Orange Crepes

Last summer, Liv and I discovered crepes with seasonal fresh, plump, red strawberries and we've been expanding our repertoire ever since.  Experimenting with banana, chocolate and peach, we've found these light, pancake-like wrappers far easier to make than we had ever imagined and they are a cinch to fill with all sorts of fillings.

Looking for any excuse to use part of our extraordinary orange crop this season, I was thrilled to find this recipe for Orange Crepes in Beatrice Ojakangas' book, Petite Sweets, the newest addition to my ever growing cookbook collection.  Ms. Ojakangeas' book features bite sized desserts along with stunning photos and mouthwatering recipes.  It's one of those books that you want to sit down with and leisurely audit, and had me turning down page after page as I perused the volume.

Liv pulled out the book one day after school and suggested that crepes would be the ideal after school snack.  (I truly think she's getting spoiled!)  With our new Sur La Table juicer on the counter just waiting to be used, we got to cutting open the oranges and quickly had a cup of fresh OJ.  She whisked up the batter and as it was "resting" we made the sweet Orange Syrup.

With the lovely orange aroma wafting through our kitchen I couldn't help but think that this sweet treat would benefit from a nice dousing of Grand Marnier.  Wanting to keep Liv's crepes kid-friendly, I set a few tablespoons aside for when she had had her fill.

And have her fill she did!  I believe she at nearly half the batch, literally licking her plate in the process.  I found the Orange Syrup to be a tad sweet for my taste (not unusual... I'm more of a tart person!), but the Grand Marnier made up for it.  Orange Crepes make a lovely afternoon treat and would be most perfect for a lovely morning brunch.

Orange Crepes
adapted from Petite Sweets: Bite-Size Desserts to Satisfy Every Sweet Tooth, Beatrice Ojakangas, pg 69 

Crepes:

1 Cup skim milk
1 Tbs butter, melted
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar 

Orange Syrup:
4 Tbs butter
3 Tbs sugar
2 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup Grand Marnier (optional)

For the crepes, in a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, vanilla and eggs.  Whisk in the flour, salt and sugar until smooth.  Alternatively, place the ingredients into a blender and blend.  Let sit in the refrigerator for at least one hour or overnight.

When you are ready to make the crepes, spray a crepe pan or small omelet pan with cooking spray or brush (see note) with oil over medium-high heat.  Pour about 3 Tbs into the pan, swirling around to make the crepe.  Cook until the crepe begins to look dry, about 1 minute.  Gently turn the crepe over in the pan and cook the other side, about 15 - 30 seconds.  Transfer the crepe onto a plate and continue cooking more crepes, brushing the pan with additional oil as needed.

While the batter is resting, make the Orange Syrup.  In a small saucepan melt the butter and add the sugar, orange zest and juice.  Heat to simmering.  If using the Grand Marnier, add it now.


Fold each crepe in half and place it into the sauce.  Using tongs, a fork or a spatula, fold the crepes in half again to make a triangle shape.  Work quickly so that all of the sauce is not absorbed by the first crepe.  Place 2 - 3 crepes on a serving dish and drizzle with additional sauce.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.


 Note:  I used the cut end of a stick of butter and rubbed it onto the hot pan as my oil!