recipe (this crepe recipe is perfect for a lazy Saturday morning breakfast too).

While this recipe isn’t too technically difficult, it takes awhile to make all the crepes.  My suggestion would be to use two pans at once and take half the time.  I unfortunately only have one non-stick pan and wasn’t about to use a cup of butter just keeping another pan greased.

Take the plunge, even if you say screw it halfway through, you have a bunch of delicious crepes.

Crepe Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp melted butter

Lemon Curd Ingredients

• 6 tbsp softened butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, plus 3 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

Cream Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 5 oz mascarpone cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla

Steps

To make the crepes, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.  Add eggs, 1 cup of milk and vanilla and whisk until smooth.  Add remaining milk gradually while constantly whisking until fully mixed.  Whisk in melted butter until smooth.

Heat a 9 inch non-stick pan over medium heat and brush a small amount of butter to grease the pan.  Pour batter 3.5 tbsp at a time into the pan, swirling around until it takes up the pan (the first crepe is usually a write-off, best to eat it…).  Flip the crepe once edges are browning and easily come off the pan.  Cook other side for 10-20 seconds and place on a plate.

Sometimes crepe shapes get a bit interesting, you can keep the wisps or carefully tear them off

Once you’ve cooked half your crepes, place them in the fridge to get a headstart on the cooling process.  Allow all crepes to cool completely in fridge.

To make the lemon curd, mix the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the whole egg, then yolks one at a time, whisking well in between each addition.  Add lemon juice and heat over medium heat stirring constantly until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.  Allow to cool completely.

To assemble, whisk 1 1/4 cups of cream and 3 tbsp sugar until soft peaks form.  Fold 1/3 of this mixture into the lemon curd until combined, then add this mixture to the rest of the cream, folding until completely combined.

Mid fold

Finished lemon cream

Place a crepe on a cake plate and spread on 3 tbsp of cream mixture, alternating between crepe and cream until complete.

Whisk remaining cream, sugar, mascarpone and vanilla until combined and spread over top and/or side of crepes as desired.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours until set.

Garnish with lemon zest, pistachios, whatever strikes your fancy!

Crepe recipe adapted from Ricardo cuisine, curd cream recipe from Martha Stewart