lemon ricotta and raspberry crepes

This morning I woke up in full pancake mode.  The little man and I crept into the kitchen with big plans of making a warm batch of banana pancakes for the very overworked and very sleepy daddy.

As my go-to pancake recipe makes at least 20 pancakes and knowing there was no way we could eat that many, I divided the recipe by 1/3 – thinking that I would have about 8 pancakes for the three of us.

Well, as the little man mixed the ingredients together I realized that the thick pancake batter that I was used to seeing was now a very thin batter and something was definitely amiss.  But being intrigued by the new mixture I slowly ladled a bit into a hot skillet and swirled it around and ended up with a crepe instead of a pancake.

So, it was a cinnamon and raspberry crepe kind of morning and the sleeping hubby was overjoyed to be woken up to something so special that was made by those who love him.

Happy accidents = delicious breakfast.  Gotta love it!

lemon ricotta and raspberry crepes

makes about 8 -10 large crepes

for the crepes:

1 cup spelt flour

1 pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup almond milk

1 egg

non-stick cooking spray

In a medium sized bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together.  In a small bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients together.  Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk to combine.

Heat a non-stick pan over high heat.  Once the pan is hot, turn the heat down to medium and spray the pan with a good dose of cooking spray.  Pour about 1/4 cup of crepe batter into the heated pan and immediately pick up the pan and swirl the batter around the bottom of the pan, covering the entire bottom with the batter.  Place the pan back on the heat and let the crepe cook through.  You will see small bubbles forming in the crepe and once the bubbles stop forming, it’s time to flip the crepe over.  Carefully slide a rubber spatula completely under the crepe and in one fluid motion, flip the crepe over to the uncooked side.  Cook for about one minute and then remove the crepe to a large flat plate to cool.

Repeat with the remaining batter – stacking the crepes on top of each other as you go.

Serve warm or chill crepes, covered with plastic, until you are ready to use them.

 

for the ricotta filling:

1 1/2 cups of part-skim ricotta cheese

1/4 cup of coconut milk

zest of one lemon

juice of half of a lemon

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

In a medium sized bowl, mix all ingredients together and set aside until ready to use.

 

for the topping/fruit filling:

1 1/4 cup of coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups raspberries (or fruit of your choice)

1 tablespoon coconut sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup slivered almonds, optional

fresh mint leaves, optional

powdered sugar, optional

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the coconut milk and vanilla extract on high until the mixture becomes light and frothy, about 5 minutes.

In a medium sized bowl, carefully toss the raspberries with the agave nectar and lemon juice.

 

to assemble:

Lay one crepe on a large plate.  Place 2-3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture in the center of the crepe and top with a small bit of the marinated raspberries.  Roll the crepe from one side to the other, carefully tucking the filling inside the crepe.  Place it on a serving plate or platter.

Continue in the same pattern with the remaining crepes until all the crepes have been filled.

Dollop the whipped coconut cream over the top of the crepes.  Add the marinated raspberries to the top of the cream, finishing with the almonds, mint, and powdered sugar, if using.

my notes: I used spelt flour for the crepes, but you can certainly use all purpose flour.  Any fruit can be used in place of the raspberries – other berries, stone fruit or even cooked apples or pears – or a combination of your favorites.  Any unused crepes will keep, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to five days.  You can freeze crepes – just place a piece of parchment paper between each crepe and place the whole bunch in a large zippered freezer bag.