Caramel Apple Crepes

I am a little embarrassed to admit that I had often heard of crepes before coming to Italy, but didn't know what they were. They sounded to me like a fancy fru fru pastry. Crepes are actually a very thin pancake that are really simple to make. For a delicious dessert, fill them with fruit, or any dessert filling. Italians love them with Nutella, which is really simple, but oh so good! While in France, we enjoyed a crepe filled with honey and coconut. For a savory flavor, fill them with meat, cheese, or vegetables. At the Italian cooking school, we made spinach and ricotta filled crepes topped with a white cream sauce. Talk about delizioso!

A few months ago, I was browsing one of my favorite sources for recipes (http://www.food.com/) and came across this crepe recipe. It is quite sinful, but occasional culinary indulgences are okay every once in a while. Right?

The recipe calls for apple brandy or rum. I didn't add the alcohol and it was still yummy.

Caramel Apple Crepes

1 cup flour

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

nonstick cooking spray

Filling:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup whipping cream (unwhipped)

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 cups tart apples, peeled, cored and very thinly sliced

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup raisins

2 tablespoons apple brandy or 2 tablespoons rum

1/2 cup pecan pieces, toasted

1/4 cup powdered sugar

vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Prep Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

 Place 1/4 cup raisins in small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of rum or brandy. Set aside.

 Crepes:

 Combine flour, milk, eggs, oil and salt; beat until smooth and lump free.

 Heat a small skillet or crepe pan, spray with non-stick oil and remove from heat.

 Spoon in 2 Tbsp batter; tilt skillet to spread evenly.

 Return to heat; brown on one side.

 Invert pan over paper towel to remove.

 Repeat with remaining batter.

 Apple Filling:

 In a heavy small saucepan melt butter, add brown sugar; cook and stir over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved and creamy. Remove from heat. Slowly and carefully stir in whipping cream (mixture will bubble up).  Set aside.

 Toss apple slices with lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg.

 Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add apple slices; cook, uncovered, for 4 to 6 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally. Add raisins and 1/4 of the caramel sauce.

 Top crepes (browned side down) with apple mixture and fold (browned side is now showing). Place 2-3 crepes on individual serving dishes; top with pecans and dust with powdered sugar.

 Serve with ice cream with caramel sauce drizzled over top.