193 replies to this topic

[ludja]

Thanks for the inspiration from this thread! A couple of nights ago, I made some Palatschinken or "Austrian Crepes".
In Hungary they're called "palacsinta" and in Czechoslovakia, "palacinky".

I filled them with apricot jam, which is very traditional, and then topped them with powdered sugar and sauteed almonds.


These were a favorite for dinner when I was growing up and Dad was out of town on business.

They are slightly thicker than the thinnest crepes and have a more tender texture. For most applications, the batter is sweetend with some sugar as well. They have to be turned very carefully in the pan, not flipped.

Here is my Mom's recipe:

1 ¾ cup flour
2 egg yolk
2 cups milk
pinch of salt
4 Tbs sugar

Add milk slowly into flour and beat until smooth. Add egg yolks, sugar and salt. Blend well.

They are sometimes translated as pancakes even though they are so thin. They are in fact like a very thin pancake but with a more crispy crust like a crepe. I scaled the ingredients in the Julia Child crepe recipe to have the same amount of flour and the crepe recipe becomes:

1 ¾ cups flour
5.25 eggs
1.2 cups milk
1.2 cups water
5 ¼ Tbs melted butter in batter

The palatschinken recipe has a flour:egg ratio which is similar to pancakes and higher than crepes. The Palatschinken batter is much thinner than pancake batter through additional milk and has no butter added to it. The batter is slightly thicker than crepe batter. There is a lot of variation in different palatschinken recipes but they seem to share these general characteristics.

Sometimes they are filled with a mixture similar to that found in blintzes (i.e. sweetened farmers cheese with egg and raisins), placed in a baking dish, covered with a milk/sour cream mixture and baked. "Topfenpalatschinken".

Another great filling is ground walnuts mixed with some cream, rum, sugar, chopped raisins and some grated citrus. If these are served with a chocolate-rum sauce they become "Gundel-style" a Hungarian variation.

[Jensen]

Another great filling is ground walnuts mixed with some cream, rum, sugar, chopped raisins and some grated citrus.  If these are served with a chocolate-rum sauce they become "Gundel-style" a Hungarian variation.

By coincidence, my mum just returned from a trip to Hungary; while there, she ate at Gundel and, more pertinent to this conversation, bought me a Gundel cookbook as a prezzie.

Sure enough, the recipe for the "Classic Gundel Crepe" is included in the book. If anyone is interested, I'm willing to type it up and PM it.

[Chufi]

they look so good ludja! I made that walnut-filled version once, a long time ago. It was delicious, very rich!

So, I made buckwheat pancakes today. I think I have read before that you can't make buckwheat crepes out of only buckwheat flour, but Anna Thomas has a recipe for these and her recipes always work, so I gave it a try. They came out great, toothsome with a lovely nutty buckwheat flavor. I filled them with a mixture of Chinese leaf, onion, dried porcini and smoked ham, and a dollop of creme fraiche. Sprinkled with cheese and baked. They were fantastic!

[SuzySushi]

They look great! As you've found, you can make buckwheat crepes from just buckwheat flour--this is how the most traditional ones are made in Brittany. It takes more dexterity than the ones that combine buckwheat with wheat flour because the buckweheat doesn't have gluten.

[Chufi]

They look great! As you've found, you can make buckwheat crepes from just buckwheat flour--this is how the most traditional ones are made in Brittany. It takes more dexterity than the ones that combine buckwheat with wheat flour because the buckweheat doesn't have gluten.

when I have made crepes with buckwheat flour combined with regular flour in the past, I was always disappointed because the buckwheat flavor did not come through. These were great, and really easy to make, just as long as you only turn them over after the top has set.
Here are the proprtions, slightly adapted from Thomas' recipe:

350 ml. liquid (half water, half milk)
60 ml. beer
2 eggs
125 grams buckwheat flour
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch salt

I whisked with my immersion blender and let the batter rest for a couple of hours.

[SuzySushi]

It sounds like the beer did the trick!

[Eden]

I will have to find some time this week to join the crepe fest. Like Klary, I have some buckwheat sitting about in the pantry, begging to be turned into crepey goodness...

I can make buckwheat crepes no problem, but for some reason I have problems making sweet crepes. Any "never-fail" sweet crepe recipes? I tried Julia's & it didn't like me...

Oh and since I'm doing a big dinner on monday for the no egg, no wheat, uber allergy crowd, does anyone have an alterna-crepe recipe that works? If so I might turn that into a crepe fest...

[suzilightning]

dinner tonight is going to be LEFTOVERS modified into this cookoff.

using one of my mom's cookbooks - written by a friend of her's - Seafood Recipes from Local Waters by Jacqueline Pell Tuttle - and riffing off the recipe we are having seafood crepes. i did make the crepes with herbs - some tarragon from my plant and some scallions. shallots were sauteed in some canola oil then the cooked lobster and fresh shrimp were added. some sherry and Worcestershire - a sprinkle of salt and some whtie pepper. some clam liquor and parsley. pop into the crepes then cover with a medium bechemel sauce and more herbs.

sides will be some garlic green beans and a green salad.

god - i forgot how useful crepes were. i have a stack to freeze for future use - like in september when i can pull a few out so when i stagger into the house after 12 hours staring into the sky to see migrating birds i can wrap some chicken or salmon or tuna into them and heat for little packages of easy goodness.

[little ms foodie]

I wrapped up my leftover green onion crepes and put them in the freezer- how do you suggest defrosting these? Just in the fridge or is there special handling?

[Ling]

btw McGee also says that minimal whisking is key to achieve a delicate tender crepe. Minimal stirring = less gluten development.

So, maybe we can conclude, that the more you whisk, the longer the batter should rest to relax the gluten again?

Yeah I do remember reading that the batter has to rest to allow the gluten to relax...wouldn't it be better to use cake and pastry flour to make crepes then? Less gluten. Or even cake and pastry flour plus a little bit of cornstarch...that would lower the gluten content even more.

(I usually use whatever flour I have on hand, and let the batter relax overnight in the fridge.)

Edited by Ling, 20 June 2006 - 11:58 PM.

[snowangel]

btw McGee also says that minimal whisking is key to achieve a delicate tender crepe. Minimal stirring = less gluten development.

So, maybe we can conclude, that the more you whisk, the longer the batter should rest to relax the gluten again?

Yeah I do remember reading that the batter has to rest to allow the gluten to relax...wouldn't it be better to use cake and pastry flour to make crepes then? Less gluten. Or even cake and pastry flour plus a little bit of cornstarch...that would lower the gluten content even more.

(I usually use whatever flour I have on hand, and let the batter relax overnight in the fridge.)

Julia recommends letting all batter rest -- with AP at least 2 hours, with softer flours (she actually recommends using Wondra in one of her books) for 1/2 hour or so.

[Susan in FL]

Last night I made "Austrian Crepes" by this recipe. Epicurious almost always comes through for me, when I'm searching for a recipe to guide or inspire me. This one appealed to me. Unless I missed it, I hadn't heard anyone mention using club soda or seltzer. I don't know why, but it made sense to me. I followed it exactly, including the helpful technique, and was thrilled with the results -- even the first one (!):




And now the rest of the story:








My filling last night was tropical fruit -- pineapple, mango, and kiwi -- in a lime syrup with crystallized ginger. I meant to sprinkle it with powdered sugar, but I was so eager to eat it, I forgot. I did remember the pine nuts.

[Chufi]

they look wonderful Susan! Interesting that they are cooked one side only, I wonder why?

[Susan in FL]

they look wonderful Susan! Interesting that they are cooked one side only, I wonder why?

I wondered the same thing when I first read the directions, but once I got on with it, I said to myself DUH. They were done on both sides, and to served them I roll them or fold them so the "uncooked side" is on the inside anyway..... Why flip them and risk what I was likely to do to them?

[Susan in FL]

Here was this morning's crepe for breakfast. I've always loved orange and dark chocolate, and now I'm loving banana and dark chocolate (I made a version of tupac's banana split panini), so inside of this crepe I put banana and pieces of a dark chocolate and orange peel candy bar.

[Pontormo]

Last night I made "Austrian Crepes" by this recipe.  Epicurious almost always comes through for me, when I'm searching for a recipe to guide or inspire me.  This one appealed to me.  Unless I missed it, I hadn't heard anyone mention using club soda or seltzer.

Actually, Susan, I was planning on asking about this since I could swear I found a recipe in one of my cookbooks...though when I doubled back, I only came across one for apple fritters which must be based on the same principles. Beer has already been mentioned in this thread; Alice Waters calls for flattened beer in her buckwheat crepes.

I should acknowledge the beauty of your crepes, too.

[slkinsey]

Interesting about using beer or seltzer. Interesting because you don't normally want bubbles in crêpes, as it leaves little holes behind.

[Shaya]

they look wonderful Susan! Interesting that they are cooked one side only, I wonder why?

I wondered the same thing when I first read the directions, but once I got on with it, I said to myself DUH. They were done on both sides, and to served them I roll them or fold them so the "uncooked side" is on the inside anyway..... Why flip them and risk what I was likely to do to them?

It seems to be the same theory as cooking omelets French style - only on one side, and serving the cooked side on the outside.

By the way, Susan, dark chocolate for breakfast? That crepe is too decadent for words!

Edited by Shaya, 21 June 2006 - 09:52 AM.

[snowangel]

Susan, how did you store the leftover crepes?

[Pontormo]

Interesting about using beer or seltzer.  Interesting because you don't normally want bubbles in crêpes, as it leaves little holes behind.

Especially if the batter sits or the beer is flattened, I don't think there would be too many tiny little bubbles. I like the effect of the ones in your batter as documented in your post here.

I was curious about the science involved, myself, and online sources seem merely to repeat what bloggers have been told in the past: carbonated water "lightens" batter, whether for tempura, stuffed zucchini blossoms, or various types of pancakes/crepes.

[gus_tatory]

just curious here, not splitting hairs:
if the crepe is made with buckwheat flour, isn't it officially a galette?

or does that only hold for waffles?! i remember hearing something about how people from Northern France are particular about what is a crepe and what is a galette...

[Susan in FL]

Susan, how did you store the leftover crepes?

The plate full you can see in the photo... I covered that with plastic wrap, to refrigerate. (I didn't pile them on to that plate until they were completely cool.) This morning I was eager to see if any stuck. None stuck.

[Pontormo]

just curious here, not splitting hairs:
if the crepe is made with buckwheat flour, isn't it officially a galette?

or does that only hold for waffles?! i remember hearing something about how people from Northern France are particular about what is a crepe and what is a galette... 

Une crepe by any other name...

For me, a galette is a free-form pie made with a thick pastry dough, rolled out roughly, filled with things savory or sweet and then folded over at the edges so filling is enveloped securely, but still, mostly visible.

In Italy, too, certain culinary terms have different meanings depending on one's location. Seems that in terms of the galettes de Sarrasin, specificity is key to distinguish flours and courses.

Edited by Pontormo, 21 June 2006 - 10:30 AM.

[slkinsey]

I was curious about the science involved, myself, and online sources seem merely to repeat what bloggers have been told in the past: carbonated water "lightens" batter, whether for tempura, stuffed zucchini blossoms, or various types of pancakes/crepes.

Well, that (the "lightening" bit) makes sense to me. You're introducing bubbles to the batter, and these bubbles expand as the batter is cooked to provide extra leavening. Unlike, say, using whipped egg whites, the use of carbonated liquid doesn't contribute any extra structure to the finished product (therefore, even "lighter" is possible).

What puzzles me WRT using carbonated liquid for crêpes is that one generally doesn't want them to puff up like that. That, to me, is one of the crucial differences bewteen a crêpe and a thin pancake (the latter is leavened, the former is not).

[gfron1]

I'm gonna toss in my friend's creation. Marcia Smith spent some time working with Martha Stewart and now runs a gallery in our small town. She is a fantastic cook. My store pulled together 3 couples and created a reality TV cooking show that was a play on Iron Chef with a bit more drama. Marcia's assignment was a dessert that incorporated pinhead oats and lychee. What she came up with was this (This is the best pic I could pull from the DVD):


Pan Asian Crepes with Roasted Mango & Banana
It was the absolute best dessert I have ever had!

I moved the recipe to recipe gullet HERE

Edited by gfron1, 21 June 2006 - 11:53 AM.

[snowangel]

Reminder to all -- if your recipes are not copyrighted, please, oh, please, put them in RecipeGullet. It makes finding them so much easier a year from now...

[Chufi]

just curious here, not splitting hairs:
if the crepe is made with buckwheat flour, isn't it officially a galette?

I'll just call it a boekweit pannenkoek...

The Dutch pancakes, pannenkoeken, that I mentioned upthread, were originally made with at least a percentage of buckwheat flour (as were the tiny pancakes, poffertjes).

Edited by Chufi, 21 June 2006 - 12:26 PM.

[purplewiz]

That is truly a thing of beauty. My mouth is watering!

Marcia.

[snowangel]

Well, let's hope tomorrow's making of the crepes is easier than the making of the batter. The POS blender I have that I have been looking for an exuce to toss exploded on me. Good thing I had taken my contacts out and put my glasses on. Well, at least my counter, cupboards and floor are freshly cleaned! Ably assisted by a martini and lots of swearing.

BTW, the immersioon blender worked quite well, and I have savory and sweet crepe batters resting in the fridge.

Wish me and the neighborhood boys luck tomorrow as we have part two of the crepe adventure.

[Susan in FL]

Susan, good luck, indeed! -Susan