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Monday, May 18, 2015

The Best Gluten-free Crêpes Ever with Apple Filling


It's Monday! I don't know about you but I am super psyched about this week and I have some great blog posts planned along with seriously scrumptious recipes. You need to keep checking in because your tummy and eyes will thank you.
As you can see by the picture above, today is all about the crêpe. I have tried many crêpes in my time, living in Montreal and being French means you gotta love crêpes and eat them with gusto!
Problem being that I had yet to stumble across a crêpe recipe that satisfied and being preturnaturally lazy in this gluten-free department, I did not try to create my own recipe and I won't have to now because I found awesomeness!
Before you judge me there are a few things you must know, firstly, gluten-free is a pain in the hiney when it comes to bread and pancakes/crêpes and I feel no shame in admitting that I will not change my stance on this. Same thing with sharpening my own knives-that's what the professional knife sharpening guy in the adorable tinker truck is for. I never liked sharpening knives, even in culinary school. I do true the edge with a steel and if stuck, I will use the small sharpener we have here or a stone but I reallllllllllly don't like it.
Bread is something my mom makes for me, she's a pastry Chef too and likes the challenge of baking gluten-free loaves. I despise gluten-free bread baking and buy my whole-grain, quinoa loaves from this wonderful company based here in Quebec, called, Cuisine Angelique.
 I will be doing a whole review segment on different gluten-free/vegan/paleo stuff in the near future but for now, trust me when I say, their bread is awesome with a cape!
I believe I rail so hard against baking gf bread because I recall the hours I spent baking fresh  gluten-filled loaves, French crusty bread with it's crisp shell and chewy interior goodness, scoring the proofed doughs, adding rye flour and molasses for taste and eye appeal, cupping portioned dough to make potato rolls, folding squares to get flaky layers for buttermilk biscuits, and pats of butter nestled in gorgeous croissant dough. Don't get me started on cinnamon rolls or this post will go into next week!
All that to say that the rules which apply so wonderfully in the world of gluten proteins, DO NOT translate to gf baking. Oh! The horror!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously though, it's just not something I find joy in anymore and when it comes to food, I believe lack of joy/enthusiasm = a recipe for disaster (pardon the pun).
I always tell people you need to have fun, get messy and make mistakes in the kitchen but the focus should be on fun. If you are not approaching making food with love and joy in your heart, then step away and give it to another because unhappiness reflects in food quality and taste.
Hence, the reason I snagged this wonderful crêpes recipe from gluten-free on a shoe string.
I am going to link it if you want to see the blog post and because I like to give credit where it is due.
Nicole of gluten-free on a shoestring has come up with a wonderful recipe and best of all it's xanthan gum free, for all of you who don't want it in your food.
What impressed me was the texture and taste, the gluten lovers I shared them with had zero clue and were amazed at how good they were. (They ate 7! Yipeee success!)
I made a simple and refined sugar-free apple filling for them. That recipe, which is mine, follows the crêpe recipe and it was a perfect pairing with butter slathered crêpes and a touch of maple syrup.
But before we begin the crêpe journey, here is a pic of a wonderful gluten-filled Crêperie in Montreal which people seem to love, it's just a moment of nostalgia. 

I crown you wonderful, my beloved crêpes!

This is the recipe for the crêpes, which I changed a bit by exchanging 3 Tbsp of brown rice flour for some of the white rice flour and I used unsweetened almond milk in place of the regular milk. Please note that her recipe needs an overnight rest, so make the batter in advance and let it sit, covered and refrigerated over night. Then give it a good whisk in the morning and crêpe away to mouth bliss!
Keep scrolling down for the easy apple filling.
http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-crepes-xanthan-gum-free/





APPLE FILLING FOR CREPES:

Ingredients:
6 Cooking apples, peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
3 Whole allspice & 1 Whole clove (remove these before serving)
2 tsp Vanilla extract
3 Tbsp Maple syrup
pinch Pink sea salt
1/3 Cup Brown, pure, real apple juice
1 tsp arrowroot powder
1 Tbsp Butter

Method:
-In heavy bottom sauce pan, melt butter on medium heat.
-Add apples and stir, add all ingredients except arrowroot and apple juice-those go in last after apples cook.
-Stir and cook apples for 5-10 minutes. You want an apple that is still firm to the bite but soft enough to not be crunching when bitten.
-Add arrowroot to apple juice, mix well together and pour into hot apples.
-Cook one minute, it will thicken. Remove from heat, stir and allow to cool.
-This can be refrigerated up to 5 days, so you can make the night before or a few days in advance in anticipation of filling your crêpes.
-You will need to gently reheat the apples briefly before filling the crêpes, so the full flavour comes out. Below are pictures to show how much you should fill each crêpe with, about 2 Tbsp each one and then roll them up. Serve with maple syrup and butter.
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