Hey guess what? I wrote a book! And I’m really excited to share a recipe from it with you today. The book, The Sugar Hit, is a mix of recipes that are absolute classics in my life, classics from my blog that I knew I would be murdered for not including, and a bunch of new things that I think the world needs to know about!
These crepes are something knew, but that doesn’t mean they were easy to get to! This recipe was a labour of love for me. I have spent the last 5 years searching for a crepe recipe that did everything I wanted it to do. One that was beautifully silky and buttery, lacy and light, not too eggy and with plenty of flavour. Well, after the long search I finally found them. And here they are – aren’t you psyched I saved you five years of searching?
Strangely, the secret of this recipe was found for me in Sweden. Swedish pancakes are where I found my crepe nirvana. Buttery, slightly sweet, with a beautiful tender texture. They were ever so slightly too thick for me, so I thinned them down with a little extra milk and BLAMMO, perfect crepes.
Now, because I can’t resist a little continent hopping, and I already visited France and Sweden to perfect my crepes, then I figured a jaunt through South America to pick up some dulce de leche was no big deal. And oh my word, what a combination. The crepes, once doused in buttery, boozy, sweet caramel sauce and scattered with pecans, are absolutely and completely addictive.
These crepes are from the Midnight Snacks chapter of the book – but honestly, there’s no bad time to eat these. Pin the recipe, bookmark it, write it down, do whatever you need to do to get them into your life. They’re delicious.
Dulce De Leche Crepes
Serves 4
Crêpes
- 3 eggs
- pinch of salt
- 110 g (4 oz/3/4 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 310 ml (101/2 fl oz/11/4 cups) milk
- butter for greasing
Sauce
- 15 g (1/2 oz) butter
- 350 g (121/2 oz/1 cup) dulce de leche (see Tip)
- 125 ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) milk
- 1 shot of brandy (or your booze of choice)
- 50 g (13/4 oz/1/2 cup) pecans, chopped
- sea salt flakes
To make the crêpes, put the eggs and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the flour all in one go and whisk until there are no lumps. Continue whisking and slowly stream in the milk. You should have a smooth, thin batter.
Heat a 20 cm (8 in) frying pan (cast iron is great) over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, grease lightly with butter and then ladle in just under 60 ml (2 fl oz/1/4 cup) of the batter. Immediately tilt and swirl the pan so the batter coats the base in a thin layer. Cook the pancake just until the surface looks dry and set, then flip using a thin spatula or palette knife. The second side only needs a few seconds. Continue until all the batter is used, greasing the pan lightly every couple of pancakes. Once the pancakes are all cooked, cover them with foil to keep warm, while you make the sauce.
For the sauce, heat the butter in the same pan, and add the dulce de leche. Cook over low heat until the mixture is smooth, then slowly whisk in the milk and brandy. Bring to a bubble, then turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting.
Working one at a time, put a pancake in the sauce, completely submerge it, fold it into quarters, then transfer to a serving plate. Continue until all the pancakes are done. Scatter over the pecans and a generous scattering of sea salt and serve.
TIP Dulce de leche is a caramel milk-based sauce and is available in specialty grocers, good delicatessens and some supermarkets.