A Muse in My Kitchen
Chocolate Crepes
I remember Mother’s Days of years gone by when my little girls would make me breakfast in bed. They would make me lie in bed while they were whispering and hustling in the kitchen. The three of them would parade in carrying a tray of toast, cereal and a flower picked from the garden. We would all sit in my bed together – giggling while they watched with their proud little faces as I gobbled down their breakfast saying “nom, nom, nom” as I ate.
Oh if we could only hang onto those days a lot longer.
I have the next best breakfast memory to give Mom – chocolate crepes!
They are easy to make and they give such an elegant presentation! The beauty is that you can make them ahead of time and simply fill them and garnish them on Mother’s Day morning. Speaking of fillings – there are so many choices! I like a sweet ricotta filling topped with strawberries and chocolate syrup. You can fill them with Nutella and bananas, strawberry or raspberry jam, Greek yogurt or just berries and whipped cream! Have fun with the fillings – the crepes themselves are not that sweet so any sweet filling will not be overwhelming.
Simply blend all the ingredients – eggs, milk, dutch processed cocoa, flour, butter, sugar and salt in a blender. Let sit for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
The tricky part is flipping the crepe in your pan. Using a 10″ non-stick skillet, coat the pan lightly with butter wiping the excess butter off – I like to use a butter flavored spray (less calories!). Tilting the hot crepe pan, pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan swirling around the bottom of the pan to spread the batter to the edges. Cook over medium high heat until batter is set – about 1 minute. Carefully using a spatula, flip the crepe over and cook for one minute more. Remove and cover with a paper towel while preparing the other crepes.
I like to fold the crepe in half and then fill with my favorite filling.
Top with berries, chocolate syrup and a bit of whipped cream. (These crepes freeze well and can be easily made with Gluten Free all purpose flour.)
Happy Mother’s Day!
A special note: I was supposed to make these crepes on our local TV station this morning but the segment was cancelled due to the severity of the news of the three girls found after 10 years in captivity. A horrific tragedy and I’m sure every Mother is holding their children tighter this week. God bless the girls and their families – let’s all send up prayers for a healing recovery for all of them!
- 2 cups milk
- 2 eggs
- 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- RICOTTA CHEESE FILLING:
- 1 cup ricotta cheese (don’t use the lowfat kind)
- 2 tbs. sugar
- lemon zest or chocolate chips
- In a blender, combine the milk, eggs, butter, flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt and blend until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
- Heat a crepe pan over medium-low heat.
- Coat the pan lightly with melted butter or PAM, wiping out any excess.
- Lift the pan at a slight angle and pour about ¼ cup of the batter into the center, tilting the pan to spread the batter to the edges.
- Return the pan to the heat and cook until the crepe is golden underneath, about 1 minute.
- Using a spatula, flip the crepe over and cook for 1 minute more.
- Transfer to a plate and cover.
- Repeat with the remaining batter to make about 16 crepes.
- Prepare the cheese filling by mixing the lemon zest, ricotta cheese and sugar together.
- To assemble, lay a crepe flat, fold in half.
- Place cheese filling on one side of the crepe and fold in half again making a triangle.
- Repeat with the remaining crepes.
- Top with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and garnish with raspberries.
