Crepe Cake Adventures

If you love crepes, you will absolutely love this cake!  I definitely wouldn’t consider myself a super fan or anything, but I certainly do love a challenge.  So when I saw this recipe from Canadian Living, I couldn’t help but take on the challenge of recreating this multi-layered Raspberry Orange Crepe Cake.

The motivation behind this cake was pretty simple, it was my mother-in-law’s  birthday and I absolutely love this lady.  Well, she absolutely loves crepes, so it was a no brainer as far as I’m concerned.

I’ve never made a crepe before, and to be honest I think have only eaten them 3 times in my life.  Clearly my less then mediocre opinion about crepes means I don’t own a crepe  pan, but one time I saw Bobby Flay make them in a frying pan…So I figured, if it is good enough for Bobby, its good enough for me!

I love to cook and I love to bake. There is something so satisfying in taking the time to create something beautiful and delicious. This hobby of mine could stem from the fact that I absolutely am obsessed with all things sweet. I love dessert. My family says it’s in our genes, and I actually believe them.

I wouldn’t consider myself a great cook or baker by any means… I just really like to eat. I think anyone can do a decent job if they are willing to take the time to try.  However, the secret is, you can’t rush.  Taking the time to pour love into your food is the key.

I really enjoy my time in the kitchen however, I have a huge flaw; I’m a perfectionist and I just want everything to be perfect. So I worry.  A LOT.  I worry about things like are my pans right, should I buy better ingredients, cook times, cool times, presentation, and the list goes on and on. But all that aside, the final result is always worth the worry.

I don’t know why I worried so much about this cake though, because there really isn’t anything to it.  Short of whipping all the ingredients together, making a few (more like 20!) crepes, and assembly, it’s not too complicated at all.  AND you don’t even have to bake it!

The crepes were surprisingly easy to make, time consuming, but easy.  I always see the people on T.V. using a bamboo skewer to help lift them up, so I took their tip of advise… worked like a charm.  Since they are so delicate, I ended up flipping them with my hands.  Lets just say, by the time I was done, all the tips of my fingers were burnt…I figure, kitchen battle scars make you a better person…

The mascarpone cream filling is where all the flavour comes in.  The use of orange juice and raspberries really bring this dessert to life, making it fresh, fruity, and perfect for summer. I loved the colour!

Let the stacking begin!!

Needs more layers…

Perfect!

So on the big day, I originally thought 6 of us trying it… no pressure if it sucked.  Boy was I wrong!  There were 11 people trying this cake and lets just say, I was a little worried to say the least.   It looked pretty good, but we all know that looks really mean nothing when it comes to eating dessert. Needless to say…

… everyone loved it! Especially the birthday girl…so really, that’s a HUGE success as far as I’m concerned.

Despite not being a huge fan myself, this cake was super light and refreshing.  The raspberry mascarpone cream was very flavourful and I found it had a great balance of sweet and creamy.  The crepe layers were nice, light and delicate, making this the perfect cake to have after a big meal.

However, I will say this; if I ever make it again, there are A TON of things I would do differently.  I really feel like the recipe is misleading and the magazine picture is definitely not an accurate representation of how the cake will turn out if you follow it.

All my criticism aside,  I have to admit, I had a ton of fun making this cake.  Everything was new to me and I’ve had my eye on making a crepe cake for a long time now.  I am pleased with the presentation and proud of myself for trying something outside of my comfort zone.

I think I will give House Of Yumm’s Lemon Cream Crepe Cake a try this summer and see how it goes!

Let me know if you have or are planning to attempt a crepe cake!  I would love to hear about your experience.

Happy baking adventures!

Bea