The Kitchen Door

It has been a crazy busy week around here.  In addition to all our regular house activities, this week we added a Scuba Dive Certification class to the mix.  Every night for the past 6 nights we have had the house filled with people.  It’s been fun. Even with all the fun, making a dessert every night leaves me a little stymied about what to make and worried that by weeks end we’ll all be fatter.

Our dive class graduated on Tuesday and so Wednesday saw us back to our normal schedule.  I still had to make a dessert however for the Bible study crew.  I was a bit pressed for time and I found my enthusiasm for baking was quickly waning so I knew I wanted a practically instant type of dessert.  Crepes popped into my mind and once there the thought of crepes cannot be budged until thought becomes reality.

I have a great recipe for making them in the blender so they are practically an “instant” dessert.  I whipped up some fresh and slightly sweetened whipped cream and served them with maple syrup.  Since I am watching what I eat I sprinkled a bit of granulated sugar on mine and squeezed some fresh lime juice on them.  Mmm, so good.  The crepes get a wonderful “nutty” flavor from the addition of browned butter to the batter… kicks ‘em up a notch.

Mike was eager to wake up this morning and have the left over crepes for breakfast. I love it when I have some leftover because they freeze beautifully and are a cinch to heat up in warm skillet with a bit of butter.

Here they are with Strawberries and Fresh Cream

Brown Butter Crepes

Makes about 20 crepes.

The Ingredients

• 7 TBS unsalted butter; more softened for the pan
• 1-3/4 cups whole milk; more as needed
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

The Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat, swirling it every few seconds, until melted and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan turn golden-brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Immediately pour the brown butter into a small bowl and let cool almost to room temperature.
2. Combine the milk, eggs, and salt in a blender. Blend for a few seconds to combine. Add the flour and blend until very smooth, about 20 seconds. Add the brown butter and blend for another 10 seconds.
3. Pour the batter into a large bowl and let rest for at least 5 minutes and up to 24 hours. (If resting for more than 30 minutes, cover and refrigerate.)
4. When ready to cook the crêpes, check the batter; it should be as thick as heavy cream, not as thick as pancake batter. If it feels too thick, whisk in up to 1/2 cup more milk.
5. Heat a crêpe pan with an 8-inch base or a 10-inch nonstick skillet with an 8-inch base over medium-high heat until it’s hot enough for a drop of water to sizzle. Using a folded paper towel, grease the pan with about 1/4 tsp. butter. The butter should sizzle upon contact but not instantly turn brown. If it does, reduce the heat as necessary.
6. Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the center of the pan while simultaneously lifting the pan from the heat and tilting and turning it in all directions so the batter spreads evenly across the bottom in a thin circle. If the crêpe has any holes in it, quickly add a few drops of batter to fill them in.
7. Cook until the edges begin to dry and lift from the sides of the pan and the bottom is nicely browned (lift up an edge with a small silicone spatula or your fingers to check), about 1 minute. Use the spatula or your fingers to flip the crêpe over. Cook until the second side is browned, about 20 seconds more.
8. Slide the crêpe from the pan onto a large plate or cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter, adjusting the heat and spreading more butter in the pan every two or three crêpes, or whenever the pan begins to look a bit dry. You can stack the crêpes on the plate as they’re done; they won’t stick. The crêpes will soften as they cool.

By: The Kitchen Door

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