Here's one of our favourite recipes from our Shared Kitchen book. Crêpes are gorgeous but add chocolate and they are simply scrumptious. Grab a punnet of berries and enjoy a treat.
Ingredients
—Crêpe Batter 115g (4 oz) standard flour 2 Tbsp cocoa powder Pinch of salt 1 whole egg and 1 extra egg yolk (both medium, size 6, and free-range) 325ml (about 11 fl oz) whole milk, maybe a little more 1 Tbsp melted butter, plus extra for the pan if necessary Filling Lightly whipped cream or Greek yoghurt 1-2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced 2-3 bananas, peeled and sliced Maple syrup Icing (confectioner’s) sugar for dusting crêpes
Method
—1 If making crêpes by hand, sift flour, cocoa powder and salt into a deep bowl and make a well in the centre. Drop in whole egg and extra egg yolk. Blend eggs together with a wooden spoon, gradually drawing in flour as you go, then start adding milk keeping mixture the consistency of thick cream. Continue stirring until all the flour is drawn in (you will have used about half the milk by this time). Beat well together, then add melted butter and remaining milk.
2 Cover batter and rest it for 30 minutes. Before making batter into crêpes, check the consistency – it should now be like a thin (pouring) cream. Thin with more milk if necessary.
3 If making crêpe batter in a food processor, sieve flour, cocoa powder and salt together. Put egg, egg yolk, melted butter and milk into bowl of processor fitted with a whisking blade if it has one (or use the chopping blade). Blend for a few seconds, stop machine, sprinkle in dry ingredients and blend for 30 seconds. Pour batter into a bowl and rest it for 30 minutes.
4 Heat a small heavy crêpe pan or frying pan (skillet) on a medium heat. Smear pan with a little butter if it is inclined to stick. When pan is hot, pour in a spoonful of batter. Quickly swirl it around the pan, coating the entire base, and tip any excess batter back into the bowl.
5 It should take about a minute to cook the first side. Loosen crêpe with a palette knife, flip it and cook second side. The first crêpes will probably be dungers, as it takes a wee bit to get the temperature right – and then you should be away. You probably won’t need to grease the pan once you get the heat right. Put crêpes on a cooling rack as they are made.
6 There are many options when it comes to filling the crêpes. Spread crêpes on one half with lightly whipped cream or thick yoghurt. Put on sliced bananas, adding sliced strawberries if liked, or just use sliced strawberries, and drizzle with maple syrup. Fold over, then fold over again, so the crêpe is in triangles. Alternatively, put yoghurt or cream, fruit and maple syrup on one half of a crêpe and roll into fat cigars. Transfer crêpes to a plate and when they are all assembled, dust with icing sugar and serve with extra yoghurt, whipped cream and maple syrup.
Strawberries can grow in a pot. Provide pea straw for the berries to nestle on as they grow.
Photograph of Julie from Shared Kitchen cookbook by Manja wachsmuth
For more about strawberries, read here Strawberries
Ripe red, sweet and juicy.
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