Can’t decide between a thin French crêpe and its fatter American cousin, le pancake? Try a pancrêpe! Thicker than a crêpe (and thus, much easier to make at home — no special skillet required) but thinner than a pancake, these are the perfect hybrid. Traditionally, in Brittany, sweet crêpes are made with wheat flour and savory crêpes with buckwheat flour. Buckwheat flour is so nourishing, but it can also weigh you down, so I like the contrast of the lighter, more neutral brown rice flour. If you prefer, use all buckwheat or substitute other flours like sorghum, quinoa, or millet.
Ingredients
For the batter:
- •2 tablespoons coconut oil
- •60 grams (½ cup) buckwheat flour
- •60 grams (½ cup) brown rice flour
- •1 teaspoon baking powder
- •A pinch of salt
- •1 tablespoon maple syrup
- •1 tablespoon lemon juice
- •300 ml (1¼ cups) homemade or store-bought almond milk, as needed
For a creamy sauce:
- •2 tablespoons coconut butter or cashew butter
- •tablespoon maple syrup
For a fruity sauce:
- •200 grams (1 cup) chopped seasonal fruit (apples, pears, cherries, figs...)
- •1 teaspoon lemon juice
- •¼ teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
- •¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Optional toppings:
1 tablespoon sweet butter
1 banana, sliced thinly
¼ cup sliced seasonal fruit
1 tablespoon toasted nuts of choice
A pinch of cinnamon
Preparation
Warm the coconut oil over low heat until liquid. Pour into a dish and set aside.
Blend the buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add the maple syrup, lemon juice, and almond milk and mix well. The consistency should be liquid, but thick. If you prefer thinner pancakes or crêpes, add more almond milk.
Coat a pan with some of the coconut oil and pour in a scoop of the batter, turning the pan so that a perfect circle forms. Alternatively, pour the batter into cookie cutters set in the pan—a great activity to do with kids! Cook until the top starts to bubble, about 2 minutes, then remove the cutter, if using. Flip the pancake with a spatula, and cook until golden brown and cooked through.
Repeat with the rest of the batter. Eat as you go, or keep them warm, arrange in a stack on the plate, and top with sweet butter, your sauce of choice, fruit, nuts, and cinnamon, and dig in!
If making a creamy sauce:
Warm the coconut butter gently over the stove over low heat then add maple syrup and 1 tablespoon water. Pour over the pancrêpes.
If making a fruity sauce:
You have two options here: (1) Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy. (2) Add all ingredients to a small pan and cook, covered, on low heat until soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Mash with a fork, then spoon on top of the pancrêpes.
Recipe from Très Green, Très Clean, Très Chic: Eat (and Live!) the New French Way with Plant-Based, Gluten-Free Recipes for Every Season, copyright© Rebecca Leffler, 2015. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment.