Sweet & Savory CREPES


Apr 29, 2022

 by Sara Oblak Speicher
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Pancakes as the staple of American breakfast. Their much thinner variation, crêpes, are something I grew up with in Slovenia. Sweet for breakfast and savory for dinner. 

So today, we’ll be making some of that.

 

SWEET VARIATION: Šmorn (schmorn) aka kaiserschmarrn 

The reason I love it so much is because it’s much simpler to make (burning it up a bit is actually a good thing). There’s no fear of making any holes as the whole thing is scrambled. 

And you can serve it with eggs, fresh or dried fruit, sausages, jams, ricotta, yogurt, nutella, or pretty much anything else your tastebuds desire. 

Ingredients (for 4 servings):

  • 4 eggs
  • 2 ⅓ cups of milk
  • 2oz of sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 7.5oz of flour
  • 1oz of butter
  • 2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar 
  • 1 cup of raisins (optional)
  • A few tablespoons of rum (optional)

 

Process:

If you choose to add raisins and rum, then soak the raisins in the rum while you prepare the dough. 

In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sugar, salt and flour. Mix until you get a smooth semi-liquidy dough that will run nicely without breaking mid-stream if you were to pour it out of a ladle. 

On a stovetop, melt the butter in a frying pan over a low-to-medium heat.

Pour in the dough, about ⅓ inch thick. Sprinkle the raisins on top. 

 

Cook the dough until it forms a golden crust at the bottom. Then flip it over. This is where it gets a bit messy. As the dough falls apart, continue to gently scramble it into smaller, bite/size pieces until all sides of the pieces are crusty golden brown to dark brown.

 

Distribute into serving bowls and sprinkle with the confectioners sugar.


SAVORY VARIATION: Kaneloni (crepe cannelloni) with ham and cheese 

Growing up, this was one of my favorite meals that Babi would have waiting for us when my sister and I got from school. As an adult myself, I admit that I only make this on special occasions but it’s one of my husband’s favorite.

Ingredients: 

 For crepes:

  • 4 eggs
  • 2 ⅓ cups of milk
  • 1oz of sugar
  • A few pinches of salt (pepper optional) 
  • 7.5oz of flour
  • 1oz of butter

 

For filling:

  • Sour cream
  • Sliced ham
  • Sliced cheese (mozzarella, or provolone)

 

For breading: 

  • Breadcrumbs
  • Flour
  • Egg (beaten) 

 

For cooking: 

  • Frying oil or an airfryer or an oven

 

To make crepes, combine all the ingredients and mix them until the dough reaches creamy consistency without any clumps. 

In a frying pan, melt butter on medium heat. Pour a ladle-full of dough and spread it around so that it covers the bottom in a thin layer. When the bottom side turns golden brown, turn the crepe over with a spatula and cook for another minute or two.

Place the crepe on a large plate and repeat until all the dough has been cooked.

To make cannelloni: take a crepe and smear it with a teaspoon of sour cream. Place on it a slice each, ham and cheese, and roll it up like a burrito with edges tucked in. Feel free to use toothpicks to keep it from opening up.

Then, bread each one by first rolling the cannelloni in flour, then the egg, and finally in breadcrumbs. Make sure the edges remain tucked in to prevent the melting cheese from escaping.

Finally, cook the cannelloni with your preferred method (frying, airfrying, or baking), until the breading is dark-golden brown. 

 

Serve with a salad. You can also try them with condiments - I love them with some mayo, kiddos prefer ketchup, and my husband swears by mustard.