Crepes -Strawberry Banana - International Taste Tour Crepes

Ok, the recipe is actually called Strawberry Banana Crepes, but a few days ago I noticed that all of the recipes that I've posted in September have started with a C, therefore, I decided to change the title a little in order to carry on with the "C" theme.

The project that I am undertaking for the International Taste Tour (formerly known as Coast to Coast Cooking) on BakeSpace, is making crepes. Unlike the last challenge I participated in, Saltimbocca,  I know what crepes are and have eaten them as well, but have never made them before. I have watched enough cooking shows to have seen them prepared so had a bit of an idea on what I was supposed to do......of course, watching and doing are two different things.

I checked out a few recipes and decided to "attempt" to make a dessert crepe.....I'm much better with desserts than actual cooking, so thought I would have a better chance of having them turn out edible. I looked around and found the recipe for these Strawberry Banana Crepes. Looked like something that, not only would I enjoy preparing, but also eating.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

1 tablespoon butter

Filling:

1 package cream cheese (8 ounce) softened

1 container frozen whipped topping (8 ounce) thawed

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Topping:

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

2 firm bananas, sliced

1/4 cup sugar (optional)

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, milk and eggs; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

In an 8-inch nonstick skillet, melt 1 teaspoon butter. Stir batter; pour about 2 tablespoons into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat botom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack.

Repeat with remaining batter, add butter to a skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper on paper towels in between.

In a mixing bowl, combine the filling ingredients. Spread 2 rounded tablespoonsfuls on each crepe; roll up. Combine topping ingredients; spoon over crepes.

I followed the above recipe for the most part...the only changes I made were:

non-fat milk in the crepe batter

sugar free Cool Whip

low fat cream cheese

I didn't use the sugar that is mentioned in the topping.....just placed the fruit on top of the crepes

The crepes were delicious....even with the lower calorie/fat ingredients that I used.

The dry ingredients: fllour, sugar, cinnamon, milk and eggs

Mixing the milk and eggs with the dry ingredients

The batter after it's hour long rest in the fridge.

The crepe before my attempt at turning it over....it took me a few tries to figure out how much batter to put in the pan, at first I was using too little and then finally got the right amount.

This is the crepe after I turned it over....believe me doing this isn't as easy as the professionals on TV make it look. I think I lost four crepes before I got it right...see the little boo boos on this one? The others didn't even make it this far, before they tore apart. I did finally achieve success and managed to end up with four crepes.

The filling: cream cheese, Cool Whip and confectioners' sugar

These were delicious! Adding cinnamon to the crepe batter was a great addition...loved the flavor, and the filling light...not too heavy on the stomach.  Even with the lower fat and sugar free changes that I made these were great....I imagine the full fat and sugar version is even better. I am definitely making these again.....as the saying goes, "practice makes perfect."

Note: The filling makes and excellent fruit dip. I guess losing some of my crepes wasn't too bad....I had fruit and filling left over for dipping. I think I may even fill strawberries with this and then dip them in chocolate.....yum!

Click on the map below to view more crepes in the International Taste Tour