Vegan meyer lemon crepe cake

Yes. I am completely aware that this crepe cake is the opposite of seasonal. Meyer lemons, of all things, in autumn, in a no-bake recipe?! Scandalous!

But then again, Baby June has never been known for her dedication to seasonality, posting pumpkin recipes in May and hot chocolate in August and things like that. It’s not like the local Stop & Shop has any concept of seasons either.

Thank you, Libby's. source

So when I stumbled upon this wonderful Martha Stewart recipe, there were no qualms in my mind as I dashed off to the supermarket for meyer lemons, those slightly sweeter, gentler lemons with lovely yellow-orange skins, which I would soon slice and boil and juice and basically mutilate in search of this perfect crepe cake I saw on the interwebs. I had to make it. Even though there is no chocolate.

Much like my attempts at making those caramel-stuffed chocolate cookies, my journey did not start out very successfully. I tried to make a tofu-based crepe that was a total failure and ended up in the trash can (not before I shoved a few broken pieces of gooey and overly-sweet crepe down my gullet, of course). Thankfully, Vegan Yum Yum’s recipe, when I tried it, was flawless and very easy to flip—an important attribute for Baby June, who is mostly inept at making crepes despite having a latent addiction to making them and stuffing them with all sorts of fillings, from chocolate to fruit to random vegetable sautés thrown together with peanut butter and soy sauce and Frank’s red hot and whatever and now you can see why I don’t usually cook. Gordon Ramsey would be ashamed. 

WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO TO THAT CREPE?! source

But aside from that little crepe mishap, the remainder of the cake was quite straightforward. Lemon curd whipped into some coconut cream...homemade candied lemons...nothing scary or complicated. The candied lemons took practically no effort, and even produced a delicious lemon syrup that later thickened into a pectin-induced goo. Which was slightly unexpected. The ginger syrup leftover from that time I made candied ginger a while back did not thicken at all, probably due to the fact that, um, ginger is not a fruit and thus does not have pectin.

Yeah. That’s probably it.

Mind blowing, isn't it? source

Now, I’ve made crepes plenty of times before and have eaten them in various incarnations, but have never tried a homemade crepe cake—so I was somewhat unsure of how this would come out with my own flawed dessert-making abilities. And yes: presentation-wise, it is far from professional. The crepes are all different sizes and shapes, the layers of mousse are uneven, and my candied lemons are imperfect.

But the taste?

Goddamn amazing.

The mousse is probably my favorite part—lemon curd, which is already delicious on its own, combined with silky whipped cream is an incredible combination, sweet and tart and rich and an excellent filling for the relatively plain crepes that makes them moist and almost cake-like, reminiscent of an icebox cake. With my totally-not-fresh lemons, the candied lemons are not the best and have somewhat bitter skins, but still add a nice burst of color and flavor. This cake would be lost without them.

Totally worth simmering lemons in sugar water for 30 minutes.

Overall, I would say this was a very rewarding and delicious cake; 10/10 would make again...probably in a different flavor.

Maybe chocolate?

But today, we have lemon. Here’s the recipe:

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Vegan meyer lemon crepe cake

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Serves 12

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Crepe base

Adapted from Vegan Yum Yum

Ingredients

122 grams • nondairy milk • ½ cup

170 grams • water • 2/3 cup

56 grams • nondairy margarine, melted • ¼ cup

125 grams • all-purpose flour • 1 cup

2 grams • salt • ¼ teaspoon

12 grams • granulated sugar • 1 tablespoon

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse about ten times until smooth. Place in a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

When batter is ready, preheat a frying pan just until smoking. Remove from heat and add two to three tablespoons of batter; swirl pan around to coat. Cook on medium-low heat until each side is golden brown, about 30 seconds each. Repeat with remaining batter. Set crepes aside to cool completely.

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Meyer lemon curd mousse

Adapted from this recipe

Ingredients

122 grams ● nondairy milk ● ½ cup

60 grams ● water ● ¼ cup

16 grams ● cornstarch ● 1 tablespoon

100 grams ● sugar ● ½ cup

90 grams ● fresh lemon juice ● ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons

2 grams ● lemon zest ● 1 teaspoon

71 grams ● vegan margarine ● 5 tablespoons

180 grams ● coconut cream (the thickened part of a refrigerated can of full-fat coconut milk) ● ¾ cup

Directions

In a small saucepan, dissolve cornstarch in soy milk and water. Turn heat to medium-high while continuously stirring mixture. Add sugar, lemon juice, zest, and margarine and continue to stir until mixture starts to bubble and thicken.

Reduce heat to low and whisk vigorously for about 90 seconds. Let this mixture cool completely before using.

Once lemon curd is cooled, place coconut cream in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in lemon curd until combined. Set aside until using.

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Candied meyer lemons

Ingredients

200 grams ● granulated sugar ● ½ cup

240 grams ● water ● ½ cup

2 washed, unpeeled meyer lemons sliced ¼-inch thick

Instructions

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a large saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves. Add lemon slices. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low; simmer gently until rinds are translucent, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely in syrup.

With a slotted spoon, transfer lemons to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Let stand to allow excess syrup to drip off.

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Assembly 

Ingredients

1 recipe crepes

1 recipe meyer lemon mousse

Candied meyer lemons to taste

Coconut whipped cream to taste

Instructions

Place one crepe on a flat serving dish and spread ¼ cup lemon curd mousse on top. Top with another crepe. Continue layering crepes and mousse until you have about 15 crepes all stacked up, ending with a crepe on top. Refrigerate for about one hour, or until firm.

As a last garnish, top with whipped cream and candied lemon slices.

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ALL HAIL THE GLORIOUS CREPE CAKE

You may be slightly intimidated by the recipe. And that’s okay. It’s always good to have a healthy dose of self-doubt before venturing into a recipe, especially one you’ve not made before—otherwise, you may be overconfident and end up charging through the directions without reading them thoroughly.

Um. Yeah. That’s baking philosophy for you.

I think there are some metaphors in there, but I’m too stuffed with lemon mousse to think of them.

Doesn't matter; had cake.