Lady M, Bellevue

Mille-cakes. Mille Crepes. Crepe cakes.  Whatever you call them, these have very much been a trend in the past few years, and one I've had relatively little experience with.  I've known about it for sure, but, haven't actually encountered many, besides the key lime version from International Smoke (that I did  enjoy),  and the sadly not awesome taro and ube one from Bao Bao Bakery in Boston.  I finally got a chance to try out Lady M, the brand that really started this trend, when I was visiting my office in Bellevue, WA.

Lady M offers a variety of crepe cakes, all of which have 20 layers of "paper-thin handmade crêpes", layered with creams and other fillings.  The Signature flavor is simple cream, but Lady M makes a variety of caffeinated options (tiramisu, chocolate, earl grey, matcha, and others), fruity options (passion fruit, strawberry, guava, and other seasonal varieties), nutty options (black sesame, pistachio, butter pecan), and even floral options like rose or lavender.  They also make several more traditional cakes (chocolate, fruit shortcakes) and cheesecakes (coconut, passion fruit).  These treats are not for the cost-conscious, as slices are ~$12-24, small 6" cakes are $75, and the regular 9" ones are $122 ($93 for cheesecake).

That said, honestly, the prices are justified.  You get what you pay for here.

Fancy Bag.

Lady M doesn't operate stores, they dub them all "boutiques".  My impression is that they are always in higher-end areas, and do have an upscale feel compared to a standard retail storefront.  That said, I haven't visited one in person.  They can be found in a handful of major cities in the US, and worldwide in a few select Asian countries.

I ordered my delivery on DoorDash, which was quite easy.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

My order came in a lovely branded bag, mirroring the boutique vibes, even for delivery.

Two Lovely Slices.

I was tempted by nearly all of the cakes, including the cheesecake.  Settling on just two was extremely challenging - I ended up opting for a seasonal offering, and the risky but fascinating sounding rose one.  But the black sesame and pistachio were quite hard to look past.  I really wanted all four.  Next time.

They came packaged together in a fancy cake box.  Both were semi-frozen when they arrived, which surprised me.  I thought they were baked locally, fresh, but, clearly not.  The boutiques must just thaw and sell?  I'd say they were still 40% frozen, fairly icy.  They were fine semi-frozen, but, considerably better once I let them soften up.

I loved both of them, but they were really quite different from each other.  The coming frozen really doesn't seem to have affected quality, as they were top notch.

Butter Pecan Mille Crepe (Seasonal). $12.25.

"Calling all Pecan Pie lovers! Inspired by the classic southern dessert, Lady M’s new Butter Pecan Mille Crêpes is the most delicious way to celebrate any festive occasion. With twenty alternating layers of handmade crêpes and pecan-infused pastry cream, our Butter Pecan Mille Crêpes is topped with roasted pecans and finished with a swirl of buttery pecan pastry cream. The sweetness of French pecan praline pairs perfectly with the saltiness of roasted pecans, and the candied pecan pieces delicately tucked between the layers adds just the right amount of crunch to each bite. This exquisite new cake is sure to be the life of every party this holiday season."

It may not be a very traditional mille crepe flavor, but I was immediately drawn to the seasonal butter pecan.  Mostly due to the tag line: "Calling all pecan pie lovers!".  Yup, that is me!  I was quite excited for this.  

It really was a fascinating creation.  It ate a bit heavier than most mille crepes, given the pecans.  There were a few bigger pieces within the layers, and on top, along with lots of smaller bits that made every bite have crunch.  The butter pecan cream gave it a very robust flavor as well.  It was sweeter than most crepe cakes I've had, but certainly not what I'd call a very sweet dessert overall.  Basically, just a touch of pecan pie inspiration, really, more like butter pecan ice cream, turned into a cream, and layered with delicate crepes.  The crepes were the best I've ever had in a crepe cake, ridiculously thin, not dried out, and, well, truly so many layers.  Fabulous.

I wanted a bit of whipped cream with it, and berries (strawberries or blackberries I think would go great), just to balance it out, but they weren't really necessary.  I was slightly let down by the promise of pecan pie, but as soon as I re-framed it as butter pecan ice cream inspired instead, I was more than happy.  I'd probably opt for a more traditional flavor in the future, as I think lighter and more subtle flavors work better in crepe cakes, but, I don't regret getting this.  

****.

Rose Mille Crepe.  $14.72.

"Paper-thin handmade crepes layered with rose flavoured pastry cream, garnished with sweet rose jelly and edible rose petals."

Next up I had my gamble, the rose cake.  I say gamble because floral desserts can so often go wrong, and I don't ever find myself *craving* flavors like rose.  But it also sounded light and unique, and worth the risk, particularly since I was getting two cakes.

My risk paid off in spades.  This was fabulous.  The crepes were again paper thin, not dry, and oh-so-many layers.  The flavor was lightly sweet, lightly floral, subtle but sophisticated, and not at all boring.  I wanted to devour it in mere moments, but also, to savor it in its lightness.  Truly something special.  The rose jelly on top added a touch of even strong rose flavor, and the petals as garnish made it nearly too pretty to eat.

There is nothing I would change about this (besides delivering it not frozen of course).  It was flawless. Exquisite. And for once, I didn't want to add any fruit, or whipped cream, or anything.  It was perfect as it was (although, now that I think about it, I suspect fresh raspberries would compliment it well).

I'd get this again in a heartbeat.  In fact, I loved it so much I was tempted to order more Lady M cakes the next day, just to get the opportunity to try a few more flavors.  *****.