Meyer Lemon Tortilla-Crepe Cake

This was an exciting week. For the first time (I think?) I was able to manipulate my scant but growing culinary knowledge and successfully alter a recipe to suit my skill level. Do you remember Kenny Shopsin and the mac 'n' cheese pancakes? Well, after my failed Easter eggs, I really wanted this crepe cake to turn out, and I remembered reading his trick for crepes in Eat Me. How does Kenny Shopsin make a crepe? He uses flour tortillas. Have you ever heard of doing this? He dips one side of the tortilla in a mixture of eggs and cream, fries it in a buttered pan, waits until that side gets nice and mottled with brown spots, coats the other side with the egg and cream mixture, browns that side and voila, he's got himself a crepe.

Could you imagine stranger bedfellows than Martha Stewart and Kenny Shopsin?

With that, I give you Martha's version:

And here's our version:

The first step, making the lemon curd mousse, is all Martha.

Candying the meyer lemons? This has Martha written all over it.

When you pull out flour tortillas for a dessert this gorgeous and WASPy, you kind of know you are in Shopsin territory.

The result of this crazy amalgam of these two food-making superheroes on opposite spectrums of the urf?

Crazy deliciousness. The buttery chewiness of the tortilla-crepes and the sweet, slightly sour yet creamy lemon mousse curd with the uber-tart bite of the candied lemon was superb. Super superb.

But why stop there? Can I take this Martha/Kenny combination even further? Let me try:

Possibly my favorite story of all time is that of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, which I just recently pulled off my shelf and reread. Consequently, this week I've been seeing the world with Jane-Austen glasses.

Can you deny that there is nothing more romantic, more pre-Victorian and Pride and Prejudice-y than this meyer lemon crepe cake? And even though meyer lemons weren't discovered until the 1900s, couldn't you just picture this cake at Pemberley?

And by this thought-process, can we not jump to the next conclusion: a modern day version of Pride and Prejudice set firmly within the Manhattan foodie scene? Shopsin though, with his wit and "inferior connections" would have to play the role of Elizabeth, and Martha with her immaculate breeding and cold demeanor would fall perfectly in line with a Mr. Darcy rendition. Am I right on track or what, P&P fans?

Meyer Lemon Crepe Cake (adapted from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients
15-20 flour tortillas
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
butter for the pan
Meyer Lemon Curd Mousse
1/4 cup heavy cream, whipped
Candied Meyer Lemons, optional

Directions
Make Meyer Lemon Curd Mousse and Candied Meyer Lemons. Whip some heavy cream while you're at it. All that's left are your tortilla-crepes and some mild assembly!

Whisk together eggs and heavy cream in a medium bowl. Dip one side of the tortilla in the egg and cream mixture, fry it in a hot, buttered pan until the side gets nice and mottled with brown spots. Coat the other side with the egg and cream mixture and brown that side as well. Congratulate yourself as you slide your tortilla-crepe a la Shopsin onto a plate. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Let cool.

Place 1 tortilla-crepe on a flat serving dish. Spread about 1/4 cup lemon curd mousse onto tortilla-crepe. Top with 1 tortilla-crepe. Continue layering tortilla-crepes and mousse. (Use 15-20 tortilla crepes, ending with a tortilla-crepe on top.) Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Top tortilla-crepe cake with whipped cream and 3 or 4 candied lemon slices.