family-approved mother's day cake

years ago, i was watching a special

on the food network -

which one, i would never be

able to tell you now.

they featured lady m confections

in nyc,

and more notably,

their 

lady m mille crepe cakes.

the cake was 

really just a stack of

whisper thin crepes,

cemented together

by cream,

but it looked gorgeous,

and extremely light,

and

like a cake i could 

actually make:

no filling to level

off while assembling, no

reason to perfectly sculpt

buttercream or ganache

around the outside

of a cake, dealing

with crumb coats, an

offset spatula or a twitchy hand.

and it looked like it would

be lovely.

so i set the cake in the back

of my mind, wondering

if there would ever be an 

occasion or time in my 

life in which i would rationalize

the $75 price tag of a 9" crepe cake.

yes, constructing the cake seemed

easy enough, but actually making 

the crepes?

i didn't know. i imagined a pile

of crepe pieces piling up on

my cutting board, me crying

alongside them.

but then, as always happens,

several years later,

the day came

that we had to make crepes

in school.

it was the same morning

that we had to make a perfect

waffle, two types of granola

and assemble a smoked salmon

platter, so luckily, i was

able to put all of my mental 

focus into these ultra thin

wraps.

the first one was a bust.

it set before i was 

able to tilt the pan.

with the second, i tilted

fast enough,

but the flipping got me.

the third? was fine.

i made crepes all morning,

rolling brandied apples

into some, folding

sauteed veggies into

others, spreading them

with butter and sprinkling 

cinnamon sugar.

i could make crepes.

who knew?

four months after i graduated,

i insisted that we ask for a

crepe pan on

our wedding registry.

i would make crepes all the time.

with one quick click of the gun

it was maybe ours and months

later, my mom gave it to us

as part of a baking collection.

around the same time,

gourmet published a recipe 

for this cake.

i couldn't believe it and 

i immediately tried to dream

up reasons to make it myself.

then i started a new job,

we were in full-on wedding

mode and dinner parties

fell by the wayside.

before i knew it, fall and

winter were here and 

this cake really seemed

more like a spring or summer

type of dessert.

but two weeks ago, when my mom

told me her 

mother's day brunch menu

and asked for possibly a dessert

and salad,

i knew what i was bringing.

i reread the recipe and thought,

i really can do this. it will

be fine. i can flip.

still, i had to work the day 

before and so i made a decision

to leave the evening open,

just in case it took until

nightfall to really get enough

usable layers.

the batter was so easy -

i just put everything into a blender

and whirled it all together. 

then, i brushed the pan 

with butter,

turned the heat to medium-high

and counted to 10.

the first one went in fine, 

but flipping was a disaster.

same for the second.

my nightmare was coming true.

after that, i didn't have any problems.

sure, some would bubble slightly,

some set before they were able

to bridge the tiny holes in the 

center of the crepe and at times,

i thought i was going to lose more,

but i didn't.

i became more and more excited

as the finished crepes

stacked up in a pile,

blessedly not sticking together,

tearing or creating a ruckus.

the hard part was over. 

now i just had to make the filling.

the original recipe was orange-infused,

which i just didn't think

was really so us, as a family.

my original plan was to make the cake

almond-flavored, using almond extract

in the crepes 

and amaretto in the cream.

but, at the last minute,

i decided to keep the crepes themselves

unflavored. and as an even more

last minute decision,

when i was digging through the

liquor cabinet for the amaretto,

cream and confectioners' sugar already

in the bowl

(very bad mise en place, i know),

my eye caught the coffee liquor

from starbucks and i changed my

mind again.

i built the crepe confection

on the bottom of a cake carrier.

not pretty, but the sturdiest

solution for traveling (and i

had all these grand plans for

transfering the cake just

before serving the next day,

but that never happened. 

and no one complained 

about presentation).

at first i was worried that

the cake would be too short,

but as i spread and layered,

it built up nicely.

i love that this cake is best

made ahead of time.

i simply covered it

and let it be until

the next morning when

it was carefully held

for the hour-long

drive and then immediately

placed back in the fridge.

a couple hours after our

delicious and very fun brunch -

which i will tell you more about

later this week -

i carefully sliced the cake.

when i saw the perfectly

lined cake, i gasped a sort of weird sound

(it was a yes! aha! and ooh! all rolled together)

when i pulled out the first wedge, 

so exicted to see what it looked like inside.

but the best part was two seconds later,

when my family saw it 

and made the same sound.

the cake was just sweet enough

and very light,

the perfect end to a not so light brunch.

the coffee flavor came through

just enough to make the couple

of tablespoons worth it,

and the fresh strawberries

that my mother served

alongside were the perfect

juicy foil.

while i had been worried that 

the cake would be too small,

it took just half  

a cake to serve

six of us.

when we were driving

home later in the day,

a slice in my mom's fridge,

a large wedge heading back

to college with my sister,

i bravely said something

that i've said before,

but this time, i think i mean it:

i'm ready to make more crepes.

coffee cream crepe cake

adapted from gourmet magazine

my two favorite things about this cake are: you can make this up to a day ahead of time and you can really change the flavor profile to better suit your own style. i think lemon zest would be lovely in the crepe batter and the cream, i'd still love to try the almond and i bet you could turn the filling to a chocolate one. in the end, my cake was 14 crepes tall (i forgot to count every time there was a counting opportunity. luckily, my family obliged and each person counted their slices before eating), but i also lost the first two and i'm convinced that had i not overpoured on one, the last crepe could have been a full round and i would have had 17. regardless, i'd make the full amount of whipped cream and serve extra on the side.

6 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

3 cups chilled heavy cream, divided

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup confectioners' sugar, divided

1 large pinch salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons coffee liqueur, like starbucks

in blender, blend eggs, milk, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, flour, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and salt.

brush a 10" nonstick pan or crepe pan with melted butter (i used a 9 1/2" crepe pan). turn heat to medium-high and heat pan until hot (i found that somewhere between medium and medium-high was a better heat - play until you find what works well for your stove). pour in a scant 1/4 cup crepe batter, turning and tilting pan to coat (if it sets too quickly, turn it down for the next crepe). cook 15 to 45 seconds, or until the crepe is golden and the underside is just set. use spatula to loosen edges and using the spatula and your fingertips, carefully flip crepe. cook 15 to 45 seconds more, or until golden brown and set. place crepe on plate. repeat with remaining crepes, using melted butter as necessary and stacking finished crepes on top of each other as you go.

(while i usually don't measure when i don't have to, i did use a 1/4 cup batter each time to make sure that i maximized the amount of crepes i was able to make from one batch. pouring the batter from the blender into a dry (crazy, i know) measuring cup, was very easy and surprisingly unmessy.)

in large bowl, use electric beaters to beat together remaining heavy cream, vanilla extract, confectioners' sugar and coffee liqueur. beat for several minutes or until peaks form when you lift the beater out of the whipped cream.

place on crepe on a serving plate. carefully spread crepe with about 1/4 cup whipped cream (here, i didn't measure). top with second crepe and repeat with whipped cream. repeat stacking and spreading, finishing with a crepe layer. carefully cover cake; chill 4 hours or up to 24 hours. sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving. serve with fruit, if desired.