On the latest episode of Epicurious' 4 Levels series, Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructor Penny Stankiewicz prepares sweet crepes with blackberry, passion fruit and Champagne.
Chef Penny says anywhere water is called for, you can replace that with a flavorful liquid — like Champagne, which in the case adds a little bit of lightness to the final dish thanks to the carbonation in the bubbly drink.
Watch her demo the dish in the video and get the complete recipe below.
Ingredients
- 133 grams all-purpose flour
- 15 grams sugar
- 3 grams salt
- 2 large eggs
- 140 grams milk
- 140 grams champagne
- 40 grams butter, melted and cooled
- Extra butter for greasing the pan
Directions
- Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a blender.
- Add the eggs and milk, and process to combine.
- Add the champagne and blend for 30 seconds. It’s best to let the batter rest for at least an hour in the refrigerator, but overnight is better.
- When you’re ready to make the crepes, place a crepe pan or small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Grease the pan lightly using a piece of paper towel with oil on it or melted butter and a brush.
- Pour about 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan, swirling constantly to spread it thinly around the pan. Quickly pour back any extra batter.
- Cook until set and golden around the edges, then gently flip using a large offset spatula and cook briefly on the second side.
- Place cooked crepes between layers of parchment paper until ready to use. They may be refrigerated or frozen for longer storage.
Blackberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pint blackberries
- 30 grams sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 cup champagne
- 5 grams vanilla bean paste or half a vanilla bean
Directions
- In a medium saucepan, add the berries, sugar and salt and bring to a boil, breaking up the berries with the back of a spoon.
- When the berries are softened and have produced about a 1/2 cup of liquid, add the champagne.
- Cook the sauce down until reduced by half or thickened, as desired.
- Stir in vanilla bean paste.
Passion Fruit Cookie
Ingredients
- 75 grams confectioners’ sugar
- 142 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 1 gram salt
- 2 grams vanilla bean paste
- 10 grams egg yolk
- 156 grams all-purpose flour
- 8 grams passion fruit powder
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar, butter and salt to the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer with the paddle attachment, and beat until combined and mixture is lighter in texture.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla bean paste and combine.
- Add the flour and passion fruit powder and mix only until combined.
- Place the dough in crumbles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 F, or until the crumbs are golden brown.
- Let them cool, then break up the mixture into crumbs as desired.
Fresh Ricotta
Ingredients
- 464 grams whole milk
- 232 grams heavy cream
- 35 grams white vinegar or 50 grams lemon juice
- 3 grams salt
- 35 grams confectioners’ sugar
- 5 grams vanilla bean paste
Directions
- Heat the milk and cream in a small sauce pan to no more than 200F degrees.
- Pull the pot off the heat and add the vinegar or lemon juice and salt. Stir gently, then allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Strain the mixture through a strainer lined with two layers of cheese cloth.
- Keep the mixture in the strainer and place in the refrigerator to drain more liquid from the cheese, about 2 hours.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla bean paste, whisking the cheese lightly to thicken.
Passion Fruit Curd
Ingredients
- 4 lemons, zest
- 210 grams sugar
- 90 grams lemon juice
- 90 grams passion fruit puree
- 115 grams butter
- 8 large egg yolks
Directions
- Add the lemon zest, sugar, lemon juice and passion fruit puree to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and temper in egg yolks by adding a small amount of the boiling mixture while stirring constantly. Return this to the pot and cook, over very low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Strain the mixture into a clean bowl.
- Add the softened butter and stir to completely combine.
- Cover the top of the curd with plastic wrap and cool quickly over an ice bath.
- Chill to fully firm up.
Assembly
- Crepes
- Blackberry sauce
- Passion fruit cookie
- Fresh ricotta
- Passion fruit curd
- 1 pint blackberries
- Pile three crepes on top of each other.
- Cut a strip about 3” from the taller part of the round.
- Line strips up overlapping by about 1 inch from their short side.
- Dollop 4 tbs of fresh ricotta on crepes and spread with small offset spatula.
- Then dollop 2 tbs passion fruit curd on top of the ricotta and spread evenly.
- Sprinkle crumbled cookies over curd.
- Cut blackberries in half and place them cut side up on the crumbs.
- Begin to roll from the right, small edge, and continue until it’s rolled up. Place flat side down on a plate lined with additional passion fruit crumbs.
- Add reduced blackberry sauce.
Study with Chef Penny in Pastry & Baking Arts at ICE.
