2012-01-30

Breakfast full of vitamines : French citrus crepes - Thin pancakes


Here is my participation to the contest "Breakfast of the World challenge" on Very Good Recipes.
I've decided to make a twist to a french classic breakfast recipe : The french crepes.
After the recent success of a grapefruit cake, I wanted to keep that freshness of citrus fruits in another recipe ! The Chandeleur is coming in France (2nd of february), which is the national Pancake Day.

I've been influenced by a Guy Savoy recipe called "Crêpes aux agrumes". 
From his recipe, I took my own recipe of crepes and added that citrus twist.

The traditionnal recipe of crepes is already really good, but we always add a lot of jam, creams, ice creams or nutella in it... This recipe is just delicious as it is, and with a light syrup made with the fruit juice, they become amazing-crepes !  :)

I strongly recommend it to you, I've rarely liked crepes so much !


  Preparation    I did it randomly but I've been careful to write down everything, it's a really easy recipe... a few grams more or less won't ruin the recipe :) There is some resting time for the dough, count 15 minutes or preparation, and reserve for an hour.

  Tasting    Nothing to say ! Best when just cooked =)  Don't refrigerate :)

  To conclude    For a sweet and full of vitamins breakfast...  these are just perfect !


For 15 crêpes of 8 inch each : 5 people
If you have a smaller pan, serve 4 pancakes per person : one for each quarter of the plate :)

   You will need :   
7oz of flour (200gr)
1.1 oz of white sugar (30gr)
- 3tbsp -
17 fl oz of milk (50cL)
- I use 2% less fat -
3 eggs
3 tbsp of butter (30gr)
2 tsp of arome de fleur d'oranger 
"orange tree flower aroma"
- If you don't have any, replace by "Grand Marnier" or "Cognac" -
1 pinch of salt

\\ I did it for 6 crepes/2 people :  65gr of flour, 1tbsp of white sugar, 15cL of milk, 1 egg, 10gr of butter, 
1tsp of fleur d'oranger aroma, 1 pinch of salt  // Syrup : 1,5tbsp of white sugar, 2tbsp citrus zests //

Citrus fruits
25gr of white sugar (2tbsp)
2 grapefruits (organic)
1 meyer lemon (organic)
1 navel orange (organic)


Prepare the batter
Stir flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center.
Beat the eggs and pour them in the well. Start whisking by hand, add some milk while whisking.
Incorporate the milk at the same time you whisk in the flour.  
Whisk well in the center, do not integrate the flour too fast.
\\ You whisk must always been free of movement, otherwise it lacks milk //
When the batter is homogeneous,
melt 2tbsp of butter in a sauce pan or in the microwave at really low temperature. 
It must be melted but barely warm.
Pour the melted butter in the batter, stir by hand.
Pour that batter in a really thin strainer

Add in the "arome de fleur d'oranger" ! 

Cover the bowl with a plate. Let the batter rest at least 1 hour at room temperature. 
\\ It has to rest at least 1 hour, the more you wait, the better the crepes are ! //

Prepare the citrus fruits
Wash and rinse your fruits. Dry them.
Peel the rind of a half lemon, the orange and the grapefruit using a cheese-grate or a knife.
Chop finely.

You will have 3 to 4 tbsp of finely chopped citrus rind.
Bring some water to boil, put the rinds in for 10 seconds and rinse them with cold water.
Do that twice, it will remove some bitternes of the citrus fruits and the keep the flavour :)
You don't have to do that... But it gets sweeter like that. Reserve.

Optional: 
Peel completely your orange and you grapefruit. Remove the flesh of the fruits, without the white-skins.
Keep those fruits in a bowl.
\\ Do it over a bowl to recolt the juices //
Once peeled, you can also slice them finely if you prefer :)
Reserve for serving.

The syrup
In a small saucepan, pur 3tbsp of lemon juice, 4tbsp of orange juice and 4tbsp of grapefruit juice.
Add in the sugar (2tbsp) and bring it to a gentle boil for 2 minutes. When it has reduced about the half, turn the stove off and keep that syrup in a small cup. Reserve for serving.

Final batter
Once your batter is ready to use, stir in the rinds.
If you've let your batter rest the whole night, add 2 to 3tbsp of milk.
\\ Depending of the temperature in your place, you might have to add more milk, 
the consistency of the batter must look like a heavy whipping cream //


Put a non-stick pan on your stove at high temperature.
Melt 1tbsp of butter in a bowl in the microwave. 
Use an absorbent paper to butter the warm pan with the melted butter. 
Pour a half ladle of batter in your pan, spread it using the bottom of the ladle, 
or by moving in circle the pan.
\\ Do as you prefer, the goal is to have a circular shape ! :) //
Let 1 minute on each side.


Each one is a piece of art, it's impossible to get the same pattern twice ! I just love it...

 \\ The first crepe is always a bit longer to get golden ! //
Pile them in a plate.
Use the absorbent paper after each crepe to spread evenly the butter on the pan.

Serve 3 pancakes per person, fold them in 4 
and display in a plate with some syrup on them and some fresh fruits.
\\ For a beakfast, you have to eat well and healthy ! //


8 comments:

  1. These look delicious. Thanks for entering.

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  2. Thank you ! It was my pleasure :)

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  3. This looks quite delicious and i love the fact that you made your own healthy syrup.
    As a participating judge, I would like to thank you for participating.

    Good Luck!

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  4. What a beautiful plate! I have an unreasonable fear of making crepe at home. For years, I got my fill of savory crepes at a restaurant in San Francisco. Unfortunately, it has been closed for several months now, so I really need to overcome my fear and try. Lovely recipe and beautiful photos! Thank you for contributing it to the event.

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  5. I do love crepes and am looking forward to making them again with your twist of flavor! Gorgeous photo, so very tempting!!

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