I've tried dozens of non-dairy crepe recipes. Never, until now, have I found one that has the right texture and taste. My husband, who has been the breakfast chef at our house since we've had more than two children, was the inventor of the secret banana-egg-almond milk emulsion trick. It works as a perfect buttermilk substitution for waffles, so I thought I'd try it with crepes as well. Shazam...it's genius. The banana flavor is there, but not overpowering. P.S. I only waited about 30 minutes for the batter to settle this morning. It took me two and a half hours to make them all (because, of course, that's what happens around here on a Saturday morning) so the texture improved towards the end. However, I love how these first few looked like eyelet lace, or moon craters. Sometimes bubbles in the batter = art.
Ingredients:
(Makes about 2 dozen crepes)2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
4 large or 5 small farm-fresh eggs
1 banana
4 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
Juice from one lemon
1/4 cup maple sugar or caster sugar (optional)
Method:
Put the flour, salt and sugar (if desired) into a stand mixer and stir until blended together. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, banana and almond milk with an immersion blender until the mixture is smooth and thick like a loose custard. Pour the egg and milk mixture into the flour and mix on low speed with the whisk attachment for about a minute. Continue to mix on low, adding the vanilla and lemon juice. Mix for 20 minutes. Cover the batter and let rest in the refrigerator for several hours. (You can also make the batter before you go to bed and let rest overnight.) If you are in a hurry and choose to skip the resting part, the crepes will be spongy and have a dough-like texture. They are still tasty, but not quite like a real crepe.Heat a skillet or crepe pan on medium-low heat. (I like to use a 10-inch heavy bottomed stainless steel pan.) Use a very small amount of canola cooking spray for the first, then every other crepe. When the pan is hot, pour about 1/3 of a cup of batter into the center of the pan, then quickly tilt the pan in all directions to allow the batter to spread thinly over the entire bottom of the pan. Let the first side cook until the crepe no longer looks wet and the edges begin to brown and curl away from the sides of the pan. Flip and cook the other side for about 30 seconds or until it slides easily in the pan. The first crepe, like any pancake or waffle, will not look pretty. So don't beat yourself up if it takes several tries before they look just right. Part of the success with crepes is getting the pan to the right temperature, so play with the temperature until they start coming out golden brown.
Fill with fruit, maple syrup, Nutella, powdered sugar, or your favorite filling. Serve warm.
