You should have this for breakfast this weekend

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Remember, keeping it loved up isn't just for February 14th; nothing says love like long, leisurely weekend breakfast with vanilla and jammy flavours.

We've already established that, as a general rule, pancakes aren't my thing due to severe childhood trauma. Thankfully, this doesn't extend to all pancakesque creations. Like the Dutch Baby Pancake, crepes are still on the table. Maybe it's because my Mum was always in charge of making the crepes. Maybe it's because I don't have 'Nam style flashbacks to equally frozen and burned food. Whatever the reason, I love crepes.

When I was a kid, crepes were always known in our house as Roll-Ups. We always had them rolled up with sugar and lemon juice. They weren't fancy, but they were definitely my favourite breakfast item going.

While my Mum's recipe is my favourite, when I went looking for it this morning, it was buried somewhere in the recesses of my cookbook shelf and otherwise unfindable.

It was too early for me to commit to a thorough search.

So, I opted to try out a new version (one that didn't require chilling overnight) from Martha Stewart.

They were dessert crepes... but really... Dessert. Breakfast. They're all the same thing.

Aren't they? Yeah, you know you're with me.

Hunk o' Smoked goodness

You top that off with some maple smoked Rowe Farms bacon? Well, my friend, you know you're going to have a great day when you start off with the breakfast of champions.

I'll award bonus points to all of you who either:

a) fill the crepes with your Mother-in-Law's amazing jam (a soft-set floral plum here!)

or 

b) fill the crepes with a preserve bought from the amazing Uncanny Preserves (I've saved a jar of Blackcurrant jam for just this occasion)

or

c) fill the crepes with whatever locally produced preserve as tickles your fancy

But, for the record, this recipe is best with soft berry flavours. A raspberry or blackberry preserve would be an excellent choice.

Vanilla Dessert Breakfast Crepes

(adapted from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions

In a medium bowl, sift together flour and salt. Whisk in eggs, egg yolk, and about 1 tablespoon milk, forming a smooth batter with a pastelike consistency. Add remaining milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla; mix until no lumps remain. 

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a nonstick skillet, and stir into the batter; leave a film of butter in the skillet. Let the batter rest at room temperature about 30 minutes.

Heat oven to warm. Over medium-low heat, warm the skillet thoroughly. Stir batter, and carefully ladle about 1/4 cup batter into skillet. Rotate skillet so batter spreads out and thinly coats the bottom and edges of the skillet. Return skillet to heat, and cook crepe until edges turn golden brown and lacy, and start to pull away from the skillet, about 2 minutes. 

Using a knife or an offset spatula, carefully turn crepe over; cook other side until just golden, 30 to 40 seconds. Slide the crepe onto a heat-proof plate. Repeat with the remaining batter, stirring it before making another crepe. Stack cooked crepes on top of one another.

Delicious and highly recommended!