Truth be told, I would not consider myself a cake person. Every time there was a birthday party growing up, I found myself pretty unimpressed once the candles were blown out and the cake was served. I think my biggest issue is the frosting, I have always found it to be just too sweet. There is one kind of cake that I can fully get behind though – and that my friends is a crepe cake. I honestly cannot believe it has taken me so long to share this with you all, but today is the day. This lemon poppy seed crepe cake is so incredibly amazing, I sincerely apologize for not sharing it here sooner.
If any of you reading this were here from the beginning of Ful-filled or even last year on our 1 year blog anniversary, then you probably read the story of how Ful-filled got started. It all started with a lemon poppy seed muffin – since I already told that story in the first post we ever published here, you can read all about how that muffin led to Ful-filled by clicking the link above. To put it simply, my love for lemon poppyseed runs deep, so turning it into a crepe cake was a very natural expression of my deep devotion to this flavor profile.
If you are not familiar with crepe cakes, they are comprised of layer upon layer of crepes spread with filling between each crepe. It may not sound too spectacular and they are very simple to be honest, but once you experience a slice of a crepe cake you will most definitely ask yourself the following two questions: “where has this been all my life?” and “will I ever want to eat traditional cake again?”
For our lemon poppyseed crepe cake, standard crepes (I made gluten free ones) have poppy seeds added to them and then they get spread with the most amazing lemon curd mousse. So, you are going to need to make a batch of lemon curd, but don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with a super simple honey sweetened meyer lemon curd recipe. While the curd is slowly heating on the stovetop you can whip up the crepe batter, I used my new Vitamix Ascent A2500 to blend up the crepe batter in just a matter of seconds, which made this part of the recipe such a breeze!
Once both the curd and the crepe batter are strained they take a chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. This is a good time to make the candied lemon slices that decorate the top of the crepe cake. I made the candied lemons for this recipe with meyer lemons and honey and the result was delicious. Once your crepe batter is chilled and you are ready to get to crepe making, you are going to need to be ready to stand at your stovetop for about 45 minutes while you cook off all of your crepes (this is the most time consuming part of the whole crepe cake adventure). You could cut that time down in half if you get yourself two crepe pans, which would not be a bad idea because crepe cakes are wonderful and having two pans would mean you could churn out a crepe cake that much faster, but either way you are going to need at least one good crepe pan and this one is what we use – we have never had a crepe stick to this pan, even the very first crepe I ever cooked on this pan did not stick (and that is impressive for a pan that does not use a non-stick coating).
Once all of your crepes are cooked, it is time to build your crepe cake. Some whipped cream gets folded into the lemon curd turning it into mousse and then you get to layering.
Once your crepe cake is complete in all of its glory you have arrived at the most difficult part of this whole crepe cake making process…you have to wait at least 12 hours before slicing into it. The cake has to take a chill in the refrigerator to allow all of those layers to come together, but it is so worth the wait (and PLEASE do not try slicing into it any sooner or else it will be too slippery and you will be greatly disappointed).
You could make crepe cakes with so many different flavor profiles, but I should not have to do any convincing here as to why lemon poppy seed is just an incredible choice. The brightness of the lemon combined with the distinct flavor of poppy seeds is culinary perfection and makes for a spectacular crepe cake. And since we are still in the thick of lemon season, there is no better time than now to celebrate this glorious citrus fruit than with a lemon poppy seed crepe cake.
This post is sponsored by Vitamix – All opinions expressed are purely my own, as always. Thank you so much for supporting the companies that support this blog.
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LEMON POPPY SEED CREPE CAKE
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
Ingredients
FOR THE CREPES:
- 3 eggs
- 10 oz whole milk
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted & cooled
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup (140g) gum free gluten free flour (see notes below)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
FOR THE FILLING:
- 1 recipe lemon curd (yields approx 24 oz)
- 1 tsp gelatin + 1 tbsp water
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
FOR THE GARNISH:
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
FOR THE LEMON CURD:
- Start by making a batch of lemon curd
- While the curd is heating on the stove mix 1 tsp gelatin with 1 tbsp water – let the gelatin bloom while you finish heating/whisking the lemon curd until thickened.
- Add the bloomed gelatin to the lemon curd & whisk thoroughly – strain the curd & let cool to room temp & then transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours
FOR THE CREPES:
- Add eggs, milk, melted butter, honey, vanilla, flour & salt to a blender jar & blend for about 10 seconds
- Pour the crepe batter through a sieve into a bowl, whisk in the poppy seeds, cover & refrigerate for at least 2 hours
- Once the crepe batter has chilled in refrigerator, heat a 7″ crepe pan over medium low heat & add a scant 1/4 cup of crepe batter the heated pan, swirling the pan to evenly coat it with the batter
- Cook the crepe for approximately 1 1/2 – 2 minutes & then flip and cook for another 60 seconds (you want the crepes to be lightly golden brown)
- Repeat until you have used all of the crepe batter (stir the batter between crepes to keep poppy seeds evenly distributed) – you should end up with 15-17 crepes
FOR THE CANDIED LEMON GARNISH:
- Prepare an ice bath in a medium sized bowl
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan & blanch lemon slices for 1 minute
- Remove lemon slices, placing them into the ice bath
- Heat 1/2 cup water & 1/2 cup honey in a medium saucepan until simmering, turn down heat so that the syrup is barely bubbling
- Add chilled lemon slices to the saucepan in one even layer – cook for approximately 1 hour, until the rinds are clear
ASSEMBLING THE CAKE:
- Whip 1 cup of heavy cream until medium soft peaks and fold whipped cream into the chilled lemon curd
- Spread a bit of the filling onto the plate or cake stand that you will be building the crepe cake on & lay the first crepe on top of it (this acts like glue to keep the base of the crepe cake from moving)
- Add 1/4 cup of filling to the crepe & spread evenly and continue with another crepe followed by 1/4 cup of filling until you reach the final crepe
- Cover crepe cake with plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least 12 hours or overnight to allow
- When ready to serve, whip 1/2 cup whipped cream to soft peaks, top crepe cake with whipped cream and candied lemon slices & serve
Notes
GUM FREE GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR:
90g superfine white rice flour + 35g potato starch + 15g tapioca starch
= yields 1 cup (140g)
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
I love both cakes and crepes so this is a dream made in heaven! I do have this issue where every time I make a crepe, I always eat the crepe while the next one is cooking. I need to try this recipe after eating a big meal to avoid that issue!
hahaha! you are too funny Shelly! if you love crepes that much then you will absolutely love this cake…and I think that is a good plan ;)
Oh man, I don’t know if I could wait that long. This looks so incredible! I’m pinning it for Easter.
It is so worth the wait Katie! Thank you so much, you are going to love it!
I have never had a crepe cake! This recipe has me ready to change that (love that it is gluten-free). Pretty sure I could eat that honey-sweetened lemon curd with a spoon. Haha. Beautiful cake, Bella!
Yay! I am super excited that you are going to make a crepe cake Tessa! I cannot wait to see it! Thank you so much!
these photos!! stunning Bella! i love a good crêpe cake too, and totally understand the whole too sweet thing. lemon and poppyseed is always such an amazing combination so i can totally imagine how good this must have tasted. beautiful! Xx
Awww, thank you so much Thalia! I would love to try one of your cakes for sure!
What a beautiful cake! Anything with lemon curd is an immediate win for me. I’ll admit I don’t usually have the patience to make crepe cakes (probably because I don’t make crepes very often), but I love eating them when other people make them :) :) :)
Thank you Jennifer! haha, yes, it does take a bit of patience, but it is SO worth it!
Oh yes Bella I do recall reading about your love of lemon poppy seed muffins, that began when you & your husband attended university – loved that story!
These images are incredible Bella & as always, you have me drooling. Although I’m not much of a cake eater (I don’t have a sweet to tooth) I would however, dive into this amazing creation of yours.
Thank you for explaining the process in making a crepe cake – so interesting & absolutely worth waiting for that overnight result.
Enjoy!!
Sil xx
Thank you so much Sil! I know you would enjoy this crepe cake, especially because it is not too sweet! Thanks for the love, hope you & the family are well :)
I have never tried crepe cake but these pictures and your description has got me drooling so I must make them very soon! Love the classic poppy seed -lemon combination
Thank you so much Jenny! I know you will absolutely love it! <3
Crepe cake!!! Oh my goodness it’s so pretty.. I can’t believe I’ve yet to make one myself, thanks so much for the inspiration!!
Thank you so much Christiann – I cannot wait to see a crepe cake from your kitchen!
This looks amazing- do you think coconut flour would work for the crepes?
Coconut flour crepes would need more eggs, but I am sure you can adapt a reliable recipe for coconut flour crepes by just adding lemon & poppy seeds Kerrie :)
This looks amazing! I love lemon poppy seed cake. I use my vitamin to make lemon curd but I’ve never added gelatin to it. Do you add the gelatin specifically for this recipe so it sets up better as a “layer cake”?
Hi Allison! The gelatin helps the curd & whipped cream hold up as more of a mousse, so yes, it does help it set as a layer cake :)