Every now and then you find yourself hosting a party of some sort, Super bowl, baby shower, birthday party or just having friends over. I find myself needing to create something different but familiar for clients. It’s no secret that America almost anything red velvet. I’m going to share with you a recipe that’s sure to please your palate.
I first learned how to make crepes in culinary school before then the only thing I knew about crepes was Lil Wayne mentioned it in a song he had.
Yes, French pancakes was unknown to a boy from Louisiana, I mean why do I need thin pancakes when I have these giant fluffy buttermilk pancakes. My dad would make pancakes from scratch all the time for me as a kid. After my first time having crepe suzettes I learned I needed to know about crepes. Listen, anytime you give a twenty-year-old boy liquor and fire to play with in a dish it’s love at first ignite. The dish was light, full of orange flavor and topped off with some powder sugar. AH-MA-ZING! I was sold and made sure I perfected crepes from that day. I still teach kids how to make crepes twice a year when I partner with the New Orleans Pelicans for the ACME Truck Reading Program they host.
Red velvet crepes, this is another dish that came from a need to do something different at a dinner party for another client. I still get asked how to make this dish today and one of my good friends remind me every time I see her that I owe her some red velvet crepes that I promised her. I had to ask what’s this thing with crepes and she told me that it’s not the crepes “I love anything red velvet; it reminds me of time spent with my grandmother in the kitchen.” Talk about the power of food and the memories they create.
The secret to crepes is all in the tilt of the pan. Once you master how to tilt the pan to make sure you get an even distribution of batter you’ll quickly become a crepe legend. I don’t find it necessary to flip the crepe over on the other side to cook as the residual steam finishes the job while making the rest of the crepes. If you don’t have wax paper, paper towels or napkins work just fine. You don’t want them to cool together as you can possibly tear the crepes from attempting to separate them.
You can fill the crepes with whatever you’d like! You can even play around and fill it with a savory filling if you want to. A popular old New Orleans dish is savory crepes with a crawfish sauce.
Once you master how to fold your egg rolls, don’t burn them and how to tilt the skillet for your crepes you’ll find yourself playing with a variety of ingredients to go inside of both.
Red Velvet Crepes with Bananas Foster Sauce
Ingredients
- Red Velvet Crepes:
- 1 cup milk
- 1 oz. red dye
- 1 ½ tablespoon plus ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch salt
- ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 eggs
- Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted
- 1 lb. powder sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-4 tablespoons milk
- Bananas Foster:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 3 bananas sliced
- ¼ cup banana liqueur
- ¼ cup dark rum
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- In a bowl mix: milk, red dye, canola oil, sugar, nutmeg, salt, flour, eggs. Let sit for 15-20 minutes. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat with ¼ cup of canola oil. Pour access oil in heatproof bowl. Repeat process for each crepe. Using more oil when needed. Add 2 ounces batter and swirl to completely cover bottom of skillet. Cook until underside of crepe is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
- In a bowl beat cream cheese for 30 seconds add butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat until all ingredients are incorporated. Fill 1 crepe with 2 tablespoons and spread evenly over crepe. Roll crepe up like a cigar.
- In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat, stir in brown sugar once melted. Stir in bananas, banana liqueur and dark rum. Take a stick lighter and flambé, (caution fire will ignite, you’re cooking the liquor out) add cinnamon, swirl and pour over each crepe.
