Cocoa Crepes with Creme Fraiche & Mandarin

Cocoa Crepes with Creme Fraiche & Mandarin // The Sugar Hit

 

Do you even need me to say anything about this? Does that picture not say more than I ever could? It does, we both know it does. But dammit, I love to type so I’ma do it anyway!

 

Silky, dark chocolate crepes, fresh slices of juicy mandarin, and a slick of vanilla bean creme fraiche. Yum yum yum yum yum.

 

Cocoa Crepes with Creme Fraiche & Mandarin // The Sugar Hit

 

I guess this is my super-lazy take on crepes suzette, plus chocolate. Crepes suzette is delicious, absolutely. Buttery, boozy, caramelised crepes, with segments of juicy orange and maybe a little whipped cream? UGH, delightful.

 

But definitely fairly labour intensive, and very rich. This is just a smiiiiiiidge more subtle, but still complex, chocolatey and totally luxurious. And may I say – these crepes are really good. They’re not just regular crepes dyed brown with a waste of good cocoa. They’re chocolate crepes. For realz.

 

Cocoa Crepes with Creme Fraiche & Mandarin // The Sugar Hit

 

So I’ve had a hectic week this week – I was in two photoshoots! And I was in my state newspaper! My PR rep Kasi at Hardie Grant is amazing at her job, needless to say. I was slightly less amazing at galivanting around with a slice of cake for a photo, but hey, I’m more than happy to practice.

 

In the meantime, I’m kind of exhausted?

 

Cocoa Crepes with Creme Fraiche & Mandarin // The Sugar Hit

 

These chocolaty crepes are my solution. A nice relaxing morning spent in the kitchen, swirling crepe batter around a pan, then a leisurely read of a cookbook or two (Nigel Slater is my relaxation reading) while I eat the bittersweet crepes, the creamy, slightly sour creme fraiche, and those bright bursting slices of mandarin.

 

Anyone care to join me? You’re officially invited.

 

xx Sarah.

 

Cocoa Crepes with Creme Fraiche & Mandarin // The Sugar Hit

Cocoa Crepes with Creme Fraiche & Mandarin
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • ⅔ cup (100g) plain flour
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder (best quality)
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar (aka superfine sugar)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1¼ cup (310ml) milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • butter, to grease the pan
  • ½ cup creme fraiche
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 3 mandarins (try to find a thin-skinned variety with no air between the fruit and the skin)
Instructions
  1. Place the flour, cocoa, sugar into a lage bowl and whisk to combine (sift your cocoa if it's very lumpy).
  2. In a separate bowl or jug, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla.
  3. Stream the liquid into the dry ingredients, whisking as you go, until you have a smooth, very liquid batter.
  4. To cook the crepes, place a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Grease the pan lightly with a little butter, and then ladle in just enough crepe batter to cover the base of the pan, tilting the pan to cover the base.
  5. Once the edges of the crepe start curl up a tiny bit, and look cooked, gently slide a spatula under the crepe and flip in one fluid motion.
  6. Cook the other side for a further 30 seconds or so, and then continue cooking until all the batter is used.
  7. To serve, stir the creme fraiche and vanilla bean paste together. Slice the mandarins across into ½ inch (1cm) pieces, and peel away the rind.
  8. Place 2-3 crepes on each plate, along with a dollop of creme fraiche and some sliced citrus.
 

Cocoa Crepes with Creme Fraiche & Mandarin // The Sugar Hit

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