I woke up the other day and wondered what I could make with next to nothing in the house. Am I the only one who does that? I get working and doing chores and then I think, “Maybe John will go to the store.” He thinks the same thing and then there are no eggs or cereal or anything to feed the father-in-law who loves a big breakfast.
After wandering around the kitchen and pantry and standing in front of the open refrigerator, I decided that French crepes filled with stewed apples and drizzled with maple syrup would please he who would eat a huge breakfast every.single.day. Before Rob arrived, we rarely ate breakfast. Maybe a piece of toast or a cup of tea or coffee but a big breakfast? Nah, only when we went out. We work in converted bedrooms upstairs so oftentimes we’d just go from the bedroom to the office.
Not any more.
When I told Rob I was making crepes he said, “Oh, REAL pancakes?” Remember, he spent a year in Paris studying holograms while on sabbatical when John was 19 or 20 so French anything makes him happy. Now if someone could show me how to make crepes that are perfectly round I’d be much appreciative. I use my Breville crepe maker which I LOVE but I can’t swirl it – only use that little stick thingo and as you can see below, as roundness goes, I’m a fail.
I have made these for dessert in years past and instead of maple syrup I drizzled caramel or toffee sauce over them and tucked some vanilla ice cream beside them. Whie it was a really easy breakfast, these would make a lovely dessert too.
The verdict? “Maureen, these are quite nice, quite nice indeed. Maybe you could fill them with mangoes next time.” Rob LOVES mangoes and we have some every morning for breakfast and will do until Christmas when this season’s crop will expire. So, how does one stew a mango?
- 30g butter
- pinch salt
- 1½ cups milk
- 2 eggs
- 150g plain flour, sifted
- 4 apples peeled, cored and sliced into good-sized slices
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Warm butter, salt and milk until butter has melted. Lightly whisk eggs and add to warm liquid.
- Put flour into a basin and make a well. Tip in liquid and whisk until smooth.
- Strain into a container and chill for up to 2 hours. (okay I sat mine on the counter for 30 minutes - just fine). The consistency should be like thin cream. If not, thin with more milk.
- Heat a frying pan or crepe maker. Wipe pan with a piece of buttered paper for the first pancake. Lift pan from heat, then ladle in about one-quarter of a cup of batter and tilt and swirl the pan to to spread it to the edges. Set the pan back on the heat.
- After 1 minute, lift the thin outer edge of pancake with a fine spatula and flip the pancake using your fingers or spatula. When cooked, transfer to a plate in a low oven to keep warm. (I put baking paper between mine)
- Repeat until the batter is used up.
- Makes 8-10 large crepes
- In a saucepan place the apples and water and cook on low until the apples are nearly soft.
- Add sugar and cinnamon and cook til soft.
- Place one crepe on a plate and put a spoonful of apple mixture on one side and roll up.
- Drizzle with maple syrup to serve.