Crêpes with Cajeta and Chocolate

Crêpes with Cajeta owes its popularity to the French occupation of Mexico under Napoleon III. After decades of warfare, Mexico eventually overthrew the occupiers, who left behind a taste for pastries, French bread (the Mexican bolillo) and desserts. Crêpes are one of the dessert dishes that have helped soften the memory of those years of occupation.

Crêpes with Cajeta and Chocolate

Crêpes (from the New Joy of Cooking)

• ½ cup (2.5 oz./60 grams) all purpose flour

• ½ cup (120 ml.) milk

• ¼ cup (60 ml.) lukewarm water

• 2 large eggs

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml.) melted, unsalted butter

• 1  tablespoon sugar

• pinch of salt

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor until completely smooth.

2. Let batter rest for 1 hour.

3. Heat a heavy skillet, measuring 7″across the bottom, over medium heat. Butter pan well.

4. Pour in 2 tablespoons (30 ml.) of batter, quickly swirling the pan to completely coat the bottom.

5. Cook until set and golden, about 1 minute. Turn crêpe over and cook 45 seconds more.

6. Repeat with remaining batter, buttering pan each time.

7. Stack cooked crêpes between wax paper or parchment paper. Makes 12.

Cajeta Sauce

• (360 ml.) cajeta

• 6 tablespoon (90 ml.) cream

• 3 tablespoons (45 ml.) rum or brandy

1. Warm cajeta until soft.

2. Stir in cream and brandy.

Chocolate Sauce

• 2 oz. (60 grams)  bittersweet chocolate

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml.) cream

• 2 tablespoons ( 30 ml.) lukewarm water to thin

• ¾ cup (180 ml.) toasted chopped walnuts or sliced almonds

1. Set crêpes on a work surface and spread 1 tablespoon of cajeta sauce on each crêpe.

2. Sprinkle each crêpe with ½ tablespoon of nuts.

3. Fold crêpes in quarters. Arrange on a large baking sheet and warm in 350 deg. F (180 C.) oven for 15 minutes. This step is only necessary if the crêpes were made hours before or the day before serving.

4. Place 2 crêpes on a plate and spoon remaining cajeta sauce over crêpes.

5. Spoon chocolate sauce decoratively over crêpes. Sprinkle each with remaining nuts. Serve warm.

Notes:

Cajeta sauce, also known as Dulce de Leche or Leche Quemada, is an ultra-sweet sauce made from caramelized goat milk or cow milk. You can find it at Mexican grocery stores or in the Hispanic aisle of supermarkets.

Use left-over cajeta to make Chocoflan, another wonderful Mexican dessert with a seemingly impossible combination of chocolate cake and flan.

Mexico designated Cajeta the official 2010 Bicentennial Dessert of Mexico.