Lately I've been a cravin' crepes. It all started when I went to the Mobile Chowdown with some friends. We spent plenty of time standing in lines for various foods and I was planning on ending our food excursion on a sweet note. I had been eyeing the crepe stand for awhile. Well, needless to say, I didn't get any. Right around the same time, I got my monthly Martha Stewart magazine in the mail and right on the cover was a mouthwatering crepe cake. After perusing the recipe over and over, I decided to just go for it. How else was I going to get my stinkin' crepes?
The ingredient list was doable. The only item I felt iffy about were the Meyer lemons. But I figured the Fred Meyer's by my place would have them. Well, they didn't. What? Fred Meyer doesn't have Meyer lemons??!!! Get it? Ok, bad joke. Fortunately the knowledgeable produce guy knew where I could get them. If I went up the street, there was a Mediterranean market within "walking distance" that had them on sale. Excellent! After purchasing the rest of my groceries, I proceeded to walk aimlessly up the street, with my heavy bag in hand. I later learned that within "walking distance" actually meant "seven blocks", the area I was walking was not safe, and yes, I should have gone to the bathroom before I left. It also didn't help that my groceries were becoming increasingly heavy and that I had to locate the address of the Mediterranean market on my phone with my free hand covertly inside my purse. When I finally got to the market though, the staff were very friendly and I was able to at last purchase my precious Meyer lemons.
What is a Meyer lemon? It is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. They are known for being sweeter than other lemons. They also have a rounder shape, which I think makes them adorable.
Sorry for the long narrative, now to the baking part.
To make the crepe cake you need to make a lemon curd mousse and you need to make crepes. While making the curd, you add the ingredients and whisk them continuously for ten minutes over medium-low heat. When the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, it is ready for the next step. It took me 20 minutes before the curd thickened. I was literally about to give up when it did this. Note: I think the mixture had to heat up sufficiently before it would thicken. I have an old stove range, so it took longer. But I kept on whisking. A light yellow bubbly layer formed on top and then slowly the whole thing became light yellow and bubbly and then it thickened pretty quickly. I was Sooooooooooooooooooooo happy to see that since I worked so hard to get the lemons. :)
Now, on to the crepes. I had never made crepes before either. So this whole recipe was a big learning experience for me. I used a regular non-stick frying pan for the crepes. My dad had pulled out an old, dusty crepe maker from the garage while I was home earlier that day. I had no idea he owned one. I was tempted to use it, and even tried it once, but gave up. I didn't have time to make another batch of batter if it didn't work out. So I stuck with my first plan. My first crepe turned out fragile and kind of moist. And was too sticky to be flipped. I realized I did not wait for the edges of the crepes to turn golden brown before flipping it over. The recommended 30 seconds per side from the recipe was not accurate. So I judged by watching the edges instead. After the edges became golden brown, I turned the pan upside-down over an overturned plate. When the crepe fell, I would place it back into the pan on the side that needed to be browned. Not very professional, but it got the job done. I also kept adjusting the temperature of the pan. Increasing and decreasing as necessary to keep the crepes from cooking too fast or slow. Note: be sure your crepe batter is cold before using.
After the curd had plenty of time to refrigerate, I was able to add some whipped cream to make it into a mousse. After that it was only a matter of stacking crepes and covering them with the mousse. Pretty simple. I learned much from making this crepe cake. And it was not too difficult. Though you need plenty of time to make this. I started the night before by leaving some eggs out to become room temperature. And then there's time needed to refrigerate the crepe batter and the curd. And also the mousse and then the actual cake once it is assembled. All in all, it turned out well. Though the taste was too rich for me, one piece was perfect.
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