Strawberry Crêpes

Making French crêpes takes a little practice and the first one is never perfect unless you wait for the butter to sizzle in the pan. In France they are served rolled up with a sumptuous fruit filling and topped with whipped cream. For perfect crêpes, order a pan from The Baker's Catalogue®.

Strawberry Filling

    4 pounds strawberries, hulled and sliced
    ⅔ cup vanilla syrup
    ¼ cup boysenberry syrup
    ¼ cup granulated sugar

Crêpes

    2 cups fat-free milk
    4 large eggs
    1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    ⅓ cup granulated sugar
    3 tablespoons butter, melted
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    ⅛ teaspoon salt

    ½ cup butter
    Canned whipped cream
    Confectioners' sugar


1.  Filling: Prepare strawberries and place in a large bowl. Stir
     in vanilla syrup, boysenberry syrup and sugar. Refrigerate.

2.  Crêpes: In a blender, process the milk, eggs, flour, sugar,
     melted butter, vanilla and salt until smooth. You will need to
     scrape down the sides with a spatula a few times.

3.  There are a few tricks to making crêpes. First take a butter         
     cube and peel back some of the wrapper, leaving the butter         
     still wrapped up with the end open.

4.  Heat a crêpe pan, a 5-quart sauté pan or a 13-inch nonstick
     griddle on medium high. Rub butter on inside of pan to coat
     base and up sides. Pour ⅓ cup batter into pan, swirl to coat
     the base of the crêpe pan.

5.  Run a spatula around the edges, keeping the crêpe loose. Shake
     the pan. If the crêpe moves it is ready to turn over. The easiest
     way to do this is to slide the crêpe to one side of the pan and then
     scoop it up and turn it over. When fully cooked fold in half,
     then in half again to form a triangle; keep in a stack on a
     warm plate until needed.

6.  Lay each unfolded crêpe on a serving plate. Place
     strawberries at one end, then roll up. Top with sifted
     confectioners' sugar; then top with whipped cream.

     Variation: You may also make a banana rum filling by frying         
     6 sliced bananas in ½ cup butter, ½ cup dark brown sugar,
     ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon rum flavoring.
     For variety, use canned apple pie, cherry, or blueberry filling.

     Hint: To use up any remaining crêpes, spread with melted
     butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. Roll up and serve
     warm. The crêpes can also be made a day ahead and
     refrigerated. Simply reheat in the microwave before serving.

     Makes 12 crêpes