Tiramisu Crepe Cake

     For the longest time I have wanted to make tiramisu! The only thing that has been holding me back is I really don't want to make lady fingers and I honestly don't know where to buy them in my area. Another thing I have been dying to make is a crepe cake but I could never decide what flavor to make. Thats when genius struck! A tiramisu crepe cake! This way I can make tiramisu without having to make lady fingers and I kill two birds with one stone! When I told my sister in law that I was going to be making this for bible study, she thought I was crazy. The stereotype is that this is insanely hard and tedious to make. I thought it was going to be until I really got going. The thing about a crepe cake is if you know how to make crepes you're good! So yeah, it takes some time getting used to and crepes do take a while to make, but once you get used to it you barely have to think about it!

  Tiramisu consists of three main parts, a mascarpone custard kind of filling, whipped cream, and, of course, espresso soaked ladyfingers. In place of the lady fingers I made crepes so the filling between the crepes had to be some kind of mascarpone and whipped cream. For the mascarpone filling I started by making kind of a custard. I did this by whisking eggs and sugar over low heat until they were well combined. Them, I added in my milk and whisked it while I brought it to a boil. I let it boil for about a minute before I took it off of the heat and let it cool a bit before I transferred it to a bowl, covered it, and let it refrigerate for about 3 hours until it was thick. I recommend at least 2 hours in the fridge to set up but you can also leave it overnight. 

    Once the custard was set, I put it in my stand mixer along with my homemade mascarpone cheese (you can use store bought) and whisked it until everything was well combined. You have to be careful not to over mix, or it will "break" and become watery. I set that in the fridge until I was ready to assemble my cake.     

    For my whipped cream I wanted to keep it simple. All I did was whip about  1 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla extract. I also placed that in the fridge to wait until my crepes were done. 

    I started off by making half batches of two different crepe flavors. I wanted to alternate both crepe flavors and filling flavors to really capture the tiramisu flavor and accentuate the look of the layers. The first crepe flavor was a basic vanilla or "plain". I made my batter by putting all of the ingredients in a blender then transferring it to a pitcher to pour it more easily before letting it sit for about 20 minutes so it wasn't so frothy. While I was waiting for that to settle I made my espresso crepes so that they would settle while I was cooking the other flavor. The only difference between the two crepe recipes is the espresso substitutes some of the milk for fresh espresso or strong coffee.

    One of the big misunderstandings behind making crepes is that you need special pans and tools and all that to make it perfect when you really don't! To make crepes, I use a pitcher to pour batter onto a pan with curved sides not sides that have a sharp angle like the average cast iron. I prefer stainless steel but most like a nonstick pan. I pour a very small amount of batter (somewhere around 1/4-1/3 cup) into my hot pan and swirl it around to all the edges but not too far up the sides until it is spread out and there is no more liquid moving on the top. Then, I set my pan down on the stove and let my crepes cook on low heat for 1-2 minutes on each side depending on how thick they are and how hot my pan is. The low heat though is crucial. Your crepes will burn and stick immediately if your pan is too hot, especially if you are using stainless steel. 

    After about a minute, or the edges of my crepe start to pull from the sides of my pan, I very carefully flip my crepe and cook it for about a minute on the other side. When it is done, I put my crepe onto a plate.  I like to stack my finished crepes on top of each other to help trap heat and steam. This helps keep the crepes soft and flexible.  I like to start with my vanilla crepes because they are a little easier than the espresso so I have time to really get used to it before I go in with the more difficult batter. The espresso ones are a little harder because coffee evaporates faster than milk. This means you have to really really make sure you keep your heat low enough to keep it from sticking but high enough to actually cook it. My espresso ones usually have to cook closer to two minutes on each side while my vanilla ones are a solid one on each side.

    Once I am done with my crepes, I let them cool while I pull my whipped mascarpone custard and whipped cream out of the fridge. If they are looking a little soft I give them a quick whisk to stiffen them up a bit then I get assembling! I start with an espresso crepe, whipped cream, vanilla crepe, mascarpone, espresso crepe, and on. This part actually went faster than frosting and decorating a regular cake partially because there was no need for a crumb coat and partially because I am a very unseasoned cake decorator. 

    The fact that I stink at decorating cakes made this one of my new favorite cakes to make! When topped off with a final smoothed out layer of whipped cream and a healthy dusting of cocoa powder, the final cake is impressive. The layers and fillings squishing out in between gives your cake a complicated but pretty look with little to no effort. Sometimes people will go in and clean up the edges by refrigerating their cake and then using a serrated knife to cut off the uneven edges of the crepes to make the layers more prominent. However, I liked the slightly more natural look better. Besides, when you cut into the cake the layers really shine. Not to mention, the flavor is insane! When I brought this to bible study it was gone within minutes of cutting it. The espresso crepes are so rich and when combined with the sweet mascarpone custard and the lighter not-so-sweet homemade whipped cream it is one of the best things you will ever eat! 

    How did this recipe work for you? Questions? Comments? Concerns? Use the comment section below!