Tiramisu Crepes

A not so traditional pancake day dessert

This edition of the newsletter is sponsored by Wilfa

Pancake day is just around the corner so today I’ve got a very special, quite untraditional, crepe recipe for you. The recipe starts with a batch of classic French crepes, thin and lacy, and then they are filled with a tiramisu inspired filling. Double cream whipped together with espresso, rum, brown sugar, mascarpone and a little vanilla. The crepes are filled with the cream and folded into small parcels, almost like blintzes or mini burritos, and topped with homemade chocolate sauce and a little extra cream. Traditional pancake day dessert? No. Delicious? Absolutely.

Making crepes isn’t difficult but there are a few things to bear in mind when whipping up a batch. I like to make the batter using my Wilfa Powerfuel XL blender, it’s quicker and easier than whisking by hand and you can make a big batch incredibly easily. The blender has an incredibly powerful 2000 watt motor which makes a whopping 30,000 revolutions a minute making it incredibly efficient. The motor is also so strong it is guaranteed for 10 years!

The most important part of making crepes is getting the batter to the correct consistency. Too thick the crepes will end up doughy, too thin they’ll end up crisp and too delicate. When the batter is finished you should have a batter that resembles single cream, pourable but with a bit of body. If the batter appears too thick you can thin it out a little with a bit more milk. Once you’ve made the batter you then need to rest it for about an hour in the fridge which helps to hydrate the batter and relax the gluten, ensuring wonderfully tender crepes.

The filling for these crepes is inspired by tiramisu, a whipped cream made with espresso, rum, brown sugar, mascarpone and vanilla. The key to making this mixture is whisking just until it holds soft peaks. For this I like to use my Wilfa Smooth Mix hand mixer simply because it is easier to get a smooth lump free mixture using an electric mixer, instead of by hand using a balloon whisk. The filled crepes can be served immediately or if you prefer you can actually prepare these up to a day ahead and refrigerate them until ready to serve.

Dont forget, you can get 20% off Wilfa products using my code THEBOYWHOBAKES at checkout.

Tiramisu Crepes
Serves 6-8

Chocolate Sauce
200ml water
75g cocoa powder
75g caster sugar
50g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Crepe Batter
500ml whole milk
3 large eggs
50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
50g caster sugar
225g plain flour

Tiramisu Filling
300ml double cream, plus extra for garnish
60ml espresso, or strong black coffee, cooled
50ml dark rum
3 tbsp light brown sugar
250g mascarpone
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

To make the chocolate sauce add the water, cocoa powder and sugar to a small saucepan and whisk to combine. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly until the mixture starts bubbling. Cook for 2 minutes more before removing from the heat and whisking in the chocolate. Pour into a container and set aside until needed. The sauce can be refrigerated for up 2 weeks but will thicken as it cools, gently reheat to loosen into a pourable sauce.

For the crepe batter place all of the of the ingredients into the jug of your Wilfa XL Powerfuel blender, in the order the ingredients are listed (this ensures a lump free batter. Pulse the mixture for about 5 seconds or until a smooth crepe batter has formed. Pour the batter into a container and refrigerate for an hour to rest.

To make the crepes heat a crepe pan (or non stick frying pan) over low heat, greasing the pan with a little butter. Wipe out any excess butter with a piece of kitchen paper. Pour enough batter into the pan and swirl to coat the pan evenly. You want to add just enough batter to form a thin crepe, too much and the crepe will end up thick and doughy. Cook until the top of the crepe is set then carefully flip, cooking the second side for just about 15-20 seconds. Remove the crepes and stack up as you use up all of the batter.

For the filling add all of the ingredients into a large bowl and using your Wilfa Smooth Mix hand mixer, whisk until the mixture just holds soft peaks.

To assemble the crepes add a small amount of the filling and fold up into a parcel. To do this, fold the two sides slightly over the filling and then roll up, this is almost like make a small burrito. Set these filled crepes onto a baking tray and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve add a couple crepes to a plate and dust with a little cocoa powder, drizzle over some of the chocolate sauce and a little extra cream.