Berry Cheesecake Whole Wheat Crepes

My co-worker Leasa asked me to make a crepe recipe. I've never made crepes. I'm not even much of a pancake person. Regardless, I took Leasa's challenge and came up with a very nice crepe with strawberry, blueberry and cheese filling. The inspiration for the cheese filling comes from an episode of "Eat Shrink and Be Merry". Janet and Greta were trying to re-create a super indulgent cheesecake recipe. In place of cream cheese and ricotta, they used a blend of protein rich cottage cheese, sour cream and light cream cheese. I figured that would work just as well as a crepe filling. The crepes themselves are made with whole wheat flour and unrefined cane sugar... I cleaned the classic crepe recipe up as much as I could. Thankfully, the butter stays!

I had a hell of a time making the crepes. There was a lot of trial and error before I got the batter right. There was also a lot of trial and error before I figured out how to cook them properly. I started with a 12 inch fry pan but quickly switched to a much smaller 8 inch pan. The crepes are quite small (the size of large pancakes), but they were easier to cook and actually easier to serve. Instead of rolling, I simply folded the crepe sides over like an omelette.

If you have your own fool-proof crepe recipe and crepe cooking method, I suggest you stick with it. Just try my Berry Cheesecake filling. It's divine!

Berry Cheesecake Filling:

1 cup fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and diced
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup agave syrup
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cream cheese

1. Add strawberries, blueberries and honey to a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Mash strawberries using back of a spoon or a fork. When mixture is of a syrupy consistency, remove from heat and set aside.

2. Blend vanilla, agave, cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese in a food process and mix until smooth. Remove mixture and place into a bowl. Add half of the strawberry mixture to the cheese mixture and fold together. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up the mixture. Set aside. Save the other half of the strawberry mixture for topping.

You can also make the filling without berries. It's good plain as well!

Crepes:

Adapted from Eating Well Magazine

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tbsp sucanat
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp butter, melted
1/2 cup club soda

1. Add everything, except club soda, to a blender and combine until smooth. Pour into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. When ready to cook crepes, add club soda into batter and mix gently.

3. Dab a paper towel in oil and lightly wipe the inside of a small non-stick skillet (I used an 8 inch). Heat skillet over medium high heat. When water dripped into pan sizzles, pan is hot and ready to make crepes!

4. Ladle about a 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet. Immediately lift, tilt and rotate pan to spread batter into a thin, even layer.

5. Cook the crepe until the underside is lightly browned and the top begins to bubble slightly, about 30 seconds. Work a spatula with a long handle under the crepe to loosen. Either use the spatula to flip the crepe or once loosened, shake the pan to flip. Cook until the second side is lightly browned, about 20 seconds longer. Slide the crepe onto a plate. Repeat process until desired number of crepes is reached. Keep prepared crepes warm in the oven, set to a low temperature.

6. When ready to serve, spoon several tablespoons of strawberry cheese mixture down one side of the crepe, about a quarter way in. Using your fingers, roll the crepe around your filling, like a burrito, keeping the ends open. Place crepe seam side down on a plate. If your crepes are small, like mine, you could also just fold the crepe in half, around the filling, like an omelette. Top with a spoonful of reserved strawberry compote.

For a picture tutorial of how to make and fold crepes, see here.

If not using crepes right away, store crepes between sheets of wax paper. Crepes can be refrigerated for two days or frozen for one month.