Taste of Life: Crepes with Cream Cheese Filling and Strawberry Sauce

By Paul Bodrogi

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients

-1 lb. cream cheese (room temperature)
- oz. vanilla extract
-1 oz. powdered sugar

Cream Cheese Filling Procedure

-In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients with a rubber spatula until well combined.
-Refrigerate until needed.

Crepe Ingredients

-8 oz. flour
- oz. sugar
-Pinch of salt
-8 eggs
-8 oz. milk
-1 oz. butter

Crepe Procedure

-Put the milk and eggs in a blender for 15 seconds.
-Add the remaining ingredients to the blender, and mix for 20 seconds or until smooth.
-Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.
-Heat a 6-inch crepe pan until warm
-Spread oz. of butter around the pan until almost browned.
-Remove the pan from the heat, and wipe out the excess butter.
-Return the pan to the heat, and add about 3 oz. of crepe batter, swirling until the entire pan is thinly coated.
-When the crepe sets, flip and cook on the second side for about 30 seconds.

Strawberry Sauce Ingredients

-1 oz. butter
-3 oz. sugar
-1 lb. fresh strawberries cleaned, hulled, and cut into fourths
- oz. fresh lemon juice
-1 oz. orange liqueur

Strawberry Sauce Procedure

-Melt the butter and sugar in a large saut pan until the sugar dissolves.
-Add the strawberries and lemon juice, and cook until the fruit is glossy and glazed.
-Remove half of the strawberries, and set aside.
-Return the remaining strawberry mixture back to the stove, and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes.
-Remove the strawberries from the heat, and add the orange liqueur.
-Let the mixture cool until just warm.
-When cool, puree the mixture in a blender.
-Remove the mixture from the blender, and add the strawberries that were set aside earlier.

Assembly

-Put a spoonful of the cream cheese filling onto a crepe, and fold it into fourths.
-Place the filled crepes on a plate, and add the warm sauce and strawberry mixture.
-Garnish with lemon zest (optional).