Valentine's Day Recipes: Valentine's Day Desserts: Chocolate Crepes

Crepes are enjoyed in France and Belgium as a staple breakfast food. They are the European version of North American pancakes. In Belgium, they are named pannekoeken, which translates to pancakes. Adding some Belgian chocolate to these pannekoeken combines the culinary strengths of Belgium, making for a truly delicious Valentine’s Day breakfast! Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup unbleached flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2-4 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons freshly melted butter
  • butter for greasing pan
  • confectioners sugar for garnish

Chocolate Sauce Ingredients

  • 1 ounce Belgian bittersweet chocolate
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 ¼ cup nonfat evaporated milk

This recipe is easily prepared in a blender, but works well mixed by hand in a bowl, too. Combine the dry ingredients. Loosely mix the eggs together and then add to the dry ingredients. Mix this together. Slowly add milk and water to mixture until lumps disappear.

Add the melted butter; melted butter will help the crepes from sticking to the pan. Transfer the crepe mixture to a bowl or cup that allows for easy pouring OR use a ladle!

Heat a pan over medium heat and melt enough butter to grease the bottom and sides of pan. Pour or ladle enough crepe mixture to make a thin cover over the pan. Once the underside of the crepe is firm and the top is no longer liquid, flip the crepe over. Flipping a crepe is a skill that you can develop with the help of useful tips; remember that flipping is all in the wrist. You also need to loosen the crepe from the pan first by shaking the pan a bit to ensure that the crepe will flip as one piece, not separate during the flip process. It may take some practice to get the crepe to flip perfectly, but it’s really worth the effort! Serve the crepes on a plate.

To make the sauce, melt the Belgian chocolate, heavy cream, butter and evaporated milk in a saucepan. Heat until the sauce is slightly thick.

Pour the chocolate sauce into the center of the crepe. Roll the crepe around the filling and sprinkle confectioner’s sugar on your delectable breakfast. Bon appetite!