I’ll never forget my first crêpe: it was sophomore year, and my high school French teacher, Ms. Baysinger, brought a burner to class and taught us how to make the the classic version that we stuffed full of nutella and whipped cream. I remember feeling so sophisticated as I swirled the batter in the pan, yielding a perfectly thin pancake-like dessert, and one bite inspired dreams of Paris (it would be another two years before my mom and I would actually make the trip, and one of our first stops was a crêpe café in Montmarte.) With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, I thought it would be the perfect time to dust off the crêpe pan hiding in my lower kitchen cabinet and treat the fam to a build-your-own crêpe station, perfect for V-Day breakfast (or lunch, dinner, or dessert.) It was so much fun that now I’m dying to experiment with loads of other fillings… any ideas? Keep scrolling to see how these delicious ricotta crêpes with raspberry sauce came together.
*photos by Molly Winters
Crêpes are one of those things that sound way fancier than they actually are. Thought they take a little practice to get just right, once you’ve done a couple, you’ll be swirling and flipping like a pro. I do recommend getting one of the special pans that’s made for crepes since they make it a little easier to get them really thin, but a small nonstick pan works totally fine, too.
I used a blender to make the batter, and not only was it quick and easy; blending yielded a lighter end result as more air was incorporated into the batter. Similar to pancakes, getting your pan to the right heat is a key step. I heated mine to medium-high, which let me swirl to evenly coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer, but still setup quickly. You may need to experiment a bit to get yours just right — plan on a couple “testers” that may get tossed.
It was so fun to set out a bowl of fresh ricotta (get my recipe here), with fresh berries and this unbelievably easy raspberry sauce, then let everyone top their crêpes just how they like them. Can you imagine the look on your significant others’ face if they woke up to this on Valentine’s Day?
Chanel filled hers with just enough ricotta to feel light and dainty enough for breakfast…
While I went heavier on the raspberry sauce and powdered sugar to make it a full-on dessert (couldn’t resist.)
One of the best things about crêpes is that they lend themselves to endless filling combinations. For sweet, think butter and jam, cream cheese and fresh peaches, or nutella with salted almonds. For savory, sautéed spinach, bacon, parmesan, and herbs would all be delicious options.
What are you guys cooking up for your Valentine? I’d love to hear in the comments, and let me know if you give these a try!
Raspberry & Ricotta Crêpes with Fresh Berries
Serves 4
Raspberry & Ricotta Crêpes with Fresh Berries
Categories
Ingredients
for the crêpes:
- 1 ¼ cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- zest from one orange
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- pinch of kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons butter
for the raspberry sauce:
- 1 bag frozen raspberries
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
for topping:
- whole milk ricotta (store-bought or homemade), at room temperature
- fresh berries
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- make the raspberry sauce: combine raspberries and sugar in a small saucepan, and bring up to a simmer on medium heat. Reduce to low, and let simmer for about 10 minutes until berries break down and get sauce. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- make the crêpes: In a blender, blend milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and zest until smooth & frothy. Add flour and salt and blend for a few seconds until combined. Cover and chill for 30 minutes and up to overnight.
- In an 8” sauté pan or crepe pan, melt 1 teaspoon butter over medium-high. Use one hand to pour in 3 tablespoons batter and with the other hand, quickly swirl the pan to distribute the batter evenly on the bottom of the pan (any excess batter can be poured out.)
- Cook for 1 1/2 minutes until edges are golden, flip, then cook 1 more min on the second side. Transfer to a plate, then repeat (using a teaspoon of butter for each one.)
- To serve, fold each crêpe in half, then dollop 1 tablespoon ricotta onto top and fold in half again so it makes a triangle. Top with fruit, drizzle with raspberry sauce, and dust with powdered sugar.
*Batter can be made 1 day ahead and kept in the fridge. Stir to redistribute before using.
This looks so delicious. I’m definitely going to try this for tomorrow’s breakfast. Thanks for sharing!
Fia from Lace & Lilies (http://lace-and-lilies.blogspot.de)
wauw it looks absolutely amazing. I have to try it. Thank you 🙂
I’m not a huge fan of ricotta, but somehow this looks absolutely mouth-watering. Thanks for sharing!
http://www.theindiebyline.com/blog
oh my, you sure know how to make someone hungry! I have been craving raspberries, so this is right up my alley right now – thanks for this awesome recipe, blessings!
Yuuuum. Crepes are so good. Whenever I visit my husband’s family for the holidays, his mom always makes some for us – with homemade preserves no less! <3
http://www.wonderlandsam.com
I made this tonight and it was so delicious. Thank you for the recipe!!
I just made these and they were delicious! I’m away and, therefor, not in my well-equipped kitchen, so I had to improvise a bit. No blender, so I just stirred vigorously with a fork. I cut the recipe in half, cause it’s just hubby and I, and left in fridge over night. When I make my manicotti shells, I use a very seasoned 6″ cast iron pan, but only had a large stainless pan here. Put in 2 big soup spoons of batter and gently rolled it around; the first couple were not pretty but once the pan was hot enough, I had no problems. Added some fresh orange juice and a touch of sugar to ricotta; also served some apples that I cooked with cinnamon as an option. Can’t wait to get home and make these Again!
I have been making “crepes” all my life, its what my mother called “pancakes” or Swedish pancakes, no hot cakes for us! Anyway my kids love them too, but going to try this for Easter Bruch with the rasp. and ricotta! Sounds AMAZING!
our recipe was always- 2 eggs to 1/2 cup milk to 1/2 cup flour, then she would melt A TON of butter and add that to the batter!! Still amazing! Thanks for your take!
I got a great recipe for you if you love crêpes. Sub the milk with coconut milt, everything else as per a standard recipe, and fill with mango, papaya and other tropical fruits. Totally awesome! I’m French, so crêpes of all kinds are part of our regular staple, and the favorite quick to make dessert when there is nothing in the house. There is always flour, eggs and milk, so there you go.