Crepes

I bought a ton of apples last week to make Caramel Apple Pie, but that never happened at the Renaissance Festival. I then thought that I could make it for our Graduation Cook-Out, but that never happened either. I'm quickly running out of time to use the apples and I think my housemates would hate me if I left them with a pie when only two of them will remain. I was trying to think of recipes that use Granny Smith apples since I don't like to eat them alone. I remembered how much everybody enjoyed the Caramelized Apple Crepes I made for brunch once so I decided to make them again as breakfast for dinner.



I used a different crepe recipe this time just to try a variety and choose the best ones. I'm keeping both recipes I've used so far because they are very different in taste. These crepes contain sugar, which the first recipe I used didn't have. This sweet version would be great when serving as dessert while the other version could work with savory ingredients for brunch. I don't know if the cake flour made a difference, so I'll have to try this again with just all-purpose flour. Expect a very runny batter--don't be tempted to add more dry ingredients. Be careful when you're flipping the crepes. This recipe yields more flimsy crepes and it doesn't help that they are thin. Make sure you spray the pan with cooking oil before cooking each crepe.



This was my last chance to cook for everyone. I drive up home tomorrow with most of my life in the trunk and backseat of my car. I like to imagine that my housemates and I are all eventually going to meet up again. We already made plans to come back every summer since one of my housemates will still be in town and living in the same house. I think I'm even coming back this summer a couple times to visit and also to see more plays at the American Shakespeare Center, which is the most amazing place ever. It's the world's only re-creation of Shakespeare original indoor theatre and they do really funny stuff in their plays. It's in Staunton, Virginia so if you're nearby, you should go!



Anyway, when I get my own place, I need to make friends with my neighbors so that I have people to bake for. I'll be coming up with every excuse to bake or cook. I'm also depending on my friends to get rich and famous one day so that they can hire me as their personal chef ;)

Crepes
From Zoom Yummy

- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- Salt

1. In a bowl, whisk together the milk, water, and eggs.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix into the wet ingredients until batter is smooth.
3. Heat nonstick pan on medium-high. Spray with cooking spray. Add 1/4 cup batter and swirl to cover the whole pan. Let the crepe cook until brown. Shake a pan a bit to loosen the crepe. Flip and brown the other side. Serve.
4. If you don't want your crepes to get cold while you're making the rest of the batter, heat the oven to 200F and keep the crepes on a baking pan in the oven. It'll keep them all warm until you are ready to serve.

Caramelized Apple Crepes

Yesterday, the Shakespeare Society had its second annual 'Stravaganza, where we perform select scenes from any Shakespeare play. It went pretty well, though we had a small audience. Things haven't been working out as we would have liked this term, but it's okay. It's over and done with now! It only hit me at dinner yesterday that the 'Stravaganza was my last performance with the Shakespeare Society. It made me so sad, but it's been such a great experience. We didn't have a cast party for the 'Stravaganza, unfortunately, but everybody was so busy that it probably would have ended up being just a couple people at the party.

Usually, though, having people over at our house for a party means that some will end up spending the night. At the hosts, we provide sometimes simple breakfasts like cereal and milk. Other times, I'm in the mood to make pancakes. Pancakes, however, take a while to cook. People wake up hungry and I hate to make them wait. When we had people over for the cast party last semester, I decided to make crepes instead. A thinner version of pancakes, crepes take a lot less time to cook than pancakes. You can also get a lot more out of the batter. After doubling the recipe, I got exactly 24 crepes, which was perfect because there were 12 people eating so each got 2. I had a difficult time coming up with a filling that everyone would enjoy. Fresh fruit is nice, but I guess I wanted something more complicated. Jam or Nutella seemed too sweet, but caramelized apples sounded perfect.

I had never made crepes before, but this was a successful first try. I used a 7- or 8-inch non-stick pan, added enough batter to just cover the whole pan so I would get nice and thin crepes. The recipe's instructions say to cook the crepe for 30 seconds on one side and then for 10 to 20 seconds on the other, but I think it's a bit longer than that. I was also too frazzled to be keeping track of the time so I instead looked at the edges of the crepe. If the edges curl up and the crepe is somewhat cooked around the sides, then it's time to flip.



The first time I made these, I didn't get to have a bite, but that's okay. I was just glad there was enough for others. I made these as soon as I got home a couple weeks ago for Spring Break so that my sister and I could enjoy them together. The only pictures I have are terrible ones, unfortunately. For some reason, my camera was being very uncooperative that day.

Caramelized Apple Crepes
From Not Derby Pie

- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 to 3 apples, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced

- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup flour
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- Butter, for coating the pan

1. Preheat oven to 200F and put a rimmed baking sheet on an oven rack.
2. Heat pan over medium heat and add 2 tbsp butter. When it starts to bubble, add apples and cook until softened. Add maple syrup and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until fully soft and coated in butter and syrup.
3. Meanwhile, blend eggs, milk, water, flour, and 3 tbsp melted butter in blender until well mixed. Heat small non-stick pan (or crepe pan, if you have one) and add just enough butter to coat. Using a small ladle, spoon about 1 oz or 1/4 cup of batter into pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook about 30 seconds or until the edges of crepe curl up, then flip and cook about 10 to 20 seconds more. Transfer finished crepes to baking sheet in oven. Continue until batter has been used up.
4. To serve layer crepes with apples and top with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup.