Crepe Cake with Caramel and Marscapone Whipped Cream

There are two critically important things I learned this weekend in making caramel.  The first is that the process can go very fast so if you aren't paying attention, you can ruin it in a nano-second.  Burnt sugar does not make for a good tasting caramel.  The second thing I learned (and this could be the most important) is that the sugar is incredibly hot and because of that you should never (and I mean never!) work in your bare feet, drop a bit of the hot caramelized sugar and then step directly on it.  Lesson learned..(OUCH!!)..and next time I make it I will be wearing steel toed boots..... because that's how I roll.

However, given that fact, the dream of french crepes, caramel and a wickedly delicious marscapone whipped cream dancing in my head was to the point I had the need to spend my weekend in the kitchen making this cake.  My inspiration came from looking at other blogs, and I saw this posting from Poires au Chocolat.  Her pictures looked amazing and I wanted to try the recipe out but all the ingredients were listed in kilograms and milliliters. Really? I barely passed math so the thought of converting everything over to cups and teaspoons was a complete nightmare to me.  But I thought,  how difficult can this be?  I know how to make whipped cream, I'm passably good with crepes and other than crippling myself for life (and a hint of burnt sugar flavor) I was able to conquer the caramel.  It was well worth the effort and time to make. This is a cake I will keep in my recipe files.  I hope that when you make this and you take your first bite, you will do exactly what I did....close your eyes, take a deep breath and utter "YUM!".

Below is my adaption of emily@poiresauchocolat.net's crepe cake.  Bon Appetit!

FRENCH CREPES
Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour                                
1 teaspoon white sugar                           
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs                                          
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted


Directions:

Sift together flour, sugar and salt and set aside.  In a large bowl beat eggs and milk together with an electric mixer.  Beat in the flour mixture until smooth.  Stir in melted butter.  Let rest for 15-30 minutes.

Heat a crepe pan or a small griddle pan over medium high heat.  You will know it's hot enough when a drop of water bounces on the pan. Take a buttered paper towel and wipe across the pan. Pour approximately 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter onto the pan, tipping and rotating pan to cover as thinly as possible.  When the crepe becomes lightly browned turn over and brown other side.  Place on cooling rack before stacking.


HOMEMADE SALTED CARAMEL
(thank you to the Brown Eyed Baker)

Ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into pieces
1 cup heavy cream at room temperature
1 tablespoon fleur de sel                                             

Directions:

Add the sugar in an even layer in the bottom of a heavy saucepan, with the capacity of at least 2 quarts.  Heat over medium high heat, whisking it as it begins to melt. The sugar will begin to clump, but that's okay.  As it continues to cook, it will melt back down. Stop whisking once the sugar has melted and swirl the pan occasionally while the sugar cooks.

Continue cooking until the sugar has reached a deep amber color. This is the point where it can go from perfect to burnt in a matter of seconds so keep a close eye on it.  If you are using an instant read thermometer, cook the sugar until it has reached 350 degrees F.

Once it has reached 350 degrees F, add the butter all at once.  Be care because it will bubble up!  Whisk until all the butter has melted into the caramel.

Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour the heavy cream into the caramel.  Again be careful because it will bubble up again. Whisk until all the cream is incorporated and you have a smooth sauce.  Add the fleur de sel and whisk until combined.

Set the sauce aside for 10-15 minutes and then pour into your favorite glass jar.  You can refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Warm before using.

MARSCAPONE WHIPPED CREAM
Ingredients:

4 oz Marscapone at room temperature
1 1/2 pint heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 powdered sugar, sifted

Whip marscapone cheese and heavy cream together until soft peaks form.  Add vanilla and powdered sugar and whip until both are incorporated.

                                                                                
To assemble cake:

Place one crepe on a plate and spread a thin layer (or more if you like) of caramel and then spread a layer of the whipped cream. Repeat until you have used all the ingredients, or until you have about 12 layers, leaving the best crepe for the top.  Spread the top crepe again with the caramel.

Cover and refrigerate for one hour.  Right before serving, place raspberries on the top and dust with powdered sugar.













  

Someone told me that 2013 is an empty book of 365 pages.  This is my first page and I hope I can fill it up accordingly.  It's going to be a great new year of new and exciting things.  I guess that is what I was trying to do this morning when I decided to try these cupcakes.  I had in my head I wanted something with champagne....and for me orange and champagne just go together naturally.  I was a little nervous in trying this...I had never heard of a champagne cupcake but I got the idea and some inspirational tidbits and gave it a shot.  And what did I end up with?  A sweet little bite of a Sunday morning mimosa.  A total yum!  

CHAMPAGNE AND ORANGE CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS:

 2 3/4 cups cake flour
 3 teaspoons baking powder
 1 teaspoon kosher salt
 2/3 cup unsalted butter                                         
 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
 3/4 cup champagne
 zest of two oranges
 juice of one orange
 2 oz. chopped white chocolate
 6 egg whites

CHAMPAGNE ORANGE BUTTERCREAM INGREDIENTS:

 1 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
 6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
 4 tablespoons champagne
 zest of one orange
 juice of 1/2 orange

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cupcake pans with liners. (I used 2 mini cupcake pans so this made about 48-60 mini cupcakes)

In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.  On low speed, add one third at a time of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar, alternating with the champagne.  Add zest and juice of oranges and mix until just combined.  Mix white chopped chocolate with a bit of flour and add to mixture.

In another large, clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Fold 1/3 of the whites into batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites.  Fill the cup liners about 2/3 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 16 minutes, turning after 8 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

TO MAKE THE FROSTING:

Beat the butter until fluffy.  Add the powdered sugar, champagne, zest and juice of orange and mix the ingredients until they are all incorporated and the frosting is smooth and creamy.






                               

 

 

 

 

 



My mission statement

The idea behind THE TWISTED FORK is to create a place to share my passion for cooking, entertaining and photography.  The inspiration comes from my love of food and my quest to create new flavors to share with others.  Julia Child once said "cooking is one failure after another and that's how you finally learn."  My mission is to help create that passion within you to be able to create flavorful dishes without fear of failure.