Meyer Lemon Crepe Cake

Yum.  This is probably one of my favorite things that I've made.  I recently blogged about my love of Meyer lemons, and when my dear friend invited us to an Easter BBQ I wanted to make a light and lemony dessert to share.  Often when I make a dessert for a dinner party it ends up being heavy and a bit of a meal on it's own.  If you're having it right after you've eaten dinner you might not enjoy it as much as if you had it on an empty stomach.  So I wanted something that wouldn't be too heavy and overpowering.

This "cake" was perfect.  Thin layers of lightly sweet crepes separated with heavenly Meyer lemon curd mousse.  I seriously wanted to go home and make another one but I'm out of lemons.  Making the crepes was a bit of a hassle, the first five or so I couldn't get to flip quite right and a lot of them ended up being different sizes.  By the end I declared myself a crepe chef extraordinaire, hah.  I skipped Martha's candied lemons and just placed a few lemons on top of whipped cream for garnish.

Photo by Jamie Lacey Photography

Meyer Lemon Crepe Cake
by Martha Stewart

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk, room temperature
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, melted, plus more, melted, for pan
Meyer Lemon Curd Mousse (recipe below)
1/4 cup heavy cream, whipped

Meyer Lemon Curd Mousse

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from one 1/4-ounce envelope)
1 tablespoon cold water
4 large eggs plus 6 large yolks
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely grated Meyer lemon zest (from 2 lemons), plus 3/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (from 5 to 6 lemons)
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.
Whisk together eggs and yolks in a heavy small saucepan. Whisk in sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove pan from heat; add gelatin, stirring constantly, until gelatin dissolves and mixture is slightly cool. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, stirring after each addition, until smooth.
Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to remove as much curd as possible; discard any undissolved bits of gelatin and egg. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto surface of curd to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours or overnight. Stir curd, and gently fold in whipped cream. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Stir before using.

Making the Crepes and Assembling the Cake

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually pour milk mixture into flour mixture, whisking until smooth. Whisk in butter. Pour through a fine sieve into an airtight container; discard lumps. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
Lightly coat a 6-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet with butter. Heat over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Remove from heat; pour about 2 tablespoons batter into center. Swirl to cover bottom. Reduce heat to medium-low; return pan to heat. Cook until edges are golden and center is dry, about 30 seconds per side.
Slide crepe onto an overturned plate. Repeat with remaining batter, coating pan with butter as needed, and stacking crepes. Let cool.

Place 1 crepe on a flat serving dish. Spread about 1/4 cup lemon curd mousse onto crepe. Top with 1 crepe. Continue layering crepes and mousse. (Use 15 crepes, ending with a crepe on top.) Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.  Top with whipped cream and lemon slices to garnish.

Linked to:
Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweets for a Saturday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday