Caramelized Bananas and Nutella Crepes

Caramelized Bananas and Nutella Crepes - made June 1, 2013, crepe recipe from Martha Stewart

Banana Nutella Crepes from Frodo Joe's Petit Cafe

I recently discovered a cafe that serves both savory and dessert crepes.  My niece and I tried them out a few weeks ago and loved their Banana and Chocolate Crepes (pictured above).  It was a simple dessert but no less scrumptious for its simplicity.  So of course I had to try making my own.  For the filling I had already decided I wanted to caramelize the bananas first.  Which was easy enough to do: melt a little brown sugar with a bit of butter and add the bananas until they had softened but weren't too mushy.

I found the crepe recipe on marthastewart.com; it was simple and, with a blender, took mere seconds to make.  You do have to plan slightly ahead since the crepe batter has to rest for at least 15 minutes before using.  I'm not an expert on crepe making so I'm afraid mine weren't as thin as crepes were meant to be and it wasn't until I had already made a couple of crepes in a frying pan that I remembered I actually had a real crepe pan I could've used.  Duh.  Anyway, I spooned the caramelized bananas in the middle of the crepe, folded it up, placed sliced (non-caramelized) bananas on top and covered the whole thing with dollops of Nutella, warmed slightly for easier pouring (dolloping?).  My homemade version didn't look at neatly professional as the one from Frodo Joe's Petit Cafe but it was delicious all the same.  And, as summer heat kicks in, crepes are a good dessert option since you don't need to turn your oven on to make them and it's relatively a short amount of time at the stove to cook them.  Bonus if you serve them with ice cream and fresh fruit.

Crepes
1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling
1 large banana, sliced into rounds plus additional if desired
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
Nutella

1. In a blender, combine flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs and butter.
2. Puree until mixture is smooth and bubbles form on top, about 30 seconds.  Let batter sit for at least 15 minutes at room temperature (or refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 day; whisk before using).
3. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Lightly coat with butter.  Add 1/3 cup batter and swirl to completely cover the bottom of the skillet.  Cook until underside of crepe is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Loosen edge of crepe with a rubber spatula, then with your fingertips, quickly flip.  Cook 1 minute more. Slide crepe out of pan and repeat with remaining batter, coating pan with butter as needed.
5. Melt butter and brown sugar in a small skillet over low heat.  Add banana slices of 1 banana and cook until banana is caramelized.
6. Add caramelized banana into middle of one crepe and fold into a square bundle.  Turn over so the folded side is down.  Add slices of fresh banana on top if desired.  Warm up nutella until of pourable consistency and drizzle generously over crepe.  Serve immediately.