Banana Foster Caramel Jubilee

A crepe is a soft, thin fresh pancake with a variety of fillings and toppings.

Crepes are very filling and are meant to be enjoyed any time of the day. They range from savory [gelattes] sweet, vegetarian and even gluten free.

The origin and the name of the dish is disputed but one of the claims is that it was created by mistake made by a 14 year old assistant waiter. He was preparing a dessert for the Prince of Wales, the future king Edward VII of the United Kingdom whose guests included a beautiful French girl. It was quite by accident that the cordials caught fire. The prince and his friends were waiting. How could he begin all over? He tasted it and to his surprise it was the most delicious medley of flavors one has ever tasted. It was like the accident of flames was precisely required to bring into one harmony of flavors. The king quite liked it and awarded the waiter with a jeweled ring panama hat and a cane. There are several stories about crepe but this was the most interesting.

Crepes are the same form as our very own Indian origin dosas, thin flatbreads, the difference is the batter for crepes is made of refined wheat flour but batter for dosas are made up of rice and pulse

I am amazed to think something so similar was made in France as crepe as dosas in India

Is there a possibility that they got inspired from us or vice versa? Whatever it is but it certainly leaves us with this thought provoking idea to research more about it.

With this signing off from Madurai – the city which never sleeps, I have come here to taste the temple cuisine and trust me the flavors were so rustic. I will share those in future with all of you!

For now, sharing the recipe for this exotic dish, do try and let me know if you felt the harmony of flavors.

Ingredients for Crepe:

1 cup refined flour

2 T.sp. melted butter

1.5 cups whole milk [room temperature]

1 pinch of salt

1 egg [optional]

1 t.sp. cinnamon

2 bananas

Ingredients for Caramelized crème sauce:

2 T.sp. butter

1 cup sugar

1 t.sp. baking soda

1 T.sp full fat cream

Ingredients for Plating:

Hershey’s chocolate syrup

1 T.sp. mixed nuts and berries

Powdered sugar

1 T.sp. sliced strawberry

How to make Crepe

Add melted butter, salt, milk, beaten egg to flour and whisk together homogeneously to remove lumps. The batter should be of drooping consistency, somewhat like dosa batter. If you want to skip eggs then add milk to adjust drooping consistency. Take a pan, at medium heat and grease it with butter. Add one ladle of batter and spread it on the griddle as we do for dosa. Make it as thin as possible. Let it cook on low flame, flip it over. Cook till done on both sides. Place the sliced banana on the center. Roll it and place it over on a plate.

How to make crème caramel

Set a heavy base wok on very low heat, add sugar into it, do not stir, let the sugar melt and once it changes color to light golden, stir it gently and add butter to it. It will start to bubble as soon as you add butter. Soon after this add cream and mix it softly. Put it aside now it is time to plate.

Plating

Place rolled banana crepe on a plate. Add crème caramel sauce to it. Add chocolate sauce from top. Add nuts and berries from top and scatter some on the plate.

To make it look more colorful add slices of strawberry and dust it with powdered sugar.

Serve it with love. I am sure you will love it!
- Lipi Sachdev