Strawberry and banana crêpe

Posted by Dana McMahan on April 15, 2008

Crêpes. It just doesn't get much better than a warm packet that you can stuff and top with your favorite treats. My husband and I have experimented with many, many, many crêpes. A decadent breakfast or brunch favorite is a strawberry and banana crêpe with caramel ad whipped cream.

We are crêpe-geek enough to own a crêpe-griddle, but it's actually easier to make them in a pan.

We've found the Joy of Cooking crepe batter recipe to work best, and modified it only slightly after we learned that a half-white half-buckwheat mixture makes it easier to cook the crêpes.

Make your crêpe batter first. It's best when it sits a little while.

Combine in a food processor, or bowl and mix until smooth:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup lukewarm water
4 large eggs (get the best eggs you can - fresh from a farm if that's an option)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar

Cover with wrap and let stand 30 minutes or refrigerate up to a few hours. If you keep it longer you'll have to add more liquid and re-mix.

(The first time you make them, it's a good idea to make an extra batch of batter for practice. )

While your batter sits, slice some strawberries and bananas. Warm up some caramel sauce, or if you're really motivated, make some caramel. Definitely whip some cream in your mixer for some real whipped cream. It's painless and really really worth it.

When you're ready to cook your crêpes, make sure your crêpe mise en place is all set. You can't be fooling around looking for your fillings while your crêpe burns.

With a few Tbsp of butter handy, heat a medium skillet to medium-high. Once it's good and hot, toss some butter in it and give it a swirl. Now pour about a quarter cup of batter into the pan and tilt your pan around so that the batter covers the bottom. After a minute or two when it starts to dry and curl around the edges, carefully slide a spatula under it and flip it.

As soon as it's flipped, drizzle with caramel and drop your berries and bananas in a line up the middle, starting at the center of the crêpe. Now fold it in almost half from the bottom, then fold each side in to make an "envelope." Remove from heat and top with whipped cream and drizzle with caramel. For extra nice presentation, arrange some more berry and banana slices around the edge and dust with powdered sugar.

Repeat.

TAGS: Banana, Caramel, Crepe, Strawberry
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