Banana & Mixed Berry Crème Fraîche Crêpes

Disclosure: I was provided free product from Vermont Creamery to try and was not compensated for this post. All thoughts are my own.

Wow, have I been busy! School starts around here in just a few days and I have a zillion things to share with you all. At this point, none of that matters, because I made crepes.

Not just any old crepes. Not the premade crêpes you can buy at the store. Not even the kind I grew up with which were pretty magnificent in their own rite.

Do you want to know what made these so special?

Look at all these AMAZING products from
Vermont Creamery!

I started with my own homemade sauce that consisted of raspberries and blackberries. Then I served it with my homemade crepes with some sliced up bananas. Ahh, it sounds so amazing already. But the cherry on top was that I served it with Madagascar Vanilla Crème Fraîche.

Let’s elaborate. Do you remember at the beginning of this summer when I went to BlogHer Food? I had such a wonderful trip and met some fabulous people. One of the mornings during breakfast I happened to be sitting next to some very sweet women that were in attendance from Vermont Creamery. We had a great conversation and I really enjoyed their company. A few weeks ago I was contacted by one of them, asking if they could send some of their products for me to try out and see if I liked them in any recipes. I happily obliged and was shocked when I received my package. It was seriously too much good stuff! I didn’t even know where to start. I had plenty of ideas with the array of products, but one of the first that struck me was crêpes.

When I was a little girl, both of my parents worked full time jobs. We were not the family that cooked from scratch every night. My parents bought a lot of convenience meals and there were plenty of shortcuts. Almost every weekend though, my mom would cook a delicious breakfast one of those two days. One that quickly became my favorite was crêpes. She would make the batter, and once finished would add a few slices of cream cheese inside and would top it with cherry pie filling. They were a dream and I loved them!

I’ve long declared my love of breakfast foods, and I was always a tutti frutti kind of gal long before I discovered my love of savory and spicy. Those crêpes dusted with powdered sugar were heavenly and I could never get enough of them. My mom, however, didn’t especially love making them because of how temperamental the crêpe batter could be. You have to get them thin, but not too thin and you definitely don’t want them too thick. The temperature has to be just right or they would be too crunchy on the outside and undercooked inside. They also had to be soft enough to fold without cracking, and of course not too soft that they were undercooked. Yes, I can definitely understand how that could be frustrating. This is why I haven’t really tried to make them too often in my adult life. Once I saw my package from Vermont Creamery, though, I just had to make them. It really wasn’t that bad! I used a basic recipe that says it’s Julia Child’s. I did change it a tad because I also used the butter from Vermont Creamery that was salted.

The results were heavenly, and each member of my family wanted exactly ten more! The rich and tart berry sauce combined with the creaminess of the Madagascar Vanilla Crème Fraîche combined with the fresh bananas. All dusted with powdered sugar, it was perfection!

If you’re not familiar with crème fraîche, it’s a french style cultured cream. It’s delicious with a variety of foods, but the vanilla flavor is especially delicious with fruits. I especially love the little flecks of vanilla bean throughout the cream. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Crêpe Ingredients (Based on Julia Child’s Master Crêpe Recipe):

1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup cold milk
2/3 cup cold water
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted Vermont lightly Salted Cultured Butter, plus 1-2 tablespoons melted butter to brush the pan with.
1 (8 ounce) tub Madagascar Vanilla Crème Fraîche
1-2 sliced bananas
powdered sugar for dusting

Mixed Berry Sauce Ingredients

1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup fresh blackberries
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, milk, water, eggs and melted butter.

Whisk until smooth, then refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

While the crêpe batter is setting, add the fresh berries and sugar to a medium saucepan.

Cook over a medium-low flame until the berries begin to soften. I used a pastry cutter for the blackberries to help them break down a bit faster.

Once the berries and sugar have combined a bit, add the lemon juice and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract.

Transfer to a bowl and cover until ready to use, best served warm.

Once the batter has set in the refrigerator, warm a flat round non stick pan over medium low heat.

I lightly sprayed mine with vegetable oil, then using a pastry brush spread a thin amount of melted butter on the pan. Whisk the batter once or twice and using a ladle pour batter into pan (about 2-3 tablespoons worth). Immediately tilt and swirl the pan to spread the batter outwards. Cook about 1-2 minutes, then flip. The second side will only need about a minute. Both sides should be a nice golden color.

The crêpes will have a golden color, but depending on your stove and pan the heat settings may vary. The first few may not be winners but by the third or fourth you should have it down. This batter makes about 15-20 crepes depending on size.

Once the crêpes are done, you can begin building your meal.

Lay one crêpe flat, stir the crème fraîche and spread it down the middle of the crêpe, then scatter with sliced bananas.

Spoon some berry sauce in, then fold the bottom and sides. I used a bit of crème fraîche to hold the seam closed, then spread a little more on top, adding more sauce on top and a dust of powdered sugar.

Garnish with fresh berries and serve.