Crepes with Kiwi, Nutella and Almonds

Crêpes are incredibly versatile as they can envelope any good food and make it taste great.  There are restaurants entirely devoted to crêpes with different fillings. In fact, one of my favourite places for crêpes in Toronto is the Art Square Cafe, across from the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), where they have imaginative and tasty crêpes like grilled chicken and mayan organic dark chocolate (yes, they are together!). I also really like their chocolate and pistachio dessert crêpe. I can only eat one or the other though, as they are so filling. 😉 Incredibly yummy with the real chocolate!

When I am at home, though, sometimes I like to keep things simple with my crêpes. As a child, I used to layer the crêpe with homemade jam before rolling it up, or use canned peaches as a filling. I suppose my tastes were quite bland as a kid! Now, I love to use Nutella (a chocolate hazelnut spread) as a base to line the crêpe, then top with seasonal fruit and sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds.  You can add the Nutella to a warm or cold crêpe, and find yourself with melted or normal Nutella – tasty either way! Kiwi is one of my favourite pairings with Nutella in a crêpe, but other fruit works well too, like mango, strawberry, banana, blueberry, apple, etc.

These crêpes are great for sweet fillings as they are light and fluffy. I wonder whether anyone can recommend a good whole-wheat crêpe recipe? Do they exist?

Crêpes with Kiwi, Nutella and Almonds

4 eggs
1 cup flour
1.5 cups milk
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp oil
pinch salt
Nutella for spreading onto crepes
kiwi and other assorted fruit, chopped
sliced almonds, toasted

1. Beat the eggs well, then beat in the flour, milk, sugar, oil and salt (you can use a handheld blender to mix really well).

2. Let stand for 20 minutes or longer.

3. Heat frying pan to medium-high heat and add a bit of oil or butter.  A slick, smooth, non-stick pan works best and the pan size will depend on how big you want your crêpes. Likewise the amount of batter you use, will depend on the size of the crêpe.  I use around a 1/4 cup of batter for 9″ crêpes. Ladle onto greased frying pan over medium-high heat, turning the frying pan to get the batter all around the pan. Fill in any holes with remaining batter.  They are ready to flip when the crêpe seems dry and golden/firm around the edges, around 1 minute. Use a spatula to gently lift the edges, then use a wide spatula to flip the crepe. The second side will usually take 15-30 seconds to gently brown. Once done, place on a plate. This can be kept warm in a 200F oven, but usually I don’t bother.

4. Spread Nutella over half of the crepe and then the chopped fruit of your choice. Fold the crepe in half and sprinkle with toasted almonds. Kiwi pairs well, but so do strawberries, mangoes, bananas and apples.

Makes 20 7″ crepes. This is probably too many to eat at once for most people, but they can be stored in the fridge for 3 days, or in the freezer for a few months.