A few weeks ago it was Easter and I love to make desserts. So I found this one on Martha Stewart and thought “crepes” and “lemon curd”… yes! The thing that is great about this one is that it isn’t too sweet. The lemon curd is a little tart and not too sweet. And then having it folded into the unsweetened whipped cream settles down the tartness a bit.
It was a total hit. Go look at Martha’s over here. It’s so pretty. I skipped the candied lemons and just went with a dusting of icing sugar.
Lemon Curd Mousse Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk, room temperature
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, melted, plus more, melted, for pan
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, whipped
- Candied Meyer Lemons, optional
Meyer Lemon Curd Mousse
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from one 1/4-ounce envelope)
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 4 large eggs plus 6 large yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely grated Meyer lemon zest (from 2 lemons), plus 3/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (from 5 to 6 lemons)
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
Instructions
Meyer Lemon Curd Mousse
- Sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk together eggs and yolks in a heavy small saucepan. Whisk in sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat; add gelatin, stirring constantly, until gelatin dissolves and mixture is slightly cool. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, stirring after each addition, until smooth.
- Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to remove as much curd as possible; discard any undissolved bits of gelatin and egg. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto surface of curd to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours or overnight. Stir curd, and gently fold in whipped cream. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Stir before using.
For the Crepes
- Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually pour milk mixture into flour mixture, whisking until smooth. Whisk in butter. Pour through a fine sieve into an airtight container; discard lumps. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Lightly coat a 6-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet with butter. Heat over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Remove from heat; pour about 2 tablespoons batter into center. Swirl to cover bottom. Reduce heat to medium-low; return pan to heat. Cook until edges are golden and center is dry, about 30 seconds per side.
- Slide crepe onto an overturned plate. Repeat with remaining batter, coating pan with butter as needed, and stacking crepes. Let cool.
- Place 1 crepe on a flat serving dish. Spread about 1/4 cup lemon curd mousse onto crepe. Top with 1 crepe. Continue layering crepes and mousse. (Use 15 crepes, ending with a crepe on top.) Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Top crepe cake with whipped cream and 3 or 4 candied lemon slices.
Lucy was a big fan because she LOVES lemon but so did everyone else. 🙂 Lemon curd folded with whipped cream.