Sweeten Your Day With Julia Childs Crêpes Fines Sucrées Recipes

CREPE BATTER A LA JULIA CHILD

Steps:

• 1 Crack eggs into a blender container. Add milk, 1 cup cold water and salt. Blend to mix. Add flour and butter. Blend 1 minute, scraping down sides of container if necessary. Cover; refrigerate 2 hours or up to 24. (Leave in the blender container if desired.).
• 2 Heat an 8-inch well-seasoned crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Dip a paper towel into a little vegetable oil; carefully wipe it over the inside of the hot pan. Set the pan over the heat to heat the oil. Pour in a generous 2 tablespoons batter. Immediately pick up the pan and swirl it gently to coat the entire bottom evenly with the batter. Pour any batter that does not adhere to the pan back into the container of batter. Return the pan to the heat; cook until set, light brown and little beads of moisture are visible on the surface, about 30 seconds. Use a heatproof spatula to help loosen and flip the crepe. Cook the second side to brown it lightly, about 30 seconds more.
• 3 Transfer the cooked crepe to a covered baking dish. Keep warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining crepes. Top each crepe with a couple of tablespoons of the desired filling. If using the Florentine filling, roll up the filled crepes and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.
• SUGGESTED FILLINGS:.
• Florentine: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add 1 halved, thinly sliced onion; saute until golden, 5 minutes. Add 2 cups chopped mushroom caps; cook until golden, 4 minutes. Stir in 2 bags (6 ounces each) spinach and 2 finely chopped cloves garlic (add spinach in batches if needed). Cook and stir until the spinach just barely wilts, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool. Stir in 4 ounces crumbled goat cheese, and salt and pepper.
• Jam and creme fraiche: Spread hot crepe lightly with a scant tablespoon of creme fraiche. Top with dollops of your favorite jam; smooth with a rubber spatula. Fold crepe into quarters. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
• Caramel and banana: Spread hot crepe lightly with a scant tablespoon of caramel sauce or Mexican cajeta. Top with sliced bananas. Fold crepe into quarters. Top with more caramel and banana slices and sprinkling of confectioners' sugar.

CREPES FINES SUCREES

Steps:

• Place the ingredients in the blender jar in the order in which they are listed. Cover and blend at top speed for 1 minute. If bits of flour adhere to sides of jar, dislodge with a rubber scraper and blend 3 seconds more. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hour or overnight.
• Brush the skillet lightly with oil. Set over moderately high heat until the pan is just beginning to smoke.
• Immediately remove from heat and, holding handle of pan in your right hand, pour with your left hand a scant 1/4 cup of batter into the middle of the pan. Quickly tilt the pan in all directions to run the batter all over the bottom of the pan in a thin film. (Pour any batter that does not adhere back into your bowl; judge the amount of your next crêpe accordingly.) This whole operation takes but 2 or 3 seconds.
• Return the pan to heat for 60 to 80 seconds. Then jerk and toss the pan sharply back and forth and up and down to loosen the crêpe. Lift its edges with a spatula and if the under side is a nice light brown, the crêpe is ready for turning.
• Turn the crêpe by using 2 spatulas; or grasp the edges nearest you in your fingers and sweep it up toward you and over again into the pan in a reverse circle; or toss it over by a flip of the pan.
• Brown lightly for about 1/2 minute on the other side. This second side is rarely more than a spotty brown, and is always kept as the underneath or nonpublic aspect of the crêpe. As they are done, slide the crêpes onto a rack and let cool several minutes before stacking on a plate. Grease the skillet again, heat to just smoking, and proceed with the rest of the crêpes. Crêpea may be kept warm by covering them with a dish and setting them over simmering water or in a slow oven. Or they may be made several hours in advance and reheated when needed. Crêpea freeze perfectly.)
• As soon as you are used to the procedure, you can keep 2 pans going at once, and make 24 crêpea in less than half an hour.