A few weeks ago there was a great article about crepes in La Presse. It was specifically about gluten-free and dairy-free pancake-type options. Of course, this is none of those recipes. While the traditional gluten-free crepe is buckwheat-based, mine were rice-based. And while that may not sound that appetizing, it’s a whole lot less bitter than the buckwheat version. It’s also less nutty and more in the style of a “regular” crepe. Most crepes, however, aren’t dairy-free, so the article was great for showing how this high-carb, often high-fat, often high-sugar breakfast food can be a little lighter. Served with Quebec maple syrup (and/or fruit purée or my pulpy persimmon and almond-honey jello cubes…), as per tradition (the former, not the latter), my crepes were a rare morning treat.
The recipe is adapted from “The Elements of Life” by Su-Mei Yu. Her recipe is for fluffier pancakes but I left out the banana, up-ed the milk (almond milk), and ended up with a much thinner batter – hence crepes. Her call to warm the maple syrup was genius.
Rice Crepes with Maple Syrup
1 cup rice flour
1/2 tbsp honey (or agave)
1/2 tsp baking powder (funny, this is supposed to make it rise, but either my baking powder’s dead or it took the day off)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp earth balance, melted and cooled (plus a little extra – 1/2 tbsp – to coat the pan. You can also use vegan margarine, or butter if you swing that way)
2 large eggs, separated (Oh, right. I forgot about this. In retrospect I think this was my downfall in terms of fluffy pancakes. My egg whites didn’t want to beat to stiff peaks, so I lost a lot of height that way. If you follow the recipe with properly rising egg whites and baking powder you may end up with pancakes instead of crepes. Either way…delicious)
3/4 cup almond milk (or milk substitute, or plain, unsweetened yogurt for non-dairy-free fluffy pancakes)
1/3 cup maple syrup
Directions:
You need a small, medium, and large bowl. Make sure the medium one is perfectly clean and dry or your egg whites won’t rise.
In the small bowl whisk together (for pancakes) or just stir together (for crepes – you’re not going for air and height) the dry ingredients. In the large bowl whisk or beat together melted earth balance and egg yolks (you have to let the earth balance cool a little so it doesn’t scramble the eggs). Whisk in the milk (beating can be dangerous since milk may fly everywhere, but it’s your call). Add the dry ingredients and stir just until all the flour is mixed in.
In a medium bowl beat the egg whites (or whisk vigorously – your arm should get pretty tired) until foamy, pour gently over the batter, and then fold them in carefully. Folding is a bit of an art. Use a spatula. Insert it into the egg white mound and down through the batter, then rotate the spatula up along the inside of the closest edge of the bowl to you, then rotate your wrist away from you as you come up along the side and let the batter fall over the egg whites. Rotate the bowl a little and repeat. Repeat. Repeat, until all the egg whites are incorporated into the batter. The hand motion is kind of like presenting something in your hand to someone in front of you. Does that make sense?
Let the batter sit for 15 minutes, then heat a skillet or griddle on high heat skillet. I’m very envious of people with griddles. (Joann! How many quinoa pancakes did I make at your place?). Add the earth balance after a few minutes (the recipe says 5 but that sounds dangerous to me. Still, 5 minutes if your skillet or griddle is slow to preheat). Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium.
You can also do smaller pancake-like circles if your batter is fluffy. Really you can skip the whole letting the batter rest for 15 minutes and even being careful with folding egg whites if you’re just making crepes. “Low-carb, lazy-person pancakes” are what they should be called…
When the surface of the crepe(s) starts to bubble flip it over and cook until both sides are lightly browned and cook through (about 2 minutes). Either serve immediately or pile on an oven-proof plate with a lid or aluminum foil and place in a warmed oven while you cook the rest of the crepes. Serve hot with maple syrup (or fruit-laden jello that kind of worked like apple sauce, but prettier). Mine were not pretty, but there you go:
Hate gluten- and dairy-heavy brunch less, and feel like a normal person again.
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