November Kitchen Challenge | Crepe Cake with Raspberry Mascarpone Frosting

I’m going to let you in on a {not so secret} secret. Love and Olive Oil is one of my favorite blogs in the history of blogging. I’ve done my fair share of drooling over the photography, the recipes run the gamut of simple, savory, sweet, unique, creative, and all these other adjectives that make for a great recipe blog that you can really sink your teeth into. See what I did there? I’m sooo clever. I came across L&OO through a cookbook review. I was contacted to review Breakfast for Dinner, L&OO’s cookbook that’ll make you want to eat breakfast for dinner always and forever, but also have it for actual breakfast and lunch. In fact, you can probably even find something for a nice afternoon snack.

Up until receiving the cookbook, I never heard of Love & Olive Oil, but in the press release I received along with the book, I saw that this was a cookbook by a food blogger! Someone, who like me, loves food and cooking and sharing those kitchen experiences with the people in the internet. It was the first time, because I’m crazy and don’t pay attention, that I was aware of a food blogger having a cookbook deal. Then I noticed all of the other bloggers after that came out with cookbooks. I’ve had an intro to a cookbook of my own done for years now, but I didn’t think of when or if I would even pursue the thing, so basically Love & Olive Oil is a super inspiration. Also, I’m ashamed to say that I also received Love & Olive Oil’s first cookbook, The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook, to review, but I never put two and two together at that time.

Now, I’m a devoted food blog fan. THEY CAN DO NO WRONG!

I’m posting today as a participant in L&OO’s November Kitchen Challenge. The theme is Crepe Cake, and when I saw this, I felt equal parts excited and totally, completely overwhelmed. Crepes are no laughing matter. You’ll inevitably mess up your first (and sometimes second) of the batch because they are so delicate. Also, to keep from having crispy browned edges, you have to have some crepe swirling finesse. The minimum number of crepes one should have in a crepe cake, in my opinion, is 15. Because yes, that’s a lot, but they are so thin, you might not have too much to show for your cake (and your troubles!) with anything less.

My crepe cake was supposed to be 20 crepes high, but I ended up with 18. Which is just as well because I was just about to pull up a stool and sit at the stove while I did the continual motion of batter in the pan, swirling, setting, flipping, and finally, removing to place on an aluminum-covered plate. It took forever. I just kept side-eyeing the batter, willing it to at least do me the courtesy of looking like it’s decreasing, but it wasn’t until crepe 11 that I could really tell a difference in the batter level. My frustrations grew and grew and I really just wanted to watching my recording of Scandal, but it was last Monday eve and I told my neighbor Janet that I would be bringing this crepe cake for a Friendsgiving at her house. I couldn’t give up!…as much as I wanted to body check the batter into submission.

I definitely know why this is considered a challenge. I grew impatient waiting for all of the crepes to cool and I decided to just start frosting them (mistake), and forgot that the frosting was made with mascarpone cheese (another mistake), and then in the midst of watching Scandal (because you know I had to frost on a TV tray in my living room) combined with my love for this frosting, I slathered it on every single crepe to excess (third mistake). When I was about seven crepes in and noticing the gradual sliding of my crepe stack, I started frosting every other crepe instead. This ended up working, but the frosting was melting and it was a challenge to keep the crepe cake straight. In the end, it worked out and I can now say that I made a crepe cake! Mission accomplished.

Print Recipe

Crepe Cake with Raspberry Mascarpone Frosting

Ingredients:

Crepes

• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup water
• 4 large eggs
• 6 Tbsp butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Raspberry Mascarpone Frosting

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup mascarpone
• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup raspberry jam
• Water, as needed

Directions:

Crepes

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Store in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
2. Heat a skillet (about 8 inches) over medium heat and brush with a little bit of butter.
3. In 1/4 cup increments, pour batter into the pan, swirling to form a complete even circle. Allow to cook until slightly browned, which will take anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. Flip and cook another couple of seconds until both sides are complete. Remove from skillet and place on a plate loosely covered with aluminum foil.
4. Allow the crepes to cool completely before frosting. Frost every other crepe to prevent sliding.

Raspberry Mascarpone Frosting

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and mascarpone at high speed until smooth, about 10 seconds.
2. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until incorporated. Add the raspberry jam and increase the speed to high. Beat until the frosting is smooth and spreadable, adding water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed.