Lemon Raspberry Crepe Cake

Why you’ll love this recipe:

Gateau de crepes or crepe cake is a French pastry made with layers of thin delicate crepes and pastry cream. It’s rustic, and beautiful, and lends itself well to different flavors and fillings.

This lemon raspberry mille crepe cake is an irresistible combo of sweet and tart. A mixture of lemon curd and heavy cream creates a light yet luscious filling with the right amount of tang!

While crepes seem intimidating, they don’t have to be difficult! My foolproof crepe recipe is a breeze to make and produces delicately thin, lacy crepes with crispy edges!

Key Ingredient Notes:

• Poppy seeds add an addictively nutty crunch.
• Milk – Warm milk yields delicately soft crepes! Two cups may seem like a lot, but crepe batter should be thin. Thin batter gives you lacy, thin crepes.
• Vegetable oil – A little bit of vegetable oil makes it so you don’t have to butter the pan for every crepe, like magic!
• Baking powder encourages the batter to puff up in the hot skillet and gives you a million little holes!
• Lemon Curd – If you have the time, I highly recommend homemade lemon curd! It’s perfectly sweet-tart and creamy.
• Heavy cream – Make sure it’s cold! Warm cream won’t whip properly.
• Raspberry Sauce – Raspberry and lemon are a match made in heaven. My homemade raspberry sauce is super simple to make!

How to make this recipe:

1. Make the crepes:

• Combine the flour and poppy seeds in a medium bowl. Set it aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, and salt until combined. Stir in one cup of warm milk and the vanilla. Mix for one minute.
• Add the flour mixture and mix until smooth, then scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. With the mixer on low, pour in the remaining milk.
• Stir in the vegetable oil and baking powder, then mix until smooth. Let the crepe batter rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-high.

• Pour a scant quarter cup of batter into the hot skillet and tilt it around so the batter covers the entire surface.
• When the edges start to brown, run a spatula underneath the edges. Insert the spatula underneath the crepe and carefully flip it over. Cook until golden brown, about 30 seconds.
• Transfer the crepe to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter. Each crepe should take about 1 minute.
• Let the crepes cool before filling or refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Make the cream filling:

• Whip the heavy cream until hard peaks form. You can do this by hand with a whisk or with a mixer.
• Stir in the lemon curd and mix until combined.

3. Assemble the crepe cake:

• Place the first cake on your serving platter and top with a heaping tablespoon of lemon whipped cream. Spread it around evenly.
• Place another crepe on top and add 2-3 teaspoons of raspberry sauce. Spread it around evenly.
• Repeat this process until all the crepes are gone, alternating between both fillings.
• Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh raspberries, or refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Tips for Success:

• Be sure to let the batter rest, at least for 15 minutes, or up to overnight. Rested batter spreads nicely in the skillet and doesn’t tear as easily.
• The skillet should be hot before you add the batter. Crepes won’t stick to a sizzling hot pan and they cook quickly, creating a lacy texture!
• The first crepe won’t be perfect! Enjoy it as a tasty snack and move on. The second one will come out better.
• A large cookie scoop makes pouring the batter easy and it holds close to 1/4 cup of batter.
• The crepe cake is easier to slice if you refrigerate it. It gives the whipped cream time to firm up in the fridge.

Variations:

Crepe cakes are easy to customize! So long as you master the crepes, you can switch up the fillings as you please. Try one of these simple variations:

• Vanilla crepe cake – Whip 3/4 cup of cold heavy cream with 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 2 tablespoons of sugar until stiff peaks form. Use for the filling.
• Chocolate crepe cake – Whip 3/4 cup of cold heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until it reaches soft peaks. Sift 1 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa powder into the cream and whip until hard peaks form. Use for the filling.

Make-Ahead Tips:

• You can make the crepes up to two days in advance and refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble. Wrap them in plastic wrap first so they don’t dry out.
• Or you make the entire crepe cake a day in advance and simply bring it to room temperature before serving!