Desserts
Crêpe Cake with triple-citrus mousse
With layers upon layers of delicate lacy crêpes smothered in a luscious triple citrus mousse, this is one dessert that stacks high above the rest. Your house will soon look and smell like a French crêperie, but no one will complain about that!
For this recipe, you don’t need to have pristine crêpes (but check out our How To Make French Crêpes article and you'll be a pro in no time). You only need a pretty one for the top. And with over 20 layers of crêpes, this tall drink of water is jaw-droppingly impressive.
First, start the batter. With only 7 ingredients and a beater, it takes more time gathering ingredients than it does mixing them together. But the batter needs to rest in the fridge for an hour or up to overnight to hydrate the flour and let the gluten relax. While it’s resting, whip up the silky smooth mousse. Lemon, lime, and orange combine into a filling that’s pure bliss. First you make a curd, then you fold in whipped cream to form a luscious mousse. Once the batter rests, and the mousse is made, get ready to churn out some crêpes.
And bonus, this cake can be made ahead. With the mousse and crêpes made the day before, this crêpe-tastic treat is easy. So warm up your wrists and grab the nonstick skillet — crêpes and mousse have never tasted so good!
Ingredients
FOR THE MOUSSE, WHISK:
FOR THE CRÊPES, BLEND:
Test Kitchen Tip
Crêpe batter can be made in a blender — process all the ingredients on high speed for 10 seconds, scrape down the sides, then blend 10 seconds more.
Instructions
For the mousse, whisk together eggs and egg yolks; add sugar and whisk until combined. Stir in zests, juices, and salt.
Transfer egg mixture to a saucepan (with a stainless-steel interior). Add butter and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until curd thickens and a thermometer registers 170°, 8–10 minutes. Immediately pour and press curd through a finemesh sieve; discard solids. Cover surface of curd with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming; refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours or overnight. Fold whipped cream into curd to form mousse just before assembling.
For the crêpes, blend eggs, milk, flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix on high speed until ingredients are thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds. Cover batter and chill at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium 2–3 minutes. Brush bottom and sides of skillet with melted butter. Measure ¼ cup batter; pour it to one side of the skillet. Immediately twirl skillet to coat bottom with batter.
Cook crêpe until edges begin to brown, about 1 minute. Loosen crêpe around edge with a heatproof spatula. Gently pick up crêpe with your fingers, and flip it; cook 20–30 seconds more. Transfer crêpe to a wire rack to cool. Continue cooking crêpes, coating pan with melted butter for each. (Stack crêpes, layering parchment between layers.)
Place one crêpe on a flat serving dish. Spread ¼ cup mousse to cover crêpe using the back of a spoon; top with another crêpe. Continue layering mousse and crêpes, ending with a crêpe. Refrigerate cake until firm, about 1 hour. Top cake with whipped cream and citrus slices.
The triple citrus curd cooks very quickly, so watch it closely. Once the curd has thickened and registers 170° on a thermometer, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve for a super smooth texture. Then cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming while chilling.
To help keep the cake from sliding, place a dot of mousse in the center of the serving platter, then top with a crêpe. Spread mousse onto the crêpe using the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Spread mousse to the edges. It’s OK if some of it drips off the sides.
You can also serve the crêpes the classic way. Simply place the mousse in the center of a crêpe, fold, and enjoy. Store any leftover crêpes in the fridge, separated by sheets of parchment.
Nutritional Facts
Nutritional Facts
Per serving
Calories: 392
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 21g 32%
Saturated Fat 12g 60%
Cholesterol 234mg 78%
Sodium 159mg 6%
Carbs 41g 13%
Protein 9g
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.