Recipe: Crepes with a berry and chocolate sauce

 A handful of leftover frozen berries in the freezer was calling out to be used. And so I did.

Before Kayden, these soft warm crepes made regular appearances as impromptu after dinner desserts. It was my thing to make for a special occasion . The norm was with just a drizzle of lemon and sugar on top, or for a special day I would be organized and will usually have a more decadent strawberry chocolate or banana caramel sauce to go with it.  But really the options are endless! You could even try filling it with ham and pineapples, or a bolognese sauce for a savoury take on it (which I may try someday).

To me, these crepes remind me of my maternal grandmother, because she was the one who taught me how to make them. I don't know where she got the idea from, it certainly isn't an asian thing to do. And I am sure she knew nothing about those lace like french crepes they serve at posh restaurants at the other end of the world. I never asked, but I am guessing it is one of those things you make from the most basic of ingredients you can get your hands on during hard times. World war 2? I am not sure.

But I remember I used to look forward to my school holiday breaks because I get to go and stay with my grandmother. Both my parents were working long hours and I was in mama's (hokkien for maternal grandmother) care during the weekdays for the first 7 years of my life. Not surprisingly, I was extremely close to her and up till today, I still remember that floral powder scent she puts on, the feel of her soft skin, her laughter and stern words, and of course the many dishes she used to cook.

I digress.

On some days, very often while I am still napping, I am awoken by a very distinctive sweet fragrant smell. I wake from my slumber to find on the dinner table a pile of these soft golden crepes on a plate, protected under a netted cover like in the older times. She would spot me up and awake, appear with a cup of hot Milo and sit down with me to eat them. Mama likes to eat them plain, none of these fancy schmancy sauces we see served at restaurants. If I asked nicely, sometimes she gives me a small saucer of sugar to dip them in and I am as happy as can be! Ahhh... life's simple pleasures!

Sadly, she passed on nearly 13 years ago. But I have managed to watch her make it a handful of times.

I don't have a recipe for it because as most seasoned cooks do, she told me to use 'some' eggs, a few spoonfuls of plain flour, a pinch of salt, and to 'thin it out' with milk. They always make it sound so easy. AS IF!

After enough crepe disasters to set off a choking cough from burnt pans, blackened, thick cardboard tasting or soft soggy limpy crepes, I think I finally got the consistency she was trying to tell me. Today, I don't use measurements anymore, instead going by what she first told me to add some of this and a few of that!

 This time round, I put a dash or two of cinnamon in, hence the brown specks.  

You want to achieve a maple syrup like consistency.

My crepes usually end up crisp around the edges, but I like them that way.

But before I mastered that, I used to go by these basic measurements and thin it out with more milk to get the right consistency for soft velvety crepes almost like what mama used to make. Make or prepare your sauces or condiments first so you have them ready to serve as soon as your crepes are ready.


                                                                                                                                                                                                           
Crepes with a berry and chocolate sauce


Berry sauce

1 cup frozen berries
6 tsp sugar (or to taste)
dash of vanilla paste

Crepes
125gms plain flour
a pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 cup of milk (more to thin it out to the right consistency later on)
butter

vanilla paste (optional)
cinnamon powder (optional)
1tbsp sugar (optional - I use it only if I am eating them with lemon and sugar. But watch your crepes with this, because they will burn more easily)


Method: Berry sauce
On a low flame, heat up the berries until the juices start to flow. Add the sugar and stir it in until it dissolves. You may need more sugar depending on the tartness of your batch of berries. I usually prefer to use frozen berries because it means I don't have to thin out the flavours by adding water to it, the frozen berries produce enough liquid to make a sauce.

Method: Chocolate sauce
As how you would make a fondue. With chocolate and milk. That's how I do mine anyway. In a microwave safe bowl, put in the amount of chocolate (normal eating chocolate, not the cooking kind) u think u will need and about half the amount of milk. In my opinion, there is no such thing as too much chocolate sauce. You can make hot chocolate with leftovers anyway.

Zap it in the microwave until the milk is just hot enough to melt the chocolate, not too hot! If its not hot enough, just heat it up again. Its better under heated than over heated. Or you might end up burning and wasting your chocolate.

Stir the mixture until the chocolate fully melts, add more milk if you think it is needed.

Method: Crepes
1. In a deep bowl, break the eggs in and lightly whisk it. Pour in the milk and mix it in with the eggs.

2. Add the  flour in little by little, whisking them into the batter until it is smooth without any lumps. I know most chefs do it the other way around, adding the wet ingredients to the dry. But I find it easier to get a smooth batter this way, without the lumps.

3. Add in the salt, and your other optional ingredients and mix them well.

4. Heat up a small pan (mine is slightly bigger than my palm) on low, and add a small amount of butter (about 1/4 teaspoon). Use a spatula to swish the butter around so it coats the pan.

5. Using a soup ladle, pour in the first ladle of batter and swirl the batter around to cover the pan. Don't worry about making a perfect circle at this point. The first crepe never turns out good. I always throw out the first one. Then, without adding butter again, (the pan will have the tinest amount still left from the first crepe), take the pan away from the flame and add the batter, swirling the batter so it makes a nice round circle.

6. Place the pan back on the flame and a cook it until it is a light golden brown. Flip it over and cook it for another 10 seconds or so.

7. You can either fold your crepes like I did, or place your sauces onto a crepe (golden side down) and then simply just roll them up. Or really, if you can't wait to eat them, you can just spoon the sauce on top and eat it as it is. But make sure you serve and eat it straight away while it is still warm.


NOTES

• Halfway through using the batter, I always find that it thickens up, so I add more milk to thin it down to a maple syrupy kind of consistency. Too heavy a batter will result in a thick crepe with burnt edges, undercooked and mushy on the inside. 
• What you are after is a paper thin (as they say on masterchef!) crepe that is still soft and mallable enough to wrap or fold to contain your fillings or sauces.
• I don't put alot of butter to oil the pan, probably a tiny speck of it is enough, just make sure you use your spatula to spread it roughly around the pan. On a non stick pan, I find I don't even need it most of the times. It is however needed to produce that golden swirl pattern you see. Otherwise, it just turns out in 1 monotonous shade. Boring. So, I put a little bit of butter every 4 to 5 crepes.
• Lemon and sugar, banana, strawberry, chocolate, cream, honey,etc I could go on and on about what to go with the crepes. The list is endless, it all just depends on how decadent you want it to be! A splash or two of liqour wouldn't hurt either I am sure.
• Practice, practice practice! If your first attempt don't turn out good, adjust your batter and try again. Up till today, I still adjust it as I go along.