Confession. These were supposed to be chocolate crepes, not double chocolate crepes. But I got impatient. I melted the chocolate
but I didn't wait for it to cool before I added it to the refrigerator-cold
crepe batter. Instead of transforming the pale yellow batter to chocolately brown, the melted chocolate
froze into tiny little ribbons, like chocolate sprinkles scattered throughout the batter.
It tasted like a chocolate chip crepe. Not
bad, by any means. But not what I was after. I wanted a chocolate crepe. So I
added some unsweetened cocoa powder, along with a little sugar. Voila! I had
chocolate crepes. Well, double chocolate crepes if you want to be
finicky.
In truth, the crepes weren't even the point. They were really
just a vehicle (a deliciously chocolately vehicle) for the sweet, ripe
strawberries that are finally in season. If there's a better combination than
chocolate, whipped cream and strawberries, then I don't know what it is.
Crepes are surprisingly easy to make. Combine flour, salt,
sugar, vanilla extract and milk in a blender.
Beat until smooth. Add eggs and
melted butter and beat again. Refrigerate mixture for 1 hour.
Melt together chocolate and butter. (I did this in the
microwave, stirring every 30 seconds).
Stir until chocolate mixture is smooth.
Cool chocolate mixture for 10 minutes (!), then blend into
the batter. See following picture for what happens if you don't wait for the
chocolate mixture to cool first.
Stir in cocoa powder.
Heat a small skillet and add a little butter. Ladle in a few
tablespoons of crepe batter. Yes, just a few tablespoons. Crepes should be thin, not thick like a pancake.
Swirl the pan so the batter just coats the bottom of the
pan.
The top will dry out in about a minute.
Flip the crepe and cook the other side until the crepe is just cooked through.
Fold the crepes into quarters and let them rest on a plate
while you cook the remaining crepes.
Top with strawberries and freshly whipped cream.
Loosely based on a recipe by Mark Bittman
1 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla extract, divided
2 eggs
2 Tbsp melted and cooled unsalted butter plus 1 tsp unsalted
butter plus 4 Tbsp butter
1 ounce bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp confectioner's sugar, or to taste
Strawberries, for serving
1. Combine
the flour, salt, sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a blender and beat until
smooth. Beat in the eggs and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Refrigerate for 1
hour and beat again.
2. Melt
1 ounce chocolate with 1 teaspoon butter. To do this, microwave at 30 second
intervals, stirring in between. Remove from the microwave before the chocolate
is completely melted. Then stir until smooth. Cool for about 10 minutes.
3. Thoroughly
blend chocolate mixture with the crepe batter. Add cocoa powder. Blend
thoroughly.
4. Heat
a small, nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add 1/2 teaspoon of
butter. Ladle a few tablespoons of crepe batter into the pan. Swirl the skillet
so that the crepe batter coats the bottom of the pan.
5. When
the top of the crepe has just dried out, flip the crepe. Continue to cook for
another minute or so, until cooked through.
6. Fold
crepe into quarters and set aside while preparing the remaining crepes.
7. For
whipped cream, beat together heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and
confectioner's sugar until soft peaks form.
8. To
serve, top crepes with strawberries and whipped cream.
Serves 4 to 6.
