Spring Crêpes Three Ways

Spring Crêpes, Three Ways

Happy Spring, lovelies!

It’s time to break out of our winter food ruts, and I think I have just the thing. Crêpes! They’re light and can be filled with almost anything, but to get your imagination started I’ve created three recipes for you to try.

Now, vegan crepes. They’re not hard once you get the hang of them. The recipe I’m posting here comes from a veganized version of a standard “Eggless Crepe” recipe that’s floating around on the interwebs. I just subbed soymilk and Earth Balance for milk and butter. I also think it needs a little extra water, and I’ll point that out in the recipe below. There is also a really good crêpe recipe in Veganomicon, if you have that cook book, but it calls for chickpea flour. If you have your own favorite recipe, use that! Whatever works for you will work here.

There’s a little video below to get you started if you’re new to crêpes.

The great thing about these is that you can make absolutely everything ahead. They heat up in minutes, so it’s perfect if you’re cooking bunch or lunch for several people who all want different fillings. Simply place the cold crêpe in the pan, put the fillings on top, heat through, and serve. I make extra crêpes and keep them in the fridge for quick meals for the next day or two.

So, the fillings!

Asparagus Hollandaise

Asparagus Hollandaise Crêpe

Asparagus season is here or will be shortly, and this creamy hollandaise-ish sauce is perfect with spring-tender stalks. I just quickly pan-seared them so they’d have lots of flavor without overcooking them. You can check out my guide to buying and prepping asparagus if you like. The sauce has an almond base, so if you have good blender, you should be able to throw it together in minutes. Nutritional yeast is optional, but it does give it a nice pale yellow color and as well as some flavor. If you leave out the yeast, you might want to add a little turmeric for color.

Wild Mushroom and Wilted Frisée

Wild Mushroom and Wilted Frisée Crêpe

I’m a sometimes-mushroom person. Sometimes I love them, other times I eat around them. I find the less-common mushrooms to be the tastiest. I used king trumpet and chanterelle mushrooms in this crêpe, and man were they delicious. Morels are coming in season, and they’d be wonderful, too. You’re welcome to use more standard mushrooms if you want (cremini, portabello, button), but these fancier ‘shrooms were a real treat for me. I paired them with some wilted frisée (also called curly endive or chicory). It’s kind of bitter, but seems to mellow out with a quick sauté. It matches the mushrooms perfectly.

Berry Crêpes

Berry Crêpe au Sucre

I really wanted to use strawberries in this one, but alas, it’s not quite the season for them yet. The ones at my local store looked pretty sad. The raspberries, on the other hand, looked perfect. You can use any berry you like in these, along with a little sugar. The sugar melts a bit, making this crazy-easy dessert really very tasty. If you want, you can put a few tiny chunks of candied ginger in there as well. You don’t need berries at all; my absolute favorite all-time crêpe is a simple crêpe au sucre. Just sugar. Pure and simple.

Basic Crêpes
Makes 8-10

1/2 Cup Soymilk
2/3 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Earth Balance, melted
1 Cup Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Tbs Sugar (sweet crepes only, optional)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract (sweet crepes only, optional)
2 Tbs Water, to thin if needed

Place all the ingredients in a blender or in a bowl. Blend or whisk until smooth. Transfer to a 2 Cup measuring cup (for pouring) and refrigerate for 30 minutes. While the batter is refrigerating, prepare your fillings.

Asparagus Hollandaise
Fills 2-3 Crêpes

1/2 Lb Thin Asparagus, trimmed
1 Tbs Earth Balance
1 Pinch Salt
Black Pepper

Heat a large skillet (I used then cast-iron skillet for all of the fillings) over high heat. Add Earth Balance and asparagus. Cook for a few minutes, until asparagus are bright green, tender-crisp, and are browning in spots. Add salt and pepper, set aside.

Seared Asparagus

Hollandaise Sauce
1/2 Cup Sliced Raw Almonds
1/2 Cup Hot Water
2 Tbs Earth Balance
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Salt
2 Tbs Nutritional Yeast, optional (or 1/4 tsp turmeric for color)
1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard, optional

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until extremely smooth.

Wild Mushroom and Wilted Frisée
Fills 2-3 Crêpes

2 Tbs Earth Balance
1 Cup Chopped Chanterelle Mushroms
1 Cup Chopped Trumpet Mushrooms
1/2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
Salt
2 Sprig Fresh Rosemary, stem removed
1 Cup Chopped Frisée Greens
1-2 Cloves garlic, minced, optional

Chanterelle and Trumpet MushroomsSlice trumpet mushrooms lengthwise, then lengthwise again.

Add the earth balance to a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add trumpet mushrooms and saute until beginning to brown. Add chanterelles and rosemary. Turn down heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with a pinch of salt and balsamic vinegar. Remove mushrooms from pan.

Add garlic and sweat until tender. Add greens and cook until just wilted, one to two minutes. Remove and set aside with mushrooms.

Sauteed Chanterelle and Trumpet Mushrooms with Rosemary

Berry Crêpes
Fills 2-3 Crêpes

1/2 Pint Raspberries (or other berries)
Sugar

Berry crêpes are filled while the crêpes are still cooking. Add sugar and berries to the crêpe as soon as it is flipped. See below for more details about cooking the crêpes.

Making Crêpes

So now that you fillings are all prepared, and your crêpe batter has rested and chilled, we’re ready to make crêpes! I’ve made a video that outlines the whole process, but here are a few things you’ll need:

-A non-stick omelet or crêpe pan
-Cooking Spray
-A graduated spatula (the long flat kind you use for frosting cakes), optional

If your batter is too thick when it comes out of the fridge, stir in 2 Tbs of water to loosen it up.

Here’s how:


How to make Crepes from lolo on Vimeo.

Assembling and Serving

So now you have a stack of cooling crêpes and fillings that have gone cold. No worries. You can keep your fillings in a warm oven until you’re ready to serve, or even easier, warm them up with the crêpes at the same time.

When you’re ready to eat, place a crêpe back in a hot skillet (medium heat is fine) and add the fillings you want in the top. Cover the whole thing and wait a few minutes. You want everything to get hot, but you don’t want to cook the crêpe any more than it is. When it’s hot, fold the crêpe in thirds and serve. It should only take 1-2 minutes per crêpe to heat up, so you can make them to order for your friends and family.

Okay! So are you ready to make crêpes? I hope so, because typing the little circumflex is getting really annoying. Making crêpes is much easier than accenting them correctly, I assure you.

Spring Crêpes, Three Ways

83 comments

  2. Lizzie

    These look delicious!!!!! I’ve always been intimidated by making crepes, but you’ve tempted me to give it a try.

    Reply
  4. Ricki

    I am a sweets fanatic (and of course those berry crepes look fantastic), but it’s the Hollandaise that’s really calling to me. Gorgeous!

    Reply
  5. Julien

    This sure is a very strange way to cook crepes :D
    Using a very deep skillet is just asking for trouble!

    A skillet with shallow sides makes it much easier to turn them. You can also use a spreader if you want to make very thin crepes (you can find one for less than $2). It’s especially handy if you want to make buckwheat flour ones.

    Making razor thin crepes with no spreader and a cast iron pan is going to take a lot of practice though. (“It’s easy” says my grandmother with 75 years of practice…).

    Reply
  18. The voracious Vegan

    What a deliciously beautiful post! So much tastiness in here I don’t even know where to start. I never really thought to fill crepes with anything savory but those mushroom filled crepes would be amazing. I have to get started on this because I’m so hungry!

    Reply
  23. Anna

    Your photos are beautiful as always, of course. What a delightfully springy idea! I love how endlessly flexible crepes are–the crepes themselves, as well as the filling variations.
    Great idea and thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
  28. Suzanne

    Ooh, I can’t wait to try these crepes!

    I’m not actually vegan, but I love your recipes. Several times this winter I’ve made your squash bisque recipe, and its so easy and sooo good! Just wanted to take a moment to say thanks and let you know how much I love your site!

    Reply
  31. Chris @ Beyond Ramen

    Beautiful pictures + newly-sprung Spring ingredients + mouth-watering flavor combinations = me making crepes in the very near future. Sounds like a winner to me, perhaps as a light and refreshing Sunday brunch!

    Reply
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  33. Kate

    Earth Balance

    is it a necessary part of life? what would the difference be between melted earth balance and vegetable oil?

    Reply
  34. mel

    would it be possible to use glutenfree flour? i have found that when trying to make pancakes and the like the low or no gluten doesn’t help it stay together when thin. any tips??

    Reply
  36. jess

    Hollandaise Sauce
    1/2 Cup Sliced Raw Almonds
    1/2 Cup Hot Water
    2 Tbs Earth Balance
    2 tsp Lemon Juice
    1/4 tsp Salt
    2 Tbs Earth Balance, optional (or turmeric to color)
    1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard, optional

    why do i add earth balance twice to the hollandaise? i am in need of a good vegan hollandaise. i want to make sure i have the recipe right. thanks for the gorgeous inspiration!

    Oh Jeeze, that second one is supposed to be Nutritional Yeast. My bad! Thanks for catching that!

    Reply
  40. Starry

    I’ve only had crepes at restaurants and never thought I’d actually be able to make them at home! Great recipe and the video was VERY helpful! I made these last night with a potato, mushroom, and red onion filling and served it with a side of arugula and cherry tomato salad and goat cheese for the non-vegans with a light vinagrette dressing, and it was definitely a hit.

    Just a few questions, maybe someone can help me with:
    1. Can the white flour be replaced with buckwheat flour?

    2. If there is left over batter, can it be used the next day, or should it be used after resting that 30 minutes in the fridge?

    3. The edges of my crepes came out a little too crispy. How can I fix that problem?

    Thanks for a great recipe! I love this blog!

    Reply
  43. 'Raine

    Wow, crepes! My dad makes the best non-vegan ones at home. I actually made crepes that taste exactly like his using your vegan pancakes recipe (maybe I did it wrong, but I got perfect crepes from my mistake!). I’m excited to try this recipe now :)

    Reply
  44. PJ

    I made the asparagus version, and they were great. I would have never tried, until I saw the video. Easy!
    My hollandaise was a little runny, but had good taste. My critics were silenced :)

    Great blog.

    PJ

    Reply
  48. Pingback: Springtime calls for Lemon Cupcakes « Wannabe A Vegan!

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