Strawberry jam-mascarpone crepe cake

This crepe cake was inspired by one of my favourite childhood desserts. This crepe cake dessert is very filling but worth making. Brought some spring vibes to our household, and it served as a belated birthday cake for Gábor.

The Hungarian dessert that inspired my cake is called csúsztatott palacsinta. Csúsztatott refers to the fact that several pancakes are layered on top of each other, and there is some form of filling between the layers. Palacsinta means crêpe.

However, my version is slightly different from the original csúsztatott palacsinta. I’m not even sure that there is an original version, because probably every household has its own.

In the case of csúsztatott palacsinta you only cook one side of the pancake. Usually, the filling between the layers are apricot jam and ground walnuts.

For my crêpe cake, I cooked both sides of the pancakes, and for the filling, I used mascarpone, heavy whipping cream (crème entière), and my Godmother’s delicious strawberry jam.

Happy cooking! 🙂

Ingredients

For the crepe:

300 g wheat flour (2 cups)
3 eggs
1-2 tablespoons sugar
4,5 dl milk (1,8 cups)
3 dl sparkling water (1,2 cups)
50 g melted butter (3,5 tablespoons), or neutral vegetable oil
dash of vanilla extract
pinch of salt

For the filling:

250 g mascarpone
2,5 dl heavy whipping cream (crème entière)
4 tablespoons strawberry jam

You can put chopped fresh strawberries between the layers … unfortunately I’ve realized this after I’ve finished the cake.

Necessary tools:

two deep dish bowls
whisk
spoon or spatula
non-stick frying pan

Instructions

Before you start making the batter, let all your ingredients get to room temperature.
Melt the butter, and set it aside until it cools down a little bit.
Crack the eggs in a bowl, add the required tablespoons of sugar to the eggs, and whisk them together. Add the melted butter to this mixture. Be careful! Let the butter cool down a little bit before adding it to the egg mixture. Otherwise, it will partially cook the eggs. We don’t want that. Or use vegetable oil instead of butter.
Add the milk, and the vanilla extract to the egg-sugar-butter mixture and mix it well.
If you have a sifter, sift the flour, and the salt into the bowl containing the wet ingredients.
Whisk to combine until the batter is smooth.
At this point gradually add the sparkling water to the batter. Its consistency should be thin, and smooth at the end.
In a small skillet, melt some butter (or vegetable oil) over medium heat. Add about 1/4 cup of batter at a time, spread it evenly in the pan, swirling it to an even coat. (Or use a soup ladle instead of a cup.)
Cook for two minutes, then flip, and cook one more minute. Repeat this with the remaining batter.
When the crêpes are done, prepare the filling. Whip the cream in a bowl with a hand mixer. (At slow speed, to avoid spilling.)
Mix the mascarpone, the whipped cream, and the strawberry jam.
Stack the crêpes on top of each other, with the strawberry filling between each layer.
Once assembled, you can trim the edges for a cleaner look if desired.
Decorate it according to your style, and enjoy! 🙂

Serves about eight slices.

Most of the recipes mix the ingredients oppositely, adding the liquid ingredients to the flour. But this way, I always ended up with lumpy crêpes. My research led to this method and my pancakes ended up smooth. You can use a blender if you want to make sure.

For more dessert recipes click here.