I’m in love with this simple yet delicate cake that crepes create. It’s layer on layer of light airy crepes with a smooth delicate yet zesty filling; a blend of whipping cream and ricotta with fresh lemon juice and zest. The overall taste is fresh and light, not too savoury, not too sweet.
I added a dollop of extra lemon cream to each crepe slice with fresh raspberries and drizzled maple syrup on top. It is the perfect dessert to impress any guest for a special occasion, for your Mom on Mother’s Day, Easter, a bridal shower and most definitely for brunch!
Ingredients
You can easily play around with the flavours; add fruit or chocolate to your crepe cake. Fresh blueberry compote would be a lovely addition, complimenting the sweet lemon tang.
- All-purpose flour
- Eggs
- Full milk
- Water
- Unsalted butter
- Extra smooth ricotta cheese
- Whipping cream
- Fresh lemons
- Icing sugar
- Raspberries, optional for serving
Storing/Make Ahead
Undressed crepes freeze well. You can easily make your crepes well in advance and on the day put the crepe cake together. Freeze crepes between layers of wax or parchment paper, place in an airtight freezer bag or container and freeze for up to two months. Let crepes come to room temperature before handling.
This lemon crepe cake is best enjoyed within 1-2 days. Store covered in the refrigerator.
Tips to Make a Lemon Crepe Cake
- Be sure to let the batter rest before making the crepes. Letting the crepe batter rest for at least 30 minutes to one hour will allow the glutens to relax and the batter to thicken.
- Do your best to make your crepes the same size. I like having off shaped crepes to create more fluted edges but you still want the crepe to be similar in size for stacking.
- Be careful not to add too much filling, you want a thin layer of each between the crepes.
- Icing sugar trick. If you want to dust the top of your crepe cake with icing sugar but the sugar keeps absorbing into the crepe, just add another crepe on top without any filling in between. Sometimes the crepe can be too moist from the filling, causing the icing sugar to absorb into the crepe.
- Decorating. Use edible flowers or fresh fruit to decorate the top of the cake. I used lavender from my garden.
How To Make a Lemon Crepe Cake
Step One: Make your crepes and prep your filling; one bowl of lemon whipping cream and another bowl of lemon ricotta cheese. Build your cake on your cake stand by placing one layer of crepe with a layer of lemon ricotta. Then add another crepe and a layer of lemon cream. Repeat until you no longer have any crepes left.
Lemon Crepe Cake
This lemon crepe cake is pillowy and light with a zesty lemon flavour. It’s the sweetest cake to celebrate at brunch or for any special occasion.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
Crepes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup full milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Lemon Filling
- 1 cup extra smooth ricotta cheese
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 6 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (divided)
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon rind (divided)
- 1 Tablespoon icing sugar, sifted. Extra for dusting
- Pint raspberries for serving
Instructions
Make your crepes
- In a blender, combine flour, eggs, milk and water. Pulse for 10-20 seconds – until blended well, add butter and blend. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour to rest (this is when your bubbles in the batter will dissipate so you don’t have little holes in your crepe). The batter will keep in the fridge for up to 48 hours.
- Heat a small non-stick pan on medium heat. Pour approx. 2 Tablespoons of the batter into the center of the pan and swirl the pan to spread evenly and create a circle as best as possible (if you have a crepe spreader you can use that as well). Cook for approx. 30-40 seconds and flip. You should see the edges of the crepe slightly curl up. Cook for another 30 seconds and remove from the heat, laying them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all of the batter is gone.
Make your filling
- In a small bowl, mix your ricotta cheese with 3 teaspoons of the lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of lemon rind. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whip whipping cream until light and fluffy. Add icing sugar and the other 3 teaspoons of lemon juice. Whip until blended. Fold in the other teaspoon of the lemon rind. Remove approx. 1 tablespoon of the whipping cream mixture and add it to the ricotta mixture, fold to combine.
Build your cake
- Working on either a cake board or your serving tray/cake stand add a dollop of whipping cream in the centre, place a crepe on top and press down. This is to start your base and to make sure your cake doesn’t slide around.
- Spread a small layer of lemon ricotta to the top of your first crepe, about 2 teaspoons, leaving about ½ an inch from the border. Place another crepe on top. Now spread a small layer of lemon cream, 2 teaspoons, leaving about ½ an inch from the border. Continue layering and alternating ricotta and cream until you reach your last crepe. Leave the top crepe plain and dust with icing sugar.
- Serve crepe cake with the extra lemon cream, fresh raspberries and maple syrup.
Notes
To freeze crepes, stack them (separated by wax paper or parchment paper) and store in sealable plastic bags for up to two months. Let them come to room temperature when you are ready to use, as they will break easily when frozen.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 of 12
- Calories: 164
- Sugar: 2.7g
- Sodium: 60mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 5.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 13.6g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 5.4g
- Cholesterol: 58mg
FAQ’s
A crepe cake is made with French crepes that have been layered (or stacked) on top of each other to create a cake. An assortment of fillings is layered between each crepe such as, pastry cream, whipping cream, custard, chocolate, etc.
This can happen if the ricotta cheese is not smooth enough as it will not hold the crepes together. In this case, you just need to add a little whipping cream to the ricotta mixture to help or if the cake is already built, just add dollops to each layer and smooth it out.
Store a lemon crepe cake in the refrigerator covered in a glass dome (or with plastic wrap) for up to 3 days.
Yes, crepes freeze well! Layer crepes between wax paper and place in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to two months. Let crepes come to room temperature before serving.
Gâteau de Crêpes is French for a crepe cake. It can be sweet or savoury but typically is made sweet with cream, custard, or chocolate.
Leave a Rating and Comment!
I love hearing from you! Leave a comment with any questions or how your recipe turned out (your email address will not be published)!
I love the way you bake, and will certainly try and collect your recipes. Thanks for sharing
Thank you so much Margie, I do hope you try some of my recipes. Let me know how they go. Happy Baking, xo Alie.
This looks/tastes beautiful. How do you get your crepes to sit like petals? Mine droop down when I stack them, it doesn’t look as nice. Thanks!
Thank you Maria, I’m so glad to hear. It all depends on how you make your crepes. If there is less batter at the edges of your crepe they will crisp up a little more giving you a ‘crimped’ edge. This wasn’t done intentionally and sometimes they lay flat for me too. How do you make your crepes, in a regular pan? These particular crepes (in the photographs) was made using a crepe maker (which may have also had a factor to the edges) as they curve a little over the heated pan. Hope that helps!
This was absolutely incredible! So light and delicate, I wish I made two as everyone wanted seconds! I served it with mixed berries and maple syrup. Thanks
Thanks for sharing Michele, I’m so happy to hear!
So delicious, light and delicate. Loved the recipe, thanks. D
Thank you Diane for the lovely comment, glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! xo alie