Black Forest Crepes

Delicious chocolate crepes with cherry filling make a lovely, romantic dessert that would be perfect for Valentine's Day. They could also be served as part of an elegant breakfast-in-bed or brunch. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 8 crepes

Ingredients

• 2  eggs, slightly beaten
• 1  cup  whole milk or 1  cup half-and-half cream
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1  tablespoon  melted butter
• 1⁄2 cup flour, plus
• 2  tablespoons flour
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons  cocoa
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons sugar
• 1  dash salt
• 1  tablespoon butter (for the crepe pan)
•  cherry pie filling
•  sweetened whipped cream (garnish)
•  chocolate syrup (garnish)
•  chocolate curls (garnish)
•  mint sprig (garnish)

Directions

1. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, and melted butter and whisk well; combine flour, cocoa, sugar, and salt and add to wet mixture; whisk thoroughly or beat with an immersion blender until smooth; cover batter and refrigerate for one to two hours.
2. Remove batter from refrigerator and stir; you may, if necessary, thin batter by adding a little additional milk or you may thicken it by adding a bit of flour; heat a non-stick skillet (I recommend a 10" omelette pan) to medium-high heat and add 1/2 teaspoon butter to it.
3. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into skillet and tilt so that a thin layer of batter coats the pan bottom in an 8-inch circle; cook crepe for 30-60 seconds until it appears dry and is just beginning to brown at edges; carefully loosen edges and turn crepe over; cook second side for another 30-60 seconds.
4. Continue cooking crepes, adding 1/2 teaspoon butter to the skillet before each one; stack finished crepes with waxed paper between them ~ You may refrigerate or freeze them for later use or serve immediately.
5. To serve, place 2-3 tablespoons cherry pie filling across center of each crepe and roll tightly or fold crepe into quarters; place 2 filled crepes on each serving plate; garnish crepes with your choice of sweetened whipped cream, additional cherry pie filling, chocolate or cherry syrup, chocolate curls, and mint sprigs.
6. NOTE: When garnishing my crepes I did not use chocolate syrup, but instead spooned a little cherry pie filling (no whole cherries) into a small plastic ziploc bag, snipped off its corner, and gently squeezed the filling through and onto my crepes.