Beyond its fanciful presentation, one reason to love this impressive-looking recipe is that it’s surprisingly easy to make. Prepare the crepes, sauce, and filling a day or two in advance, and then simply assemble them just before serving for a special start to your day. For a quick snack, smear on some nut or seed butter and roll. For easier rolling, premade crepes should be rewarmed in a hot skillet or microwave.
Ingredients
1 cup (250 mL) milk or unflavoured nondairy milk of choice
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp (180 mL + 30 mL) oat flour
1/4 cup (60 mL) cacao powder
2 large organic eggs
1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
2 cups (500 mL) frozen pitted cherries
1/4 tsp (1 mL) almond extract
1 1/2 Tbsp (7 mL) cornstarch
1 1/2 cups (350 mL) ricotta cheese
1 Tbsp (15 mL) honey
2 tsp (10 mL) orange zest
6 Tbsp (90 mL) sliced almonds
6 Tbsp (90 mL) sliced fresh mint leaves, for garnish (optional)
Directions
For crepes, in blender, place milk, 1/4 cup (60 mL) water, oat flour, cacao powder, eggs, cinnamon, and salt and blend until smooth. Alternatively, in large bowl, whisk together ingredients until no lumps are present. Batter should be thin.
Heat 8 to 10 in (20 to 25 cm) skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles on the surface. Be sure to grease pan with oil or butter if not completely nonstick. Pour 1/4 cup (60 mL) batter into pan and quickly lift skillet off the burner, then tilt and swirl pan so batter forms a large thin circle. Place pan back on heat and cook for 1 minute, or until edges begin to darken and curl. Loosen with thin spatula, flip, and cook the other side for 30 seconds.
Remove crepe from skillet and repeat with remaining batter. You should have at least 6 crepes. Cool crepes on metal racks.
In small saucepan, place cherries, 2 Tbsp (30 mL) water, almond extract, and pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and heat until cherries begin to break down, about 5 minutes. Whisk together cornstarch and 3 Tbsp (45 mL) water. Stir cornstarch slurry into cherries and heat for 1 minute, or until thickened.
Stir together ricotta cheese, honey, and orange zest.
To serve, dollop some ricotta cheese on bottom third of a crepe and roll. Spoon on cherry sauce and sprinkle on almonds and mint, if using.
Dairy-free ricotta copycat
If you’re going dairy free, you can whip up a nut-based ricotta copycat by blending together 3/4 cup (180 mL) water, 2 cups (500 mL) blanched almonds, 1 Tbsp (15 mL) nutritional yeast, 2 Tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt until nearly smooth. Add a bit more water, a little at a time, if mixture is not blending smoothly.
