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Good morning, guys! Well, I say good morning, but, technically, it’s about 11 AM over here at my parents’ place on the day after Christmas. While I am freshly showered, I am also typing these words from bed, so morning seems appropos.
This is a lazy morning, the kind with little on the day’s docket, the kind that define the term “holiday” to me. I love mornings like these—slow breakfasts, unhurried schedules, time to sit and think. And I figure as long as I’m sitting here thinking about mornings from here in my old room, now might be a good time to talk about Megan Gordon’s new breakfast book, Whole-Grain Mornings, and about the first recipe Tim and I made from it: buckwheat crepes.
If you don’t already know Megan, she’s the lovely lady behind the literary blog A Sweet Spoonful, a site I’ve been reading so long, I don’t remember when I started. She also writes for The Kitchn; runs her own granola business, Marge.
She used to be an English teacher, which is something I’ve always kind of loved about her, but, mostly, she is kind, even to people she only knows on the Internet like me, and so she has encouraged and inspired me more than once.
Whole-Grain Mornings: New Breakfast Recipes to Span the Seasons (via Amazon)
Her new book, published by Ten Speed Press, is gorgeous and filled with her personal stories and loaded with whole-grain recipes that make you want to head straight for the kitchen and experiment with things like amaranth and buckwheat – case in point, these crepes.
To give you a little back story about me and crepes, they terrify me. My brother-in-law Nathan tells me making crepes is easy! My 13-year-old nephew tells me making crepes is easy!
But every time I’ve ever tried to make them, and it’s worth mentioning that this has been more than once, I’ve wound up scraping half-cooked crepe batter from my pan. I’ve always blamed the fact that Tim and I don’t have nonstick pans (“Stainless steel are too hard to make crepes on!”), but, I will blame that fact no longer because, guess what?
I now have one more reason to like Megan Gordon, and it’s her homemade buckwheat crepes. Thin, delicate, and sweet, they not only were stupid easy to put together (make the batter in the blender! what could be easier?), but, and this is the big thing: When I poured the batter in the pan, it worked.
For more information about the crepe-making process, see the recipe and headnotes below. For more information about Megan’s book, head over to Amazon.
I’ve always been afraid to make crepes in a stainless steel skillet, mostly because I’ve had at least two horror experiences that landed everything I was trying to cook in the trashcan. That said, we don’t own a nonstick skillet and these crepes are dreamy breakfast food, so if ever there were a time to face one’s fears, this is it.
The key is to let the butter coat and cover your sauté pan: Imagine that it’s forming an actual layer on top of the stainless steel. Be patient while it heats, too; when the pan is actually hot, crepes are much easier to cook.
Megan’s original recipe calls for sauteéd plums instead of apples, but her notes suggest any seasonal adaptation could work, including cranberries for this time of year. I almost went with pears, but apples were on sale; I think pears, with their softened, jammy consistency when cooked would also be lovely.
Print
Buckwheat Crepes with Honeyed Ricotta and Sautéed Apples
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: About 2 crepes 1x
Ingredients
For the Buckwheat Crepes:
- 1/4 cup (33 g) buckwheat flour
- 1/4 cup (31 g) einkorn flour
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 7 ounces (210 ml) whole milk
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted, plus more for greasing pan
- 1 egg
For the Sautéed Apples:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- 2 large apples, (we used red delicious) cut into 8 or fewer wedges each
For the Honeyed Ricotta:
- 1/2 cup (125 g) ricotta
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 grated lemon zest
Instructions
- An hour before you wish to make the crepes (or the night before, if you want to refrigerate the batter and then bring it to room temperature in the morning): combine buckwheat flour, einkorn flour, salt, milk, butter, and egg in a bowl with a hand mixer or in a blender with enough pulses to mix everything well. Let this sit at room temperature for an hour.
- Warm 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a 9- or 10-inch skillet over medium heat. When you’re using a stainless steel pan like we were, err on the long side of letting the pan preheat, as in a full five minutes or longer. You want it to be fully warmed and greased before pouring the batter on top. Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan at a time, tilting the pan immediately after pouring the batter to make it spread into an even layer. Cook crepe over low heat until the edges start to firm up and pull away from the pan. When the pan is at the right temperature, this should take only 2 to 3 minutes.
- Flip crepe and let other side cook until golden, another minute or two. (I added another dab of butter between cooking each crepe in order to keep my pan happy.
- Remove finished crepes to plates and fold in half, then in half again, to make little fans. (Note: if you want to double this recipe up to its original size, you also might like to turn the oven to 200F and place finished crepes on a parchment-lined sheet to warm inside while you keep cooking more.)
- In between flips, set another sauté pan on another burner, and melt a tablespoon of butter. Add the vanilla and honey, and add the apple pieces, tossing to coat. Let this mixture cook while you cook crepes, stirring occasionally. Apples are done when they are soft and caramelizing—their flesh will be honey-tinted golden, with browning marks from the pan.
- For the ricotta, combine ricotta, honey, vanilla, and lemon zest in a bowl. To serve the crepes, place four crepes on each plate, and top with generous dollops of ricotta and half the apples on each serving.
Notes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Crepes
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Keywords: buckwheat flour, crepes, honey, ricotta cheese, apples
Did you make these tasty crepes? What kind of fruit did you use? Let us know in the comments below and please give this tasty recipe a rating if you loved them as much as we did!
And if you love tasty crepe and pancakes, then some of these recipes should trip your trigger:
For something savory, try these Easy-Peasy Sweet Potato & Potato Pancakes!
Photos by Shanna Mallon, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on December 26th, 2013. Last updated: December 31, 2019 at 4:50 am.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Shanna Mallon
Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who holds an MA in writing from DePaul University. Her work has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Kitchn, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, Houzz.com, Foodista, Entrepreneur, and Ragan PR. In 2014, she co-authored The Einkorn Cookbook with her husband, Tim. Today, you can find her digging into food topics and celebrating the everyday grace of eating on her blog, Go Eat Your Bread with Joy. Shanna lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tim and their two small kids.
Yum! These look delicious! I’ve never attempted crepes because, alas I don’t believe they are as easy as every says they are…so I’m still a little bit wary. But I just might have to try these! I’m not sure I can have einkorn flour since I’m gluten free though, what’s your best substitute suggestion?
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Kailey, I firmly believe that if I could make crepes, anyone can do it. Tell yourself the keys are getting the pan hot and well-coated with oil, and give it a shot! And as far as the einkorn — I would probably swap in an all-purpose gluten-free flour. : )
Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day – so this looks like just my kind of book! And buckwheat crèpes? What a glorious way to start the day…
Skye, They wowed me in so many ways—just a touch of that nutty buckwheat flavor, not at all overpowering. Try them!
I’ve had my eye on this cookbook! I’ll have to give this recipe a try, as I have to admit that I’ve always had the same problem when making crepes…thanks for sharing!!
Marie, My kindred spirit! Oh, please try these and let me know if they work as well for you. Rooting for you! and PS get the book. it’s a keeper!
I love everything about these. They truly look lovely!
Thanks, Katrina! You’re very kind.
I’ve heard such great things about the book – I think I want to eat everything I’ve seen made from it so far and these crepes are absolutely no exception especially with that sweet and sticky filling.
Kathryn, This book has your name all over it! ps I hope someday you make a book. Whole-grain baking maybe? I’ll be first in line to buy.
So excited for this book! I got a gift card for books for the holidays, and this was one of the first cookbooks to go in my cart!
Yay!
These look fantastic! I’ve been making crepes since I was a kid, but I’ve never ventured beyond the traditional crepe batter. It looks like it might be time to try something a little different!
Oh, Katie, you’d love these then! The buckwheat really adds a more interesting flavor to the delicate crepes. We loved them.
Shanna, just wanted to wish you a happy 2014 before the last two days of the year roll right on by. Lovely crepes, they remind me of the quinoa crepes that I made a week ago, and the consistency is absolutely lovely!
Thanks for writing, thanks for being a friend this year.
with love,
F.
Thanks, buddy! Happy New Year to you, too!
yes! I love that you did a buckwheat einkorn combo on this. excited to see it worked so well, too! I haven’t made crepes in SO LONG but I feel like I could perhaps actually succeed w these instructions.
You totally could, I’m sure of it. If you try them, let me know if you agree! : )
Shanna! Sam and I were on the road (driving back to Seattle from CA) and I managed to completely miss this post somehow. It is so, so gorgeous and so generous and it means so much that you both took the time to try a recipe and write about it. I know time is valuable these days (especially with your new project on the horizon!), and I’m just so thrilled that you enjoyed the crepes. I have to say: yours looked far prettier than mine! I hope you both are having a wonderful, lazy New Years Day. xox
Megan, The pleasure was entirely ours, your book is lovely, and I feel this unique kind of honor and joy from getting to watch your story unfold. Thank you for your kind words, both here and always. You are a delight. Rooting for you times a hundred. -s
Absolutely gorgeous, Shanna. I am already in love with Megan’s book. Happy New Year to you and Tim! x
Us too! Loved your gingerbread cake post! Happy New Year to you and Matt and beautiful Neko, too!
I haven’t made buckwheat pancakes in ages. I love this version with apples – looks so appetizing.
Ive never had anything like this before. I love using ricotta so I need to try to make these!