France -- Whole wheat Crepês with Banana, Strawberry & Nutella filling

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: F for France

Dish: Whole wheat Crepês with Banana, Strawberry & Nutella filling

Today we are going to France, Western European country that is definitely on my bucket list. One of my ex-colleague was from France and she has quite a few stories to tell about her country. Also I almost forgot to mention that I learnt French for about 5 years in school, but the most I can speak or understand is 'Bonjour'. What I learnt from my French friend is that French people love their language and don't like it being butchered by non-French speaking people (like me). I was ridiculed way too many times for my poor pronunciation and grammar.

French cuisine is known to be the finest in the world. It is very diverse and has exerted a major influence on other western cuisines. Traditionally, each region in France has its own distinctive cuisine.

I decided to make one of the most common and popular French dishes, Crepês. A crepê is a type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour. Crepês are served with a variety of fillings, from the most simple with only sugar to flambeed crepe suzette or elaborate savory galettes. French sure have dishes with some fancy names.

Crepês can be served for breakfast or as a dessert and they are sold as fast food or street food. These joints are called Crepêries and are typical of Brittany in France; however, crepêries can be found throughout France and in many other countries.

I tried looking for eggless crepês, but most of them had ingredients that I didn't really care for. So I started looking for recipes that used less eggs and after some trial and error, here's a recipe that worked for me. Crepês are very simple to make and are quite impressive to serve to guests at too. All in all a great way to start your day with this delicious breakfast.

Ingredients: Makes 8~10 6" crepes

For the Crepês:
Wholewheat Pastry Flour - 1cup
Eggs - 2, large
Milk - 3/4 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/4tsp

For the Filling:
Banana - 1 medium, sliced
Strawberry - 1 cup, sliced
Nutella - as needed

Method:

• Make the Crepê Batter: Combine all the ingredients for the crepês in a blender. Blend until smooth batter forms and has the consistency of heavy cream. Cover the blender and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This can be done the night before and the batter will be chilled and ready to make crepês in the morning. Make sure to mix the batter well to combine everything that has settled down at the bottom.
• To make Crepês: Heat a nonstick 6~8" pan on medium flame. Spray with cooking spray and pour about ½cup of batter into a thin layer, immediately swirl the pan around to spread the batter evenly in the pan. Cook for about 1 minute and when you see that the edges are starting to dry out and move away from the pan, flip over and cook for another 30~60 seconds on the second side. Keep the crepês warm and repeat with the remaining batter.
• To Assemble: Liberally spread Nutella (or other spread of choice -- cookie butter anyone????) all over the crepê and top it with banana and strawberry (or other fruits of choice). Fold the crepê over the filling and top that with some whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate. Now that is when I say oooo la la!! Enjoy!!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44.

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