Strawberry Crepe Cake

This cake has been a joy to make. Not just make, but bring to the table, as we welcome Tammie into our family. She is my son's fiancee and a fan of good food. So this dessert is a fitting end to a lovely meal. She recognizes the crepe cake for what it is! I'm impressed!

I see a similar cake in a food magazine. It involves an obscene amount of cream and blackberries. I replace the blackberries with strawberries, and cut the cream portion significantly. Once made, the crepe batter needs to sit for a few hours.That allows the crepes to develop that lacy texture. Use melted butter to brush the crepe pan with every crepe you swirl. It will make a softer, more flavorful crepe. The batter makes a lot of crepes. Do not despair. You will need at least twenty or twenty two crepes to build the cake. The filling is made with fresh strawberries, processed till pulpy. Mascarpone, cream and sugar are blended with the strawberries to make a slightly chunky filling. Before you know it, the stack rises. Refrigerate till ready. Decorate with additional whipped cream and strawberries. Cut cake into wedges. Its a wow thing!


STRAWBERRY CREPE CAKE
Adapted from  Food and Wine magazine
Serves 6-8

Crepe Batter
Makes about 30 6 inch crepes
1 1/2 cups all purpose Flour
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 tablespoon Lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
6 Eggs
2 cups Milk ( Whole or 2%)
1/2 cup heavy Cream
5 tablespoons melted Butter

Strawberry Filling
2 cups diced Strawberries
1 8oz tub Mascarpone, at room temperature
A pinch of Kosher salt
3 tablespoons Icing Sugar
1/4 cup heavy Cream or more if needed

Topping
1/3 cup heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Sugar
5-6 Strawberries

Whisk flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.

Break eggs into the blender container.

Add milk and cream to eggs. Blend for 30-40 seconds.

Add flour mix and lemon zest to eggs. Blend again till flour is incorporated. Scrape any flour on the sides of the blender into the batter.

Pour batter into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 4-5 hours.

Allow the batter to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before making the crepes.

Place a 6 or 7 inch nonstick crepe pan over medium high heat.

Brush pan with melted butter.

Ladle about 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot pan and swirl pan to spread batter.  Adjust the batter amount depending on the size of your pan. 

Brush the pan with butter before ladling the batter. Brushing with melted butter allows the batter to swirl and spread effortlessly.  Let the edges turn golden, about 30 seconds to a minute, then flip the crepe on the other side and allow it to cook for another 10-15 seconds. Remove from pan onto a plate. Repeat with remaining batter.

Stack crepes on top of one another. You can make the crepes a day earlier and keep them in the fridge covered in plastic wrap.

The trick to making thin crepes is all in the wrist. It might take a few attempts to get 
the thinness you want. 

Cool crepes before layering.

Make the filling the day you assemble the cake.

Pulse strawberries in a food processor till coarsely pulped. ( See Notes if you do not have a food processor)

Add mascarpone, sugar, salt and cream. Pulse till filling looks smooth about 8-10 times.  Scrape filling into a bowl. 

Assemble cake by laying one crepe on a plate. 

Spread 2 tablespoons of filling over the crepe with on offset spatula.

Top with another crepe and repeat this process till you run out of filling. 

Use as many crepes as you like. I used 22.

The top layer should be a plain crepe.

Cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1/2 hour. 

Make the topping by whipping cream till stiff.  

Add sugar and mix.

Spread cream over the top layer.

Slice strawberries and arrange in a rosette in the center. 

Refrigerate till ready to serve. Cut into wedges and enjoy!

NOTES

If you do not have a food processor, mash the strawberries with a potato masher till pulpy. You could use a hand mixer to whip the rest of the ingredients together or do it vigorously by hand. Aim at getting a smooth filling. If you have big chunks of berries the filling will be lumpy, resulting in uneven layers as you build the cake.

We love love love the cake. Strawberry comes through strongly, with a hint of lemon. It isn't too sweet which is always a good thing. And then there's all that cream. This is a special dessert, made for a special occasion. Rehan and Tammie are the cream of the crop!

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