Yesterday, we had time to make a nice brunch, –but we wanted something different from our usual pancakes or French toast. I’ve made a cake before with this mascarpone cream as the filling between two layers of vanilla cake, and I thought it would be delicious as a crepe filling. It is. The crepes and the cream and the berries can all be made a few hours ahead of time and refrigerated. Bring all to room temperature before assembling. If you don’t have a lot of time and you do have a few extra dollars, you can sometimes buy prepared crepes in your market—not quite as good, but you can put mascarpone cream and berries on a roof tile and it will taste pretty delicious.
Crepes with Mixed Berries and Mascarpone Cream
Makes 12 Crepes
Time: 30 minutes to make the crepes
10 minutes to prepare the berries
10 minutes to make the cream
plus assembly time
Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
Crepe Batter:
1 ½ cups flour
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Mixed Berries:
½ cup dry Sherry (optional)
½ cup sugar
4 cups mixed berries, rinsed, dried and cut if large
Mascarpone Cream:
8 ounces Mascarpone
1 cup chilled heavy cream
¼ cup sugar
Preparation:
For the batter: Blend the flour, eggs and egg yolks with a wire whisk. Add the milk, sugar and salt and whisk together until all of the ingredients are well blended. Heat a 6-inch non-stick skillet or crepe pan (if you have one) over medium heat. Brush the pan with a little of the melted butter. Quickly pour in 1-2 tablespoons of the crepe batter and swirl it immediately to coat the entire bottom of the skillet. Cook the crepe just until the batter sets—this will probably take about 30 seconds. Flip the crepe over and cook the other side until just golden. Repeat this process until all of the crepes are cooked, stacking them on a plate. If you are making them in advance, place pieces of waxed paper in between them so they won’t stick together.
For the fruit: In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and the sherry together and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. Put the berries in a bowl and pour the hot syrup over them and stir gently so all of the berries are coated. Let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 3 hours. (If you don’t want to use the sherry, just toss the berries with the sugar without melting it first).
For the mascarpone cream: Place the mascarpone, cream and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until the mixture just holds peaks (the consistency of a thick custard).
To assemble the dish: Lay a crepe on a plate and put a generous tablespoon of the mascarpone cream on the lower right hand quarter of each crepe. Top with a spoonful of berries. Fold the crepe in half, then in half again to make a triangle. Top with an additional small spoonful of cream and berries.
Notes: The crepes and the cream and the berries can all be made a few hours ahead of time and refrigerated. Bring all to room temperature before assembling. If you don’t have a lot of time and you do have a few extra dollars, you can sometimes buy prepared crepes in your market—not quite as good, but you can put mascarpone cream and berries on a roof tile and it will taste pretty good.
