Aumônières de Crêpes (French Pancake Parcels)
Aumônières de Crêpes are delicious crêpes, folded into little parcels, filled with whipped cream and strawberries. I drizzled mine with nutella and they are so good.
Servings: 6 pancakes
Ingredients
- 135 g plain flour
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 340 ml whole milk
- 100 ml double cream
- 15 g butter melted, plus extra for greasing the pan
To serve:
- Whipped cream - I like using it from a can here as I find it looks so cute with the piped nozzle. You could also whip up double cream for this.
- 150 g strawberries chopped finely
- 4-8 tablespoon Nutella softened in the microwave until drizzling consistency (this is a large difference in how much Nutella to use, it really will depend on personal preference. Use as much or as little as you'd like!)
Equipment:
- 6 cocktail sticks
Instructions
- Simply mix together the flour and sugar. Add the eggs, whisking gently and gradually bringing in the flour. Add the salt. Combine the milk and cream and then add about 1/3 of the liquid to the mixture making sure to mix really well until smooth. Then add the remaining milk and cream, mix well. Or add all ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth. Either works.
- If you want to/have time, cover and rest the batter for 30 mins to overnight but this isn't essential. When ready to cook, stir the melted butter into the batter.
- Grease a nonstick frying pan with butter using a scrunched-up bit of kitchen paper. I use a ladle to get the right amount of batter in the pan, but this is a bit of trial and error. Remember that the first pancake never turns out right – it’s a scientific fact, so don’t stress and then just enjoy it as a chef’s perk.
- Cook for 30 seconds or so without touching it, then loosen the edges and flip! Cook for another 30 seconds or so until it's a lovely colour and then slide onto a plate.
- If you want to do these ahead of the game, just stack them up using a little greaseproof paper between each pancake to stop them sticking and then they reheat well in a low oven (around 90-100c)
- When ready, take a hot crêpe and add whipped cream in the centre. Scatter over strawberries. Pick up the sides of the crêpe and bring to the centre, holding it up as if you are folding in half. Then pick up the remaining sides until the whole crêpe has been gathered up and you have folds of crêpe at the top. Then stick a cocktail stick through the folds so it forms a little parcel. Drizzle over melted Nutella and enjoy.
- If making savoury with cheese: Heat the oven to 180c. Place a crêpe onto a plate - don’t worry about it being warm or not - and then fill with desired filling e.g. ham and cheese. Fold up into a parcel as directed above and place on a baking tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes until hot and the middle is melted.
Notes
Scroll up for a helpful step by step guide on how to make these Aumônières de Crêpes.
To store: Cool and transfer to a plate with sheets of greaseproof paper in between each one. Then clingfilm tightly and place in the fridge for 2 days. I wouldn’t store any sweet Aumônières with the filling already in them as this makes them go soggy, with the whipped cream and fruit. Savoury ones might keep a little better. You can transfer to an airtight container and place in fridge for 1-2 days.
To reheat: Any leftover crêpes (unfolded) can be reheated in a pan over medium-low heat. Flip over once until heated through, it shouldn’t take more than a minute or so. Otherwise, heat in the microwave in 20 second bursts until hot. As mentioned above, if reheating savoury Aumônières already folded, you could reheat them in a 180c oven for 10 minutes until hot all the way through.
To freeze: Yes, cool the crêpes then stack up with sheets of greaseproof paper in between each crêpe, pre folding into parcels. Then clingfilm the whole thing tightly and place in a freezer bag (or wrap with a final layer of foil).Place in the freezer for up to 3 months. I wouldn’t freeze any Aumônières de crêpes with the filling already in them as it wont freeze well.
Make ahead: You can store crêpes batter in the fridge for up to 2 days in an airtight container. But I would use it in the first 24 hours when it’s at its best. You can also freeze crêpe batter for up to 2 months. When ready to use, defrost overnight until it’s liquid and then give it a good whisk to bring it together.
Using a blender: you can be team blender or team elbow grease - both work well! Blender makes it super smooth and makes it super easy. But elbow grease with a whisk is also a good technique too. The trick is that once the dry ingredients are in the bowl, add the eggs and whisk really well until as smooth as possible. Then add the milk, only once it’s as smooth as possible. That gives you the best chance of getting rid of lumps.
Non-stick pan: I would really recommend using a non-stick pan here as it means you avoid any sticking mishaps.
When to flip: After 30-60 seconds, the edges should slightly curl up. Once they do that, that means they are ready to flip. The edges will be darker and slightly loosened.