Coconut flour and I have not been on the best of terms lately. We were such good friends after my success with Chocolate Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream, but that was quite a while ago, and since then, we’ve hit some rough patches. The pumpkin fritter experiment was upsetting, but the chalky, dry coconut flour brownies were enough to test the mettle of even the best relationship. However, not being one who willingly concedes defeat, I grabbed the bull by the horns, I got back in the saddle, I (insert your own favourite cowboy metaphor here). I decided to make a coconut flour dish that I KNEW would work.
Well, okay, I decided to make a coconut flour dish that I was pretty sure would work. Fairly certain. About 80% certain, anyway. The idea was conceived out of one of those happy accidents in the kitchen quite some time ago. I’d been making pancakes for my kids and decided to make some low carb coconut flour ones for myself. The recipe said that the batter would be quite thick, but I didn’t trust it. I felt it was too thick, and I added some almond milk until it resembled the conventional pancake batter. When I put it into the pan, it spread out very thin, cooked quickly, and resembled a very small crepe. I added more coconut flour to my batter to get pancakes, but the crepey one was quite delicious as it was and the idea of making crepes with coconut flour has stayed with me.
Quite a few possibilities for fillings and toppins were floating around in my brain, some of them quite elaborate. But in the end, I decided to go with the classic lemon, and paired it with some blackberries I had on hand. Sweetened ricotta is an easy low carb dish and it pairs so well with lemon and berries. Besides, I still had a large tub of whole milk ricotta I needed to use up!
The Results Aside from being a little hard to flip, these crepes were wonderful! I ruined two completely in trying to turn them over, so I just ate the bits and pieces out of the pan, cursing all the while. But I managed to get three *almost* whole ones that I could then fill with lemon ricotta and top with berries. Once they had cooled somewhat, they were much easier to handle and rolling them up without breaking them wasn’t a problem. I ate one right then and there (after photos, of course!) and ate the other two for breakfast the next day. Delicious!
I may play with the ingredients and see if there is a way to get them to hold together better. Perhaps a little xanthan gum would help, or maybe I just need to be more careful. They do need to be kept rather small in size, compared to regular flour crepes, because the lack of gluten will always make them more friable than the conventional kind. Use a small 6 or 8 inch pan. But I could see making savoury dishes with these as well, I think there are so many possibilities with crepes.
Coconut Flour Crepes With Lemon Ricotta
Filling:
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
8-10 drops stevia extract
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon zest
Crepes:
1 egg
1 tbsp coconut oil or butter, melted
3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp sifted coconut flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
additional butter or coconut oil for frying
For the filling, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
For the crepes, in a medium bowl, whisk together egg, coconut oil or butter, almond milk and salt. Add coconut flour and baking powder and stir in thoroughly until smooth and no lumps remain.
Heat oil or butter in a small 6 or 8-inch skillet. Pour one quarter of the batter into skillet and swirl quickly to cover the bottom of pan with a thin layer of batter.
Cook until edges are bubbly and cooked, and bottom is lightly browned. Carefully insert a spatula under the crepe and flip to the other side to cook. Remove from pan and let cool slightly on paper-towel lined plate.
Repeat three more times with the remaining batter.
Spoon 1/4 of filling down center of a crepe and roll up tightly. Repeat with remaining filling and crepes. Serve with your choice of fresh berries.
Makes 4 small crepes. Each crepe has a total of 4.5g of carbs, not including berries.
Amy Bakes Everything says
These are gorgeous! And their healthy? Get outta town!
eatgreek.net says
mmm…. they look perfect for me right now…. ๐ (^_^)
Tessie of Germany says
check out my blog I just passed on a blog award to you!!
BakingWithoutaBox says
I love blackberries and that flavor combo of sweet and sour is so good! Glad you wrangled that coconut flour into shape.
Charlie @ SweetSaltySpicy says
The lemon ricotta filling must be so good! Craving crepes now ;).
blackbookkitchendiaries says
these looks so delicate and pretty:) i love the combo of lemon and blackberries..thanks for sharing this with us.
Spicie Foodie says
So glad you had a delicious result with the coconut flour, good that you didn't give up on it:) They really do look mouthwatering. Beautiful photos too.
Torviewtoronto says
delicious filling crepes look yummy
Kimberly Peterson says
I love crepes!!! Will you please make me some, lol. This looks absolutely delicious.
Green Girl @ A little bit of everything says
the lemony ricotta filling is so delicious and the crepes are mouthwatering
sara @ CaffeIna says
I'm not in good terms with coconut flour either so maybe I should try this recipe and make peace with it! I love love love the lemon ricotta filling. So delicate yet so tasty!
[email protected] says
Oh my, will have to try these, do you ship? They look and sound yummy!
M @ Betty Crapper says
I'm glad you found success again. You're crepes look lovely.
Amy says
These sound delicious! What a great idea using coconut flour…and with the creamy filling, that makes it even better :)!
Beth says
Now these look delish! What a great name for your blog and a even more enjoyable post. I'm glad I found you. I'll be back again to see what you are up to. I've never tried coconut flour I'll have to give it a go. B
Sommer J says
OH YUM!! I made crepes for the first time this year. I made sweet and savory ones. DELISH!
So happy you had success with coconut flour! These look perfect and the filling is making me even hungrier!!!
Tes says
Now you get it right with coconut flour… it really give me courage to try cooking with coconut flour ๐
The crepes look fantastic! Beautiful and healthy ๐
Rich says
I am unapologetically a food guy. And when I make these – when, not if – I will unapologetically eat at least 10 of them. Yes, they look delicious enough for me to make that promise.
Pretend Chef says
I can't tell you enough how much I love your blog! I am so happy to be a FOLLOWER because I have a great resource to turn to for when my mom comes to visit. It will be an interesting visit for sure with having to take her dietary needs into consideration since this will be the first time I won't be able to just throw something together. I will actually have to put a lot of thought into it. Your recipes take a lot of the guesswork out for me. Thank you!
Heather Jacobsen says
these look great! I never heard of coconut flour. I mean it make sense. But I just don't think I've come across a recipes with coconut flour in it before. Where do you purchase the flour?
Emily Z says
Lemon ricotta?!? That sounds fantastic and amazing! These crepes look wonderful as a whole as well!
Emily @ For Sweets Sake says
mmm I love crepes. I've never used coconut flour before. They look amazing!
Stephanie says
You know, I've never tackled crepes before. I had them once in Peru…I think they were filled with bananas, dulce de leche, and ice cream. They were delicious. I can still kind of taste them in my mouth. LOL. Weird.
Sandra says
Yummy…looks very delicious!
Mama Cupcake says
Oh wow…I used to have to be gluten free but not now…stuff like this didn't make me miss gluten!
Kim Kelly says
I still haven't ventured into the coconut flour realm… but I'm being very tempted! Liv would love these!!!
A SPICY PERSPECTIVE says
If you simply had a picture of those blackberries–I'd be happy. Add the crepes with ricotta…
The Mom Chef says
Wow, I'm not anything intolerant and I'd eat all of those in a heartbeat. I love the thought of adding the coconut flour just because of the flavor it would add. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.
Beth says
What a beautiful recipe! Lots of great flavors there.
She's Cookin' says
I've never tried coconut flour, but considering how much I love coconut, its on my list! Beautiful crepes for breakfast or drizzle with a bit of blackberry reduction for a light dessert, Yum!
My Man's Belly says
I've been doing quite a few gluten free things lately so coconut flour has ended up in my pantry. It sounds like a tasty ingredient for a crepe and giving it a nice change of flavor.
Emma says
Looks gorgeous Carolyn, sweet and delicate, a really lovely dessert.
Dimah says
This looks gorgeous! Love the flavors!
Stella says
Beautius Maximus, Carolyn. What a beautiful and healthful breakfast! Ooh, and you beat me to the punch (smile). I was thinking about posting my oat flour crepes. I'll do it soon…:-)
claire says
yum! these look gorgeous! i am such a sucker for crepes!
Stormy @LaMaoomba says
These look delicious…and, yay, they're gluten-free!
Catherine H. says
I just made these last week for a last minute brunch get-together with friends. I would never have made them for myself, since I tend to prefer something sweeter and more exotic, but now I'm so glad I did! The lemon ricotta was delicious, and I don't normally lean toward lemon in my desserts. I had some cranberries, so I made a simple sauce with those (instead of buying out-of-season blackberries). I took note of what you said about using a small pan, and started my crepes out in a little 6-incher I have. The size was fine, but my spatula was too wide to fit under the crepe without breaking it as I struggled to wedge it in, so I switched to a regular 12-in. skillet, but kept the circle of batter at about a 6-in. diameter in the middle, which gave the spatula plenty of room. This worked well, and over the span of making about sixteen crepes, I developed a good feel for the right cooking time and amount of batter, so that I was able to turn them out without destroying them. Once they cooled, they were fairly manipulable. Best of all, my friends (mostly high-carbers) and even my husband (the hardest high-carber of all to please!) LOVED them. Total success.
Christine says
These look and sound amazing, and I have coconut flour in the fridge screaming to be used.
Wuld substituting cow milk for the almond still work fine, though??
Carolyn says
Yes, cow's milk has the same consistency so it would be fine.
Delphine says
I just posted your this on my blog. Thanks for the recipe!
http://antiquariancooks.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/pantry-clean-out/
Delphine says
I just posted this on my blog. Thanks for the recipe!
http://antiquariancooks.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/pantry-clean-out/
Mina says
Tried it, loved it. ๐
Deb says
I just made these crepes this morning for my husband. I used cream cheese. It’s what I had on hand. They turned out good but a little on the tart side due to using cream cheese. I definitely will try the ricotta next time. For the topping I used:
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup water
2 packets Splenda
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Using a small saucepan bring the berries, Splenda, cinnamon, and water to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Simmer until mixtures thickens. Serves 4 and has 4 net CHO. Thanks for your blog.
Carolyn says
Sounds pretty delicious to me!
Katie says
I know I’m just pregnancy hormonal, but I am just about to cry to have found your blog! I do THM, and do a lot of low carb, gluten free meals, but am just getting into it. Thank you for doing all the research and experimenting and putting out these stunning recipes for the rest of the world!! ๐ I also have three little kids and totally understand the craziness, kudos to you!! Thanks again! Looking forward to having these for dinner tonight… ๐
Carolyn says
You are most welcome, Katie!
Linda says
Perfect! Thank you.
charlotte says
this looks perfect
Janet Baker says
These still work in 2014! I made them to fill with chicken poached with cumin and finished with a light fry, a medley of Mexican cheese, shredded lettuce, and topped with green enchilada sauce. They came all quite golden and sturdy, and no one will miss tortillas at all.
Joanne Meeks says
I have had the problem with coconut flour crepes in the past being too soft to turn in the pan. When I saw your recipe I thought next time I will add some of the ricotta cheese to the batter and put it through the blender. Cheese is stretchy like gluten.This might help to hold the crepes together.
Donna says
I just looked at your recipe for the Almond Flour Crepes. Which of these two recipes do like the best as far as taste and ease in making??
Carolyn says
The almond flour cream cheese ones, for sure!
Matt and Shelby says
We made these for breakfast this morning – and LOVED them! They are definitely on the smaller side but still a decent size. We added vanilla extract and also doubled the recipe (4 did not seem like enough for 2 people). This was our first experience making crepes but the recipe was so simple that it made cooking them easy, My only other note would be to not have the pan too hot. Keeping it right under medium was perfect.