Sounds fancy, right? Well, it is fancy but it is not as complicated as you might think. If you have never made crepes before then you need to know a few things.
First, the thinner the crepe the better. Crepes are quite eggy and if you make them too thick they will overpower the dessert. I use an 8 ” omelet pan to cook my crepes and I use 3/4 of a standard size ladle, which is about 1/4 cup of batter. It will seem like you do not have enough batter to coat the pan, but you do. The finished crepe should be thin enough to see your fingers through, and 1/4 cup of batter is just enough for that.
Second, pour the batter in the center of the pan and immediately tilt the pan in a circle so the batter will spread evenly around. Don’t stop swirling until the batter is set up in the pan. It takes a few seconds. Until you get the timing down your crepes may not come out round. Don’t let that get you down. Once filled, topped and folded who will notice?
Third, a heat proof spatula is the best tool for working with crepes. Use it to lift the crepe to check for goldenbrownness, and use it to help flip the crepes.
Fourth, crepes are done when lightly golden brown on both sides. Do not think you have to cook the crepes until they are quite brown. There is not a lot of batter in the pan so they do not take long to cook, and they will not taste as good or be as tender if they are overcooked.
Lastly, crepes can be made a day in advance and kept wrapped loosely in the fridge. When you are ready to serve just allow them to come to room temp and fill. I filled mine with lightly sweetened whipped cream, diced fresh strawberries and bananas, and drizzled dark chocolate ganache on top.
Scared yet? No? Great!!
Sweet Crepes Yield 24
3 oz cake flour
3 oz bread flour
1 1/2 oz vanilla sugar (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
3 oz unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons liquor of choice (coffee, orange, or brandy are nice)
Sift the flours into a bowl. Set aside.
Combine the sugar, eggs and yolks into a large bowl and whisk until well blended.
In a heavy sauce pan scald the milk (bring to a low simmer before removing from the heat). Temper the hot milk into the eggs, then combine them into the large bowl.
Whisk in the butter, flour and liquor. Whisk well to remove as many lumps as you can. If you have small lumps in the batter you can strain them out.
Chill the batter for 30 minutes in the fridge.
After the batter has chilled, place an 8″ non-stick omelet, saute, or crepe pan over medium heat. Spray it lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
Pour 1 1/2 ounces (about 1/4 cup) of batter into the center of the hot pan an swirl the pan until the batter coats the pan evenly. Cook until the edges release from the pan and the underside of the crepe is lightly golden. Flip the crepe a rubber spatula and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the crepe has browned on the second side.
Stack finished crepes between layers of parchment paper, or wax paper.
To serve you can roll the filled crepes into tubes, or you can fold them. For tubes just spoon the filling down the center and roll into a tube.
For folded, think of the crepe as divided into four pie pieces. Spoon the filling into one quadrant. then fold the crepe in half so the filling is in one half, then fold the filled half over the unfilled half. Drizzle with ganahe (recipe below). Done!
Chocolate Ganache
8 oz chopped dark chocolate (67% or higher)
16 oz (or two cups) heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
In a heavy saucepan heat the cream until small bubbles form around the edge of the pot. Remove fromt he heat and add techocolateand butter. Allow to stand for one minute, then stir to combine.
Serve warm