Cinnamon, oranges, wheat flour and crème fraîche were the ingredients chosen for this month's The Paper Chef. I was looking for a simple way to combine all these in the simplest way possible. Therefore, the idea for a dessert crèpe came to mind. Uncomplicated, dainty and sweet.
For the crêpes, I did my very own twist on a recipe from Epicurious. I added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter and substituted the brandy for a beautiful Austrian (80% proof) rum I had around, the same used to macerate my spicy currants. You may use brandy, cognac or a lighter dark rum.
The inside of the still warm crêpe was coated with a spoonful of a lovely Neuhaus Orange-Miel Jam I managed to deplete the stock of when the Pacific Place shop had them on sale.
Right before serving the crêpes were topped with Bellwether Farms Crème Fraîche that had been lightly sweetened with *Côté Garrigue Sirop à la Fleur d'Oranger and fresh orange zest
These were exquisite. The pairing of the honeyed orange preserve and cinnamon was ever so delicate and the addition of crème fraîche rendered these utterly rich and satisfying.
*This sirop (a combination of sugar and orange flower blossom water) is made in Provence and it is lovely when added to chilled sparkling water, cocktails or as topping for desserts, summer berries or to sweeten hot tea. Côté Garrigue makes a beautiful rose, violet and melon sirop too. Here in Seattle, Chefshop used to carry it but I have not seen it at their store in a long time. If any reader has seen for sale anywhere in the US, please do let us know.
**For making the crêpes and aided by a flexible spatula I used my trusty nonstick Calphalon crêpe pan. It is a good looking pan, small, heavy for its size, requires but the tiniest dab of butter and it is very easy to work with. It was purchased a few years ago at Williams Sonoma but Amazon has it in stock for much less. Around these parts we use it for omelettes, scrambled eggs and grilled cheese sandwiches. We use it almost every day. The finish stil looks lovely and performs great after hundreds of uses and dishwasher cycles.
