Apple Crêpes with Bourbon Caramel Sauce
I've been making crêpes since I was six years old. Crêpe batter is surprisingly quick and easy to prepare with ingredients that everyone has on hand. Apples and caramel is a classic combination, but adding bourbon gives the sauce a sophisticated appeal.
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: medium
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Yield: 8 crêpes
Ingredients for crêpe batter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange zest, grated
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of salt
Cooking spray
For Caramelized Apples
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into quarters
1 tablespoon clarified butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Calvados or apple brandy
1 tablespoon lemon juice
For Bourbon Sauce
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup bourbon
Garnish
Sliced, toasted almonds
Powdered sugar
Methode
Make the crêpe batter: Put the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, milk and vanilla extract in a blender. Blend at high speed for a few seconds. Turn off the machine, scrape down the sides of the blender, and blend again for 30 seconds. Pour the batter into a bowl and add the orange zest, lemon zest and melted butter. Cover the bowl tightly and let the crêpe batter rest in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Cook the crêpes: Warm an 8-inch crêpe pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly grease the bottom of the heated pan with a little cooking spray. Stir the crêpe batter lightly with a whisk. Using a small ladle, pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan. Tip the pan from side to side so that the batter quickly covers the bottom - the batter will cling to the pan and begin to firm up almost immediately. Cook the crêpe for a minute or so until a rim of brown appears around the edge. Using a spatula, flip the crêpe and cook the other side for a minute. Slide the crêpe onto a plate. Spray the skillet with a little cooking spray and repeat the process until all of the batter is used. The crepês can be made ahead of time, simply stack one upon the other and keep at room temperature covered with plastic wrap.
Sauté the apples: In a sauté pan, heat the clarified butter and apples over medium heat. Sauté the apples until they start to turn brown on the edges. Add the sugar, then sauté the apples a little more until they caramelize. Deglaze the pan with Calvados or apple brandy and the lemon juice. Reserve.
Make the bourbon sauce: In a small pot, mix the sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Bring it to a boil, then cover the pot with a lid to let the steam “clean” the sugar from the sides of the pot. After a minute or so remove the lid. Cook the sugar water over high heat let until it turns to dark caramel. When the first sign of smoke comes out of the pot, remove the pot from the heat. Slowly pour in the cream and whisk gently until the cream is fully dissolved and combined. Stir in the bourbon and lemon juice. Serve the sauce while warm or transfer it to another container, then gently reheat it when ready to serve.
Assemble the crêpes: Fill the crêpes with the warm apples and pour the sauce over them. Garnish with sliced, toasted almonds and powder sugar.
"Dinner is Served. Bon Appetit!" — Chef Patrice Olivon
Try serving Puff Pastry Squares filled with Wild Mushroom Ragoût as an appetizer, then Napoleon of Salmon and Corn Blinis with Vanilla Beurre Blanc as an entrée. Apple Crêpes with Bourbon Caramel Sauce works nicely for an autumn dessert.
Nutritional Information: Per Serving: 336 Calories; 10g Fat (27.8% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 50g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 113mg Cholesterol; 44mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain (Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 1/2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.
From: Dinner is Served, a public television series
© 2009 Fresh TV Creative, LLC, All Rights Reserved.
For more information about Chef Patrice and Dinner is Served,
visit www.chefpatrice.tv