For many years the French culture has been known for it's beautiful desserts and delicious confections, but what most people don't know is they don't have to go all the way to Paris to taste one of the simplest, yet elegant desserts of Parisian cafes: crepes.

Let's start with the basics; how to pronounce 'crepes.' The French say something along the lines of 'cr-epe' and Americans often say 'cr-ay-p' with a long 'a.' However way you chose to pronounce it's really a fancy name for a thin pancake and pancakes really aren't all that difficult.

 The beauty of this dessert is that it can be converted to anything you like; it can be a side, a dessert, a breakfast food, sweet or savory. A few drops of vanilla and a hint of sugar in the batter can lend itself so well to chocolate, fruit or sauces, or a plain batter filled with rice, eggs or meat can easily become a savory crepe.
For today we chose to go with sweet crepes because that is what we are mostly about at Kauffman's Fruit Farm, and we had a luscious pear butter that we wanted to use. 

Accordingly we set out to make the batter for a thin, but not-to-thin batter that would make a light, yet durable pancake that could be rolled into whatever shape we choose. Let's start.

Pear Butter Crepes with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Serves: 4-6

Makes: 12 crepes
Prep time: 1 hour approximately

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups sifted, All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup water
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• unsalted butter for pan

Equipment needed:

8.25" crepe pan or regular nonstick pan
1/3 cup measuring ladle

Instructions:

1.In a big bowl mix the ingredients except butter, and mix until there are no lumps and batter is well combined. Set aside batter for 1 hour or overnight in the fridge.
2. Heat the crepe or regular pan over medium high heat, melt just enough to lightly coat pan, and scoop 1/3 cup batter into center of pan. Lift and tip pan to swirl the batter until you've made an even-sized circle in pan. Cook for two minutes and then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. If crepes burn for that length of time reduce heat by a tad. The crepe will be a little crispy along the edges and browned in center.
3. Remove from pan, set aside and keep making crepes until batter has been used up. Every 3 or so crepes add a bit more butter to the pan.

Note: this batter may seem watery or runny. Thicker batter will produce heavy or thicker crepes that need to be cooked longer which is fine and can be adjusted to preference, but this particular recipe is for a thinner crepe. There is not right or wrong way, just personal taste.

It is very important to let this batter rest for at minimum one hour as this helps in producing the kind of crepe that cooks well and holds together. Don't add more than 1/3 cup batter to pan for 8.25" pan. It's good to have a hot pan so the crepe cooks faster and leaves the nice trademarks of crepes.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream
Whip 1 1/2 c. whipping cream until it starts to thicken

Add:

2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Then...
Soften 4oz cream cheese (10 seconds in microwave should be perfect) and whip in separate bowl until smooth. Add to whipped cream and whip together until desired smoothness and thickness.

Put it together...
Spread Kauffman's Pear Butter on one side of crepe, fold in to quarters, dollop with whipped cream and a drizzle of salted caramel.

Bon Appetit!