Sweet Cheese Crepes with Raspberry Sauce

Time: 30 Minutes

from Natasha's Kitchen: 100+ Easy Family-Favorite Recipes You'll Make Again and Again: A Cookbook

by Natasha Kravchuk

Growing up, this was the special Sunday-morning breakfast that my mom made for us. Every weekend we'd get so excited to have warm-from-the-pan crepes rolled with sweet, tangy cheese filling and topped with a generous dollop of sour cream. Now I make them for my own family with the addition of a homemade raspberry sauce.

While traditional Ukranian cheese crepes call for farmer's cheese, my family prefers the taste and texture of a cottage cheese-cream cheese blend, which also happens to be easier to find at the grocery store. You can easily make a batch the night before and heat them before serving, which I especially love to do around the holidays.

Ingredients

for 12 servings

Raspberry Sauce

1lemon

1tbsp cold water

1tsp cornstarch

1 (12 oz)bag frozen raspberries

1/2 cupsugar

Batter

1 cupmilk, warmed

1 cupall-purpose flour

4large eggs

1/2 cupwarm water

1/4 cupunsalted butter, melted

2 tbspsugar

1 tsppure vanilla extract

Pinchfine sea salt

Filling

1 (16 oz)container cottage cheese

8 ozplain cream cheese, softened

1/4 cupsweetened condensed milk

For servingsour cream

Instructions

Raspberry Sauce

Step 1

Zest the entire lemon and set aside for the filling. Squeeze 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and set aside for the sauce.

Step 2

In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon cold water and the cornstarch to create a slurry. Set aside.

Step 3

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the raspberries, sugar, and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Add the slurry and continue boiling for another minute. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool completely. If not serving right away, store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Crepes

Step 1

In a blender, combine the milk, flour, eggs, water, butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Blend until smooth.

Step 2

Brush a medium nonstick pan with butter and set it over medium heat. When the pan is hot, pour in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the batter and immediately swirl the pan so the batter coats the bottom. Cook the crepe until golden brown at the edges, less than 1 minute. Flip and cook for another 30 seconds, until the crepe is golden in some spots on the second side. Transfer the crepe to a cutting board or platter and repeat with the remaining batter. It is not usually necessary to keep buttering the pan after the first crepe. Once the crepes are at room temperature, they can be stacked.

Filling

Step 1

Place the cottage cheese in a fine-mesh strainer over the sink and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear, then drain thoroughly.

Step 2

In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and 1 teaspoon of the reserved lemon zest. Using a potato masher, mash the mixture together until creamy.

Assembly

Step 1

Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling mixture over the center of one crepe, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Roll the crepe tightly into a log. Repeat with the remaining crepes and filling.

Step 2

In a large nonstick pan over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. When the butter is done sizzling, arrange the crepes in a single layer seam side down. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side, until golden brown on both sides.