The ‘Crepe’d Crusader

I think I have a serious problem with puns. After this blog post I am going to put some serious thought into cutting back…..

Who am I kidding, that is never happening. Puns are just so punny!

What’s not funny though is how incredibly easy it is to make these delicious crepes (without a crepe maker!).

These Strawberry Hazelnut Crepes made for a nice impromptu brunch this weekend. What is great about crepes is that you most likely have all the ingredients you need to make them sitting in your pantry. The illusion of complexity that is invoked from the name ‘crepes’ is a good ploy used by crepe-maker marketers to intimidate mankind (and make you ‘crepe’ in your pants), but really they are simply simple.

Flour, eggs, salt, butter and milk are all you need for this easy crepe batter. Crepe batter is very thin and easy to pour. The kind of pan you use will be important. It's best to use a non-stick pan that has shallow sides.

Immediately after you pour the batter, lift up the pan and spread it around allowing the batter to coat the entire pan. Cook the crepes on medium heat for no more than a couple of minutes on each side.

Your crepes will be thin and delicate. In order to spread the hazelnut spread without tearing the crepe, heat up the spread for about 30 seconds before spreading it onto the crepe.

Organize the strawberries from the outside in.

Fold the crepe over so that you can see some of the strawberries peaking out. Sift powdered sugar on the crepe and all around the edges of your plate.

Garnish with a few more slices of strawberries. And then eat the 'crepe' out of them!

Berry Good Scones

It’s not high tea and there are no royal weddings in sight, but today we’re serving up some scones.

Making these Berry Scones was a bloody good time. Bloody brilliant if I do say so myself. (If you read this post with a British accent in your head, it will make it much more fun :)).

Scones are all about the butter. 1) You want to make sure you keep your butter as cold as possible. Use refrigerated butter and work quickly. 2)You want to make sure the butter is spread through the scone batter evenly. The best way to do this is to grate the butter with a cheese grater.

With your hands, mix the butter and cream into the flour mixture until just incorporated. The mixture should look grainy, like cornmeal. Do not over mix because you want your butter to stay cold.

Place the scone batter on a well-floured surface and knead just until the dough comes together. It will probably only take 8-10 kneads. While kneading, incorporate the flour on your surface as needed because you do not want the dough to be sticky.

Roll the dough into an 8 inch circle - don't worry, it doesn't need to be a perfect circle, as you can tell.

Next, fold the dough into thirds and then into thirds again forming a rectangular square. Place the dough on parchment paper and place in your freezer for at least 10 minutes.

After you have cooled the dough, roll it into an 8 to 10 inch square. The dough should be much easier to roll at this point.

Sprinkle your berries all over the dough. If you are using fresh berries, freeze them first. If you use unfrozen berries, the color of the berries will melt into the dough causing your scone to have a funky color.

Now you will roll your dough into a log. Then you want to flatten the dough with your hands to form a long rectangle.

Slice your log into 5 squares. Then slice each square at the diagonal.

Brush some melted butter on top of the scones and then sprinkle sugar on the tops.

The assembly of these scones is not a traditional way of making scones. However, the folding of the scone dough will result in a light and flaky scone. Remember, do not over mix or over knead the dough and work fast so you can keep the butter as cold as possible. Do these two things and you’ll have bloody good scones.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until both the top and bottom of the scone is light golden brown. Cool for ten minutes, and then enjoy fellow chaps!

Next on the list, Fish n’ Chips.