Ingredients:
- 15-20 cooked and cooled lemon poppy seed crepes (Add 2 Tbs poppy seeds, 2 Tbs sugar, and one 1 Tbs lemon zest to your favorite plain crepe batter recipe prior to cooking or use my go-to recipe below)
- 1-2 cups whipping cream (depending how many crepes you have and how far you want your frosting to stretch)
- 1 cup lemon curd, divided (I used my homemade recipe-use your favorite recipe or store bought)
- 1 8 ounce container mascarpone cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar, divided
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 tsp pure lemon extract or one Tbs lemon liquor, optional
- Candies lemon slices for garnish, optional
Directions:
Combine mascarpone, 1/4 cup of the sugar, 1/2 cup of the lemon curd, and lemon zest in a mixer on medium speed to combine, stopping to scrape now and continuing to mix until ingredients are incorporated. Remove from mixing bowl and set aside in another large bowl. In the same mixer pour in heavy cream and start mixing on high speed, adding remaining 1/4 cup sugar gradually as mixture starts to thicken. If desired add in 1tsp pure lemon extract or 1 tbsp lemon liquor to pump up the lemon flavor even more, though you will have plenty once cream is mixed with lemon mascarpone mixture. Continue beating in high until light firm peaks form. Add in 1/3 of the whip cream mixture to the bowl with the mascarpone mixture and fold in gently to incorporate. Repeat folding remaining 2/3 of the whipped cream to the mascarpone mixture.
Stack two crepes on a cake board or cake plate for a slightly thicker base. Spread approximately 1/2 tbs lemon curd from reserved 1/2 cup on top of the crepe and then spread a couple spoon-fuls of the mascarpone cream mixture evenly on top covering the surface of the crepe. Top with next crepe layer, lemon curd and mascarpone cream, and repeat layering lemon curd and mascarpone cream between each crepe layer until last crepe is placed on top. Wrap assembled crepe cake in plastic and place dish on top to weight it down and refrigerate a few hours to firm up.
When cake is firm and thoroughly cooled remove from fridge and trim edges, if desired, for a smooth uniform look. (Or you can leave the uneven edges for a more rustic look if you prefer. If you have ring cutters and prefer to do this with crepes individually before assembling and frosting you can do that as well.) Frost outside of crepe cake with remaining cream mixture in your preferred style. (I went with the semi-naked frosting style for this cake because I like the look of the edges and poppy seeds showing through.) Decorate top with preferred garnishes such as piped decorative swirls of cream and candied lemon slices and serve!
Lemon Poppyseed Crepes:
Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup flour
- Zest of one lemon, (for lemon poppy seed)
- 2 Tbs Poppy seeds (for lemon poppy seed)
- 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Pure Lemon Extract (for lemon poppy seed)
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- Butter, for coating the pan
In a blender, combine all of the ingredients except poppy seeds and lemon zest and pulse for 10 seconds. Then add poppy seeds and lemon zest and pulse a few more times to incorporate gently. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour to help crepes stabilize during cooking. Batter will keep in fridge for about two days.
Heat a small non-stick pan on low heat and add a very scant half teaspoon of butter swirling it around pan until melted. (I find that if I add much more than that the crepe doesn’t set up as well when cooking.) Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Don’t worry if the first 3-4 crepes have issues sticking or tearing and come out wrong. That’s pretty standard but just keep making any slight adjustments to heat level, amount of butter, and cooking time for each crepe and things will smooth out after that.
Cook for about one minute or until crepe feels firm enough to slide spatula under and flip. Cook for another 30 seconds or so also until firm enough to slide spatula under on this side and remove to the cutting board. (Cooking time will vary depending on varied heat settings.) Lay the crepes out flat on a parchment lined baking sheet so they can cool without sticking-I like to put a layer of parchment between each crepe. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for about two months.
