For a special Easter Sunday breakfast, I thought crepes would be a good idea. I made them with what we happened to have on hand, which included bananas, Belgian chocolate and raspberries:
The recipe for the crepes themselves and the sauce are from The Moosewood Cookbook.
Crepes are unbelievably easy to make, much simpler than pancakes, plus they actually keep (for up to a week in the fridge) rather than becoming soggy 5 minutes after being made. The key is to always put the batter into a hot, lightly greased pan.
Crepes with Bananas and Chocolate
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 t. salt
Oil and/or butter (for the pan)
Chopped chocolate, preferably 70% dark
Sliced Bananas
Combine everything in a blender or food processor.
Heat up a 7–8″ pan, preferably nonstick, until very hot. Add a few drops of oil, then pour 1/4 cup of the crêpe batter in. After about 30 seconds, flip the crêpe. You should brown it lightly on both sides.
Remove the crêpe, allow the pan to reheat for about 30 seconds, and repeat this procedure until you’ve gone through your batter.
To finish, fill a couple crepes with sliced bananas and a bit of chopped chocolate (as it’s 70% dark, you don’t need much) and fold over like an omelet. Put a little butter or oil in the pan, add two folded crepes, and heat for a couple minutes until chocolate melts. Serve with raspberry sauce (below).
Raspberry Sauce
Fresh or frozen (thawed) raspberries
sugar (about 1 TB. per half cup of berries)
lemon juice
Mash up raspberries using a fork with sugar and lemon juice to taste. Push mixture through a fine mesh strainer or food mill.
While chocolate chips work fine in this recipe, the 70% dark chocolate definitely makes a difference. It adds a sharpness and complexity of flavor that cuts through everything else (which is why you should use it sparingly).
Oil is better for the initial fry while butter is best for the second. Oil can withstand a higher heat, which results in a more crisp crêpe. The butter adds flavor for the second heating.
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