Better Crepes

Crepes are a wonderful French invention, but most have too much white flour for my taste.  I sought to improve this recipe by increasing the whole grain content and experimenting with non-dairy milks.  Surprise!  I found that a combination of cow's milk, soymilk and rice milk did the job.

The original recipe calls for rum, but I use vodka when I don't need the extra flavor.  The addition of alcohol is a little trick to improve the texture of the batter, but the recipe would also work without it.


Better Crepes
Adapted from Cecile Gauthier's recipe
Makes about 20 (dinner-plate sized)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk (dairy, non-dairy or a combination)
5 eggs
1 shot glass vodka (or rum)
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir with a wire whisk until only small lumps remain.  Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat a large non-stick frying pan.  For each crepe, use 1/3 cup of batter and quickly swirl the pan to cover the bottom.  Flip each crepe when the edges start to curl.  Stack them on a plate.

For a simple dessert, spread each crepe with butter, sprinkle with lemon juice and confectioner's sugar, fold the crepe in half and in half again and serve.