Lemon Mascarpone Crepe Cake
This stunning crepe cake filled with lemon curd and mascarpone whipped cream is perfect for springtime celebrations.
Every March I go crazy for all things lemon. In fact, if you look through my archives you’ll see that I share most of my lemon treats in March— like these lemon cinnamon rolls or lemon doughnut holes. Citrus is in season all winter long, but as winter dies down and I crave all things bright, sunny and fresh, the real obsession begins. And so for me, lemons will always be perfect for spring.
Marie Asselin’s book Simply Citrus couldn’t have shown up at a better time.
If you’ve followed Marie’s blog Food Nouveau for long, you know that she loves citrus and this book is a beautiful extension of that. It’s filled with 60 recipes, both sweet and savory, with each chapter dedicated to a single citrus fruit. You can bet that I flipped right to the lemon section and when I laid eyes on this crepe cake I knew I had to try it!
This crepe cake was the perfect recipe to try from Marie’s book, as it’s really a 3-in-1. I got to try her basic lemon curd and candied citrus peel, as well as the whole assembled lemon crepe cake.
There’s a lot of components to this cake and the recipe may look daunting at first glance. But most of the pieces can be made in advance, and you can spread the whole process out over several days if you wish, with final assembly taking less than 30 minutes.
And all of that prep work is well worth it. I mean, look at this cake! It’s beautiful, delicious, and unique. It’s perfect for spring, celebrations (hello, Easter!), and impressing your friends and family.
If you’re interested in more fun citrus recipes, click here to buy Simply Citrus!
baking tip:How to make crepes
Making crepes isn’t difficult! It just takes practice.
1. Heat a 9-inch skillet over medium low heat and lightly grease with butter.
2. Add 1/4 cup crepe batter and use your wrist to swirl the batter around until it completely covers the bottom of the pan.
3. After 1 minute, use a rubber spatula to loosen the edges of the crepe.
4. Use the spatula or your fingers to flip the crepe and let it cook for 1 more minute.
5. Slide crepe out of the pan and repeat.
Tools for this recipe
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Lemon Mascarpone Crepe Cake
Ingredients
Candied lemon peel:
- 4 lemons
- 1 cup water (250 ml)
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar (200 grams), divided
- 1/4 cup honey (85 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon curd:
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (125 ml)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream (80 ml)
Crepes:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk (500 ml)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Butter or oil , for greasing the pan
Mascarpone Cream:
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese (226 grams)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (250 ml)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the candied lemon peel:
- Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemon. If necessary, use a knife to remove any of the bitter white layer (pith) from the peel. Slice into 1/4-inch wide strips.
- Juice lemons and measure out 1/2 cup (125 ml). Set aside.
- Place peels in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain.
- Return peels to the pan and cover with cold water again. Bring to a boil and simmer for another 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain.
- Add lemon juice, 1 cup water, 1 cup of the sugar, honey, and vanilla to the pan.
- Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add lemon peels and cook for about 20 minutes, until syrup has thickened and lemon peels appear slightly translucent.
- Let peels and syrup cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge until ready to use.
- When ready to assemble crepe cake, drain peels (save syrup if you'd like, it makes a great addition to drinks and cocktails!) and toss in remaining 1/2 cup sugar.
To make the lemon curd:
- Combine cornstarch and water until smooth and set aside.
- Add lemon juice and sugar to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together.
- Add the lemon juice mixture to the eggs in a small steady stream while whisking constantly.
- Whisk in the cornstarch mixture.
- Return mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium high heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Mixture should coat the back of a spoon.
- Remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream.
- If desired, pass through a mesh strainer to remove any egg clumps. Chill in the fridge completely.
To make the crepes:
- In a blender, combine the flour, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla until smooth.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
- Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add just enough butter or oil to cover the bottom.
- Add 1/4 cup of crepe batter to the pan and lift and swirl pan with your wrist to coat the bottom of the pan completely with batter.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes until golden brown on the bottom. Then use a spatula to loosen and flip to the other side.
- Cook for about 1 minute until browned on that side.
- Transfer crepe to a plate and repeat with remaining batter. You should get about 20 crepes total.
- Let crepes cool to room temperature before assembling cake, or wrap in plastic and store in the fridge for up to several days if making in advance.
To make the mascaprone cream:
- Beat the mascarpone cheese, whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla on high speed until thickened to medium peaks.
- For best results, use immediately.
To assemble the crepe cake:
- Place 1 crepe on a plate or cake stand. Cover with a thin layer of lemon curd.
- Place another crepe on top. Cover with a thin layer of mascarpone cream.
- Repeat with remaining crepes.
- Pile the rest of the mascarpone cream on top of the crepe cake and top with the candied lemon peel.
- Chill at least 30 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to several days.
Notes
NOTES:
- The candied lemon peel topping is optional but worth the effort!
- If you can't find mascarpone cheese, you can use cream cheese.
- Most of the components to this cake store very well in the fridge, so this is a great cake to prep in advance and assemble the day of. I spread out my prep over 3 days, just a small bit of time each day, and assembly was very quick and simple.
Disclosure: I received a free review copy of Simply Citrus. All opinions are always my own.
This is so beautiful! Yes to all things bright and citrus-y after winter.