CREPES WITH CHEESE AND RAISINS
Ingredients
Filling:
- 3/4 .75 .75cup CUP_USVolumesugar
- 1 1 1Chopped zest of lemon
- 2 2 2cups CUP_USVolumefarmer cheese (a dry, fine-curd cottage cheese)
- 1/2 .5 .5cup CUP_USVolumeunsalted butter
- 4 4 4eggs
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 .75 .75cup CUP_USVolumecrème fraiche or sour cream
- 3/4 .75 .75cup CUP_USVolumeraisins
- 1 1 1teaspoon TEASPOON_USVolumevanilla extract
Crepes:
- 3/4 .75 .75cup CUP_USVolumeflour
- 1 1 1teaspoon TEASPOON_USVolumesugar
- pinch of salt
- 3 3 3eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 1 1tablespoon TABLESPOON_USVolumemelted, unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 1.5 1.5cups CUP_USVolumemilk
Glaze:
- 2 2 2eggs
- 3/4 .75 .75cup CUP_USVolumesugar
- 3 3 3cups CUP_USVolumeheavy cream
- Apricot marmalade, for garnish
Instructions
- Make the filling: In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the sugar and lemon zest and process until the lemon zest is minced. Add the cheese, butter, 1 egg, and a pinch of salt. Process until the mixture is smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary. With the motor running, add the remaining eggs one at a time through the feed tube. Add the crème fraiche and pulse the machine just to combine. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the raisins and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
- Prepare the crepes: In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the eggs and melted butter and stir until smooth. Add the milk and mix well. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve into another clean bowl.
- Heat a 7-inch crepe pan or non-stick omelet pan over moderate heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and twirl the pan as it melts to coat the bottom evenly. Pour in 2 to 3 tablespoons of the batter to form a thin, circular, even crepe. Cook the crepe until it is golden brown on the bottom, 1 to 2 minutes; then use a spatula to flip it and continue cooking until its underside is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove the crepe and place it on top of a sheet of waxed paper on a large plate. Continue until all the batter is used, layering waxed paper between the crepes to prevent them from sticking.
- Make the glaze: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Whisk in the heavy cream and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter 8 to 12 individual-serving gratin dishes large enough to hold 2 or 3 crepes; or butter one or more large gratin dishes big enough to hold all the crepes.
- One at a time, place a crepe on a work surface and spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling along its diameter. Roll up the crepe to enclose the filling. Arrange 2 or 3 filled crepes in each individual gratin dish, or place all of them side by side in the one or more large dishes.
-
Spoon the glaze over the crepes. Bake them until lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Serve them in their individual gratin dishes directly from the oven, placing them on top of dinner plates; or spoon them from large gratin dishes onto individual serving plates. Top each serving with a generous dollop of apricot marmalade.
Serves 8 - 12
ABOUT THIS RECIPE
A recipe from my native Austria, this is still one of my favorite desserts. You must use a dry, small-curd cheese like farmer cheese to get the best results. For a special meal, accompany the desert with small glasses of a great dessert wine, such as Austria's famed Beerenauslee Reisleng.