the crepe

seriously. my lifetime favourite crepe. hubby thinks so too. i asked, since i may be a little biased. i could eat the sole of my shoe if it were covered in that caramel sauce. it's the kind of thing you bite into and 'ode to joy' just blares off your taste buds into your brain.

the crepes are thin and crispy-edged and fried by my husband. what, those are all legitimate requirements of the perfect crepe. the filling is juicy, tart apples stewed until just soft and perfumed. as if it were not enough, the salted caramel takes it to eleven. dreamy.

for the crepes:

4 cups cold milk

3 eggs

pinch salt

4 tb sugar

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 ts vanilla, optional

beat the eggs with the sugar and salt; stream in the milk and then slowly add the flour while mixing. you may not use all of it; the batter needs to be the consistency of a creme anglaise, or eggnog. slightly thickened liquid. way thinner than pancake batter. add vanilla only if you plan to keep all fillings sweet. refrigerate for one hour. although i've been known to skip this step. i'm a poor planner. i really wish i could foresee my cravings.

the apple filling i had leftover from this strudel i made the same day. it's very easy: mix a vanilla pudding into 2 cups apple juice. chop 4-5 apples - some that are tart and firm, and add them to the juice. cook over medium low heat while whisking continuosly.by the time the pudding will have thickened, the apples will be cooked through. or use the filling i stuff my pastry horns with.

i've seen this caramel recipe all over, but only here it's done with salted butter and that's what sold it. i made it as a gift and committed a major oopsie: i added twice the cream the recipe calls for. nobody was hurt. nobody noticed. but let's go with what it's supposed to be, when you're not on the phone holding your sides laughing cause you're talking to funny people.

1 cup sugar, 6 tb salted butter, 1/2 cup heavy cream. melt the sugar, add the butter, when it's all melted add the cream. it will bubble furiously, use a tall pot. stir. keep for 2 weeks in the fridge.

back to the crepes. heat a nonstick skillet and grease it either by lightly brushing oil with a balled-up paper towel or pastry brush, either with pam. must be repeated before each crepe. do a try-out to see how much batter you need for one: for a 8inch skillet a small ladle aka 3/4 cup will be perfect. pour the batter while twirling the pan to spread in a thin layer. fry over medium heat until set, about 4-5 minutes, then flip and fry 2 minutes more. fill as soon as cool enough to handle, with jams, nutella or what have you. if you wish to make a savory cheese crepe, put the cheese in the middle of the crepe after you've flipped it. fold in half. the cheese will melt and be delicious.

if you can resist this, who are you?