Chocolate Crepes with Blueberry Cream

Inspired by Julia Child’s 100th birthday, I decided to make her amazing crepes, but with a twist: Chocolate Crepes with Blueberry Cream.

I created this recipe back in 2012, in honor of Julia Child’s 100th birthday. I have always been intimidated by French cooking until I made my first Beef Bourguignon. I quickly realized that this amazing meal was basically a beef stew.

It put things in perspective for me, not that I’m diminishing this truly amazing meal! So, to celebrate the extra-ordinary life of Julia Child, the American who brought French cooking to the family home, I decided to tackle something I’ve always wanted to make: chocolate crêpes.

Why this recipe is so awesome

Crepes alone can be made into a savory or sweet dish. This ultra thin pancake (remember simplifying makes it less scary!) can be filled with fresh fruit, whipped cream, nutella or even chocolate mousse to make a decadent dessert.

The French also like to make a savory dinner with crepes, filling them with left overs, whether it be chicken, shrimp or even beef bourguignon.

I took Julia’s basic vanilla crepe recipe and altered it with the addition of dark cocoa powder. I’m a card carrying choco-holic and these crepes are pretty incredible. My kids had never indulged in crepes, but were quickly swooning over these chocolate varieties.

They make a delicious breakfast or dessert. I stuffed them with this fluffy blueberry cream, but you can also keep it simple with fresh fruit and a drizzle of honey.

I have also made these crepes with regular cocoa powder, too. My kids love these crepes with fresh fruit and Nutella. Or keep it simple with regular whipped cream or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Dress it up or keep it simple – either way, you’ll love these chocolate crepes as much as we do!

Ingredients you need

• Milk: I used whole fat milk for this crepe recipe.
• Eggs: Large eggs are used and can be white or brown eggs.
• Cocoa powder: For more intense chocolate flavor, I used dark cocoa powder. You can also use regular cocoa powder instead.
• Butter
• Extra virgin olive oil: This is to keep the crepes from sticking to your pan. Use a mild flavored olive oil. You can also use vegetable oil. If you have a high quality non-stick pan, you can forgo the oil altogether.
• Blueberries: Fresh blueberries really are a better choice than frozen. You can also use strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, bananas or peaches.
• Cream cheese: You can use full fat or light cream cheese.
• Heavy cream: You need heavy whipping cream, not half and half.
• Pantry staples: salt, all purpose flour, vanilla extract and honey

Step-by-step directions

1. In a blender, combine water, milk, eggs and salt. Pulse 4 times.

2. Add flour, cocoa powder and melted butter and blend until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down sides as needed.

3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours so that the flour particles are able to expand in the liquid which will result in a light, thin crêpe.

The batter should have the consistency of a light cream, just thick enough to coat a wooden spoon. If, after making your first crêpe, it seems too heavy, beat in a bit of water, a spoonful at a time. Your cooked crêpe should be about 1/16 inch thick.

4. Lightly coat your non-stick crêpe pan with a bit of olive oil. Set pan over medium-high heat. Holding the handle of pan in one hand, pour with your other hand a ¼ cup of batter into the middle of the pan.

Quickly tilt and rotate the pan in all directions to run the batter all over the bottom of the pan to create a thin film. (Pour any batter that does not adhere to the pan back into your bowl) This should only take 2 or 3 seconds.

5. Return the pan to heat for 60 to 80 seconds, until bottom of the crêpe is lightly browned, then jerk and toss pan sharply back and forth and up and down to loosen the crêpe.

6. Run a rubber spatula along the edges of the crêpe to check if browned and ready for flipping. Turn the crêpe by using 2 rubber spatulas. Brown lightly for about ½ minute on the other side. This second side is brown and spotty, and is typically used for the inside of a filled crêpe.

As they are done, slide the crêpes onto a rack and let cool several minutes before stacking on a plate. Continue cooking the crêpes, greasing the pan as needed with remaining olive oil.

7. You can mix up the blueberry cream filling or simply use whipped cream or nutella for your chocolate crepes. To make small triangle sandwiches, cut from the center of the crepe straight to outside edge, creating a slit.

Spread filling on ¾ of the crepe. Using the cut quarter, fold it up and over the other side of the crepe. Then fold that triangle across the other quarter. Then fold the final quarter over the rest of the crepe.

Recipe tips and FAQs

The first crêpe is your experiment, to determine whether your batter is the right consistency or not. It shouldn’t be thick and heavy, but just light enough to coat a spoon.

The cooking of the crepes is like a dance. You have to get the steps in the right order, pay close attention and keep with the rhythm. Get the pan piping hot, then remove from heat. Pour just enough batter into the hot pan with one hand. Turn and twirl and rotate the pan with the other hand to coat the pan.

You don’t need a special pan, any nonstick pan will do. The size of the pan will decide the size of the crepe. By swirling the batter around the pan, you forgo the need to get a special crepe spreader.

But seriously, have fun with it. And in the end, you’re going to have so much filling them up and enjoying them!

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Yield: 15 servings

Dark Chocolate Crepes with Blueberry Cream

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Inspired by Julia Child's 100th birthday, I decided to make her amazing crepes, but with a twist: Dark Chocolate Crepes with Blueberry Cream.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 3 hours

Ingredients

• 1 cup water, cold
• 1 cup milk, cold
• 4 eggs, large
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup dark cocoa powder
• 4 TBS butter, unsalted, melted
• 2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 6 oz blueberries, divided
• 4 oz cream cheese
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 TBS honey
• ½ pint heavy cream

Instructions

1. In a blender, combine water, milk, eggs and salt. Pulse 4 times.
2. Mix in flour, cocoa powder and melted butter. Blend until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down sides as needed.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours so that the flour particles are able to expand in the liquid which will result in a light, thin crêpe. The batter should have the consistency of a light cream, just thick enough to coat a wooden spoon. If, after making your first crêpe, it seems too heavy, beat in a bit of water, a spoonful at a time. Your cooked crêpe should be about 1/16 inch thick.
4. Lightly coat your non-stick crêpe pan with ¼ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil. Set pan over moderately high heat until the pan is just beginning to smoke, then immediately remove from heat and, holding handle of pan in one hand, pour with your other hand a scant ¼ cup of batter into the middle of the pan.
5. Quickly tilt and rotate the pan in all directions to run the batter all over the bottom of the pan to create a thin film. (Pour any batter that does not adhere to the pan back into your bowl) This should only take 2 or 3 seconds.
6. Return the pan to heat for 60 to 80 seconds, until bottom of the crêpe is lightly browned, then jerk and toss pan sharply back and forth and up and down to loosen the crêpe.
7. Run a rubber spatula along the edges of the crêpe to check if browned and ready for flipping. Turn the crêpe by using 2 rubber spatulas.
8. Brown lightly for about ½ minute on the other side. This second side is brown and spotty, and is typically used for the inside of a filled crêpe.
9. As they are done, slide the crêpes onto a rack and let cool several minutes before stacking on a plate.
10. Continue cooking the crêpes, greasing the pan as needed with remaining olive oil.
11. For the filling, purée blueberries, cream cheese, vanilla extract and honey in a food processor until smooth.
12. In a chilled bowl using a hand blender or stand mixer, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
13. Fold blueberry mixture into the whipped cream mixture and refrigerate at least 30 minutes prior to serving. If you are going to use a piping bag to add cream to the crêpes, transfer blueberry cream to the piping bag and then refrigerate.

Notes

You can also stuff your crepes with plain whipped cream or nutella. Serve with fresh berries, peaches or banana slices. Keep it simple with a dusting of powdered sugar or cocoa powder.

Remember, the crepes themselves are not sweet and have no sugar. You add the sugar with the toppings you use.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

15

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 225Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 96mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 5g

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