Cherry Pie Crepes

We made these delectable crepes for New Year's Breakfast, but I haven't had an opportunity to post them. Crepes are among my favorite desserts, and well, cherry pie and I, we go way back. When I was a toddler, I used my acrobatic deftness to crawl up on the counter and plunge face first into a freshly baked cherry pie, that I blissfully gorged myself on til I was caught, nut red-handed, but red-faced. Photographs exist, but not here (Update--my mom sent the photo. See below). Oh, and never since then have I participated in a pie eating contest.

We had some sour cherries in the freezer that we had picked a while back. The crepe portion of this recipe comes from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, and I originally posted it in the recipe Crepes with Blueberry Sauce. The sour cherry compote is adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Cherry Pie Crepes (makes about 6 servings, with some crepe shells leftover)

For the sour cherry compote:

• 2/3 C water
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 shot port wine
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 C pitted sour cherries 

1. Combine water, brown sugar, lemon juice, port wine, and vanilla extract in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and bring to a boil. stirring frequently.
2. Boil for about 7 mins, stirring often, ensuring that the mixture does not burn. Reduce heat to medium, and add the cherries. Cook for about 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, and keep warm while you prepare the crepes.


For the crepes: 

• 2 eggs
• 1 C milk (I use whole--let's not kid ourselves)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1C flour
• 2 Tbs melted butter

1. Beat the eggs well, then add milk, salt, flour  & butter. Let stand 30 mins. Don't worry if the batter is a bit lumpy--the lumps will smooth out when you cook the crepes.
2. Melt some additional butter in the crepe pan on medium-high heat. When butter is foamy, but not browned, add a small ladle of batter or 2 and swirl around in a pan. 
3. Cook for a minute or 2, so the underside is a bit browned--top should still look raw--and flip over. Cook for another minute or 2. 
4. Repeat til the batter is gone. If you don't feel like making all the crepes at once, the batter stays fresh for 2-3 days in the fridge. 


Fill each of the crepe shells with the cherry filling and serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla extract. 


Kitchen Notes: Usually, with me the 1st crepe is a loss--make your dog happy with that one. Frequently, I need the lower the heat partway through the cooking process. As you're working, keep crepes in a low temp oven or warming drawer before serving. Extra crepes may also be frozen and thawed for later use. The original Smitten Kitchen recipe called for double the sugar, but I like to still have quite a bit of tartness from the cherries.

                                                                Me, circa 1985

Verdict? OK, so while my adult self used a fork and didn't bury my face in the crepe filling, I may have licked the plate (old habits die hard). This cherry filling would be marvelous for a pie, cobbler, or as an ice cream topping.