Rhubarb & Custard Crepes - The Little Pancake Company

Rhubarb and custard. Two flavours that really are the best of friends. The Pooh and Piglet of the pancake world. Rhubarb and custard crepes are great as a dinner party dessert as they can be prepared ahead of time and are easy to make extra special with a splash of sloe syrup.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2

For the Stewed Rhubarb

300g Rhubarb
30g Caster Sugar or 20g Dextrose Sugar
Juice and Zest of ½ an Orange
4 tsp Sloe Syrup

For the Crepes

100g Plain Flour
Pinch of Salt
1 Egg
250ml Semi-Skimmed Milk
1/2 tbsp of Melted Butter

For the Vanilla Custard

250ml Milk
25ml Single Cream
½ Vanilla Pod or ½ tsp of Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Grated Nutmeg
2 Egg Yolks
15g Caster Sugar or 10g Dextrose Sugar

METHOD

For the Rhubarb

Wash the rhubarb and chop into chunks about ½ an inch thick. Place the rhubarb in a saucepan with the sugar, orange juice and orange zest, and cook over a medium heat. Alternatively, place in a microwavable bowl and cook in 30 seconds bursts in the microwave until stewed.
Heat until the orange juice starts to bubble, and then turn down to a low heat, letting the rhubarb simmer for 5-15 minutes until soft. It won’t take long to cook through if the rhubarb is ripe but it should be enough time to prep steps 1 and 2 of the crepe batter, so scroll down to find out how.
Many stewed rhubarb recipes suggest adding water to the fruit but this usually makes the mixture too wet. If needed, add 1tbsp of water but it’s best to allow the fruit to release its own juices first.
We’ve deliberately made sure this recipe isn’t too sweet as we’re adding the sloe syrup. If you’re not adding syrup, then double the sugar used, or try a teaspoon of honey.
Once the rhubarb is cooked, stir through the sloe syrup and set aside. Now onto the crepes!

For the Crepes

Weigh out the flour into a large bowl and add the salt.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and crack in the egg. Add a large splash of milk and start to whisk. Gradually pour in the remaining milk as you whisk and make sure all of the flour is combined.
Just before you are ready to cook your crepes, add the melted butter and whisk the batter once more.
To cook your crepes, heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a small amount of butter. Using a ladle or large spoon, add enough crepe batter to just cover the base of the frying pan. Loosen the edges of the crepe with a spatula as it cooks and once golden brown underneath, flip the crepe to cook the other side.
Keep your crepes warm on a plate in the oven whilst you make the custard.

For the Custard

Measure out the milk and cream, and put in a pan to simmer over a low heat. If using a vanilla pod, split it lengthways, scrape the seeds into the pan and then add the pod itself, along with the grated nutmeg.
Whilst the milk and cream are heating, whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl. Add the sugar and whisk again until combined.
Once the milk mixture is heated through, carefully remove the vanilla pod. Then pour the mixture over the eggs and whisk with a fork.
Pour the mixture back into the pan and thicken over a low heat. Patience grasshopper, don’t boil your mixture otherwise you’ll end up with scrambled eggs, not custard!