The Magical Crepe Buffet ~ Part II

Poppy-Seed Cheese Crêpes with Apricot Sauce
via epicurious.com

Lemony, speckled crêpes seemed like an excellent addition to the dreamy variety crêpe buffet. This so-called cheese sounded interesting, too. The yogurt drained off a LOT of water and became more cheese-like. It made a great creamy, not-too-sweet, warm "cheese" filling. The apricot sauce was labor-intensive for the end result, may be just as well to use a store-bought sauce, although I've been enjoying using it (leftover) on oatmeal with cranberries and walnuts.

"cheese" filling ingredients: two 1-pound containers of plain yogurt 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla apricot sauce ingredients: 6 ounces (about 1 cup) dried apricots 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar poppy-seed crêpe batter: 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 cup milk 3 large eggs 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1 tablespoon poppy seeds 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest 1/4 teaspoon salt melted unsalted butter for brushing the skillet melted unsalted butter for brushing the crêpes before baking

To make the cheese filling: In a large cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a bowl let the yogurt drain, covered and chilled, for 8 hours. Transfer the yogurt to a bowl, add the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla, and whisk the mixture until it is smooth.

To make the apricot sauce: In a small heavy saucepan combine the apricots, the brown sugar, and 2 1/2 cups water, bring the liquid to a boil, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 20 minutes. In a food processor or blender purée the mixture and force it (using the back of a spoon, force it) through a sieve into a bowl. The sauce may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled. Serve the sauce either warm or at room temperature.

To make the poppy seed crêpe batter: In a blender or food processor blend the flour, the sugar, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, the milk, the eggs, the butter, the poppy seeds, the zest, and the salt for 5 seconds. Turn off the motor, with a rubber spatula scrape down the sides of the container, and blend the batter for 20 seconds more. Transfer the batter to a bowl and let it stand, covered, for 1 hour. The batter may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Makes enough batter for about 16 crêpes.

To make the crêpes: Heat a crêpe pan or non-stick skillet (cast iron works great) measuring 6 to 7 inches across the bottom over moderate heat until it is hot. Brush the pan lightly with the butter, heat it until it is hot but not smoking, and remove it from the heat. Stir the batter, half fill a 1/4-cup measure with it, and pour the batter into the pan. Tilt and rotate the pan quickly to cover the bottom with a layer of batter and return any excess batter to bowl. Return the pan to the heat, loosen the edge of the crêpe with a spatula, and cook the crêpe for 1 minute, or until the top appears almost dry. Turn the crêpe, cook the other side lightly, and transfer the crêpe to a plate. Make crêpe with the remaining batter in the same manner, brushing the pan lightly with butter as necessary. The crêpes may be made 3 days in advance, kept stacked, wrapped in plastic wrap, and chilled. (We improvised using a griddle since the skillets were already busy with beetroot pancakes. To do this, we had to spread the crêpe batter with the back of a spoon. This was tricky at first but toward the end, Lauren was a pro and making perfect poppy seed crêpes!)

Finally: On each of the finished crêpes, mound 2 tablespoons of the cheese filling in the center of the crêpe and fold the bottom third of the crêpe up over the filling. Fold in 1 inch of each side and fold down the top third of the crêpe to enclose the filling completely, forming a rectangle. Arrange the crêpe in one layer in a shallow baking dish, brush them with the butter, and bake them in the middle of a preheated 450°F. oven for 10 minutes, until filling is hot and bubbling. Serve the crêpes with the apricot sauce drizzled on top. Mmm!

(It's too bad I didn't get any final photos - epicurious needs one!)