Ready, Set, Weekend with Simply Beautiful Eating
Weekends are definitely made for relaxing, except when it comes to me. I love creating new brunch recipes and this was one I will keep in my back pocket for a long time.
My hubby Steve absolutely loves anything chocolate, especially if it’s laced with coffee. He usually shows up with a giant twister bagel fresh out of the bakers oven, to go hand in hand with his egg based concoctions. And when I say “concoctions”, I mean “concoctions”. There are days when I just look at his plate and wonder what he was thinking. But, to each his own, if he enjoys it that’s all that matters, right?
When I made these crepes, he walked into the house and asked me, “what smells so good”? Well, this is what not only smelled good, but tasted beyond GOOD.
They were fairly simple to make and guess what? I didn’t screw up the first crepe when I made it. Does that always happen to you? It does to me. The first crepe is a disaster, and the rest are usually perfect.
I started out making JUST the crepes, then halfway through I thought……hmmmm….why not fill em’? I had some leftover ricotta cheese in the fridge, so I hauled it out, mixed in some ingredients and voila, these stuffed crepes (or in my terms) – chocolate cheese blintzes.
Now, let’s talk about how many I ate (and I’m not a chocolate person – GASP – yes, you heard me, I’m not).
I started off with an acceptable plate of TWO and ended up eating FOUR. They were too delish not to take seconds. Don’t even get me started on how many Steve ate. He designated them for brunch, afternoon treat and dessert after dinner. Wow.
And speaking of WOW, there are so many of you out there who are bloggers and photographers. You know that I usually make my own backgrounds and love creating them. Lately, I've been too tired to do anything new, and I came across this AMAZING site which I'm going to share with you today. Not only am I giving you the link, the folks at Ink & Elm have offered a coupon code for 20% off your purchase. WHOOT WHOOT! Click here to order, and plug in SIMPLYBE20 at the checkout. Also, check out the one I used in the photos on this post. And so easy to use. They weigh nothing, they clean up in a flash and look absolutely stunning in photographs. You're welcome.
The batter for these chocolate crepes is made right in the blender, and I'm slightly obsessed with this mini one I recently bought. This recipe makes exactly the amount of batter that fits in the mini, so less cleanup for me!
If you have leftover crepes (which never happens to me), they reheat perfectly the next day and they’re great cold as well!
Here’s some tips to making perfect crepes:
1. Make sure that your pan is very hot, and pour just enough batter on the pan that it will coat the bottom completely before it sets.
2. I use 1/4 cup for my pan.
3. You’ll need to work quickly and tilt the pan quickly to distribute the batter. Like I said, the first few crepes might not be your best looking, but they will still taste good.
Easy and impressive, don’tcha think? This is now my go to crepe recipe when I want to feel FAHNSAY on weekends.
CREPE BATTER
Dry Ingredients
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
3 tbls cocoa powder
3 tbls sugar
pinch of sea salt
1 heaping tbls instant coffee or 1 heaping tsp espresso powder
Wet Ingredients
2 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup warm milk
2 tbls melted unsalted butter
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp orange extract
FILLING
2 cups smooth ricotta cheese
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
zest from one lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare a 9 x 13 baking dish by coating it with non-stick spray. Set aside.
In a small food processor or blender, pulse dry ingredients together. Add eggs and pulse for another 10 seconds. In a small bowl whisk together milk, butter and extracts. Pour into processor and pulse for 30 seconds. Let batter rest for 10 minutes while you make your filling.
In a medium bowl, mix together filling ingredients until well combined. Set aside while you make your crepes.
Prepare an 8 inch nonstick frying pan or crepe pan by covering it with one teaspoon of oil and wiping out the excess with a paper towel. You just want a thin film of oil in the pan.
Heat pan over medium high heat on stove. Scoop out ¼ cup of the batter and pour it into the pan, quickly tilting the pan to coat the bottom with the batter. As soon as the edges start to look cooked, flip the crepe and cook on the other side. This takes about a minute on each side. Be careful not to burn them. Repeat until all the batter is used, stacking each crepe on a plate.
At this point, feel free to use any toppings or filling you desire OR use the ricotta filling to stuff them.
Take one heaping tablespoon of filling for each crepe and smear it in the centre of crepe. Roll them and place in prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with fresh berries and powdered sugar if desired.