I came across this gorgeous looking cake when Daniel and I were in New York. My friend and her husband, who live in NYC, told us there is a famous bakery called “Lady M” in Crown plaza we might want to check out. So we did since we wanted to try out all the famous cafes, restaurants and burger places around town. First time when we went there on the way to the Central Park, it was a little early they were closed. We made our way back there again on the very last day in NY and finally bought two kinds of mille crepe cakes – original and strawberry. We and my friend’s couple all shared these cakes and red wine until late, chattering, giggling, laughing, thinking we wished to stay another week there. Anyways that is a memory of the crepe cake I have.
I tried to replicate it when I came back and made it for Daniel’s weekend breakfast. Of course, with my healthy spin on it! I spread vanilla yogurt between the crepes and garnished with strawberries on top. Well, that was a success. It was nicely sweet, light and fluffy like clouds. This time, I used a home-made lemon curd between the layers, perfect for a lemon season. You need to start with making a lemon curd so that it completely cools down before you build the cake. You want it to be like custard, not too thin otherwise the cake will slide and collapse. It takes a bit of time making a curd and crepes (I was standing next to the stove almost all morning) and setting time, but it is worth it. Have fun crepe-ing 🙂
Ingredients
For lemon curd
2 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
zest and juice from one lemon
20g butter
Whisk eggs and maple syrup and add lemon zest and juice. Heat butter in a saucepan over low-medium heat. As the butter melts, add the egg mixture in and keep stirring for 5-8 minutes over low heat until it gets thick. Make sure you don’t boil the mixture and constantly stir with a wooden spoon. Take it off the heat and set aside.
For crepe batter
250g self-raising flour
1 cup of milk
1 egg
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp rose water
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of Himalayan salt
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine. If the batter is too thick, add a bit of more milk. It should be a thin crepe batter consistency. Set aside for about 30 minutes. Heat coconut oil in a non-stick pan or crepe pan and ladle the batter into the middle of the pan. Swirl the pan around so that the batter spreads really thin. Cook over low-medium heat for a minute or two each side until cooked. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
To assemble the cake, build it on your serving plate. Simply spread lemon curd evenly on the crepe with a spatula. Layer the next crepe on top and repeat the step. Dust coconut flour for garnish (optional). Place in the fridge for a few hours to set.
A bag of carrots is a staple food in my fridge. I chew on it for a snack, add into my salads, stir-fries, cakes and muffins. It is cheap, versatile, yummy, nutritious and lasts long in the fridge as well. I had to make a salad with what I’ve got in my fridge today – of course, carrots are in it. All you need is only three ingredients that I believe we all have in the fridge and pantry. Miso dressing really makes a difference here. It tastes even better next day as the rice absorbs the dressing and flavour develops even further. So it is a good idea making a salad a day before or a few hours before serving.
