Penny Eisenberg: Recipe - Orange Crepe Scrolls

Yummm

Orange Crepe Scrolls
from Light Jewish Holiday Desserts ©1999

With this recipe I set out to create something reminiscent of Crepes Suzette, but without so much fat and alcohol. I also wanted a dessert that could be made ahead. This variation has two-thirds less fat than traditional Crepes Suzette. The sauce is a flavored sugar syrup that does not need to be prepared at the table. They can be made dairy or pareve to suit your needs. Blintz or crepe batter made with water is a little thinner and a little less tasty than when made with milk. To compensate for this, I add more egg yolk, a little sugar, and cornstarch, which thickens the batter without making it tough. Kids love to help make and decorate the crepes to look like Torah scrolls.. Orange Crepe Scrolls are also terrific for brunch, and can be made for a big crowd (great for life-cycle events).

Serve on: Sukkot, Shabbat, Yom ha-Atzma'ut, and for Shavuot and Chanukah use a dairy version (flame them for Chanukah).

Pareve or Dairy (see variation)

Makes 16 pancakes, or 8 scrolls

Crepe Batter

2 large eggs

1/4 cup egg substitute (such as Egg Beaters®),
or 2 egg whites, whisked

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 1/8 cups (120 grams) sifted cake flour,
lightly sprinkled into a measuring cup

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Orange Cinnamon Sauce

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 whole cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 teaspoon unsalted, pareve margarine

Orange Filling

3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon oil (or melted butter, for dairy)

1 tablespoon orange juice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Garnish (optional)

2 medium oranges, peeled and sliced

3 medium bananas, sliced crosswise

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1.To make the crepe batter place the eggs, egg substitute, water, salt, granulated sugar, and oil in a food processor bowl. Process until well blended. Add the flour and cornstarch, all at once. Process for 10 seconds to blend ingredients. Scrape down the bowl and pulse for 10 more seconds to blend well. Transfer the batter to a storage container. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days.

2. While the batter is chilling, make the sauce by combining the granulated sugar, water, cinnamon stick, and orange juice concentrate, in a small pot. Heat over medium heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring the syrup to a boil, reduce the heat, and without stirring, let the syrup simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside until ready to use. The syrup can be refrigerated for 2 weeks.

3. To make the crepes, heat a 6-inch, slope-sided, nonstick frying pan over high heat, until a droplet of water will roll in the pan. Stir the batter, as it will have settled while resting. Add a small ladleful (about 2 tablespoons) of batter to the pan. Immediately, pick the pan up off of the burner, and swirl the pan around and around, so that the batter very thinly coats the bottom. Set the pan back on the burner and let the pancake cook for about 8 to 10 seconds. Flip the pancake out onto a plate (you might have to get it started with a fork). Repeat with the remaining batter, adjusting the temperature of the burner if the crepes are browning before cooking through. The crepes can be stacked one on top of the other. They can be used immediately, or can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. If you want to freeze the crepes, let them cool, then stack them with waxed paper between each crepe (wrap securely in foil and freeze for up to three months). Thaw them in the refrigerator before using (filled crepes can also be frozen, so you have a lot of flexibility).

4. To make the filling, whisk together the powdered sugar, oil, orange juice, and cinnamon. Set 1 crepe on a work surface with the unbrowned side up. Spread 1 teaspoon of filling on the pancake. Roll it up tightly. If the bottom and top edges are not square, you can cut them so that they'll look more like scrolls. Repeat with all of the crepes. The filled crepes can be refrigerated in a covered container, for up to two days, or frozen for 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before continuing.

5. When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the crepes in an ovenproof dish. Remove the cinnamon stick from the sauce, heat the sauce, add the margarine, and stir until the margarine is melted and the sauce is hot. Spoon the sauce over the crepes. Cover with foil, and bake the crepes for 10 to 20 minutes, until warmed through. If using the optional garnish, wash and peel 1 orange, reserving the rind. Cut the rind into 28 slivers, each about 1-inch long, and 1/8-inch wide. Set aside. Peel the remaining oranges, and cut them into slices. The crepes can be served directly from the baking dish or can be plated as follows: spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons of sauce onto each plate. Place 2 crepes right next to each other on each plate, so that they look like Torah scrolls. Stick the slivers of orange rind into the top and bottom of each roll to look like the Torah poles. Garnish each plate with a couple of orange and banana slices. Brush some sauce over the fruit and serve immediately.

Nutritional notes per serving (2 pancakes): 277 Calories, 3g Fat (9%), 45mg Cholesterol, 45g Carbohydrates, 4g Protein, 100mg Sodium, 3g Fiber

RDA % - 4% Vitamin A, 48% Vitamin C, 6% Calcium 13% Iron

Variation: If you prefer something more sophisticated, add a tablespoon of liqueur to the sauce, or heat some brandy and set them ablaze. For a dairy dessert, use the blintz batter on page 118 [reference is Caramel apple blintzes] for the crepes, and substitute butter for the oil, to create a richer, more complex flavor