Buckwheat Crepes, Two Ways
Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: June 8, 2023
The smell of buckwheat flour is anything but sweet. It’s pungent, it’s herbal, it’s almost medicinal. And it tastes grassy. Even its color is offputting, a cross between volcano ash and moon dust. Yet its assertiveness makes it a fine counterbalance to a good many things.
The French—bretons especially—use buckwheat flour for making galettes, buckwheat crepes essentially, but sans the milk and eggs, so they’re dairy-free, just a mix of flour and water really. I decided to make buckwheat crepes the easy way, because as David described it, making galettes requires a billig, a râteau, coordination, and finesse, all four of which I’m completely lacking.
And so, the other morning, I got up early and raided our fridge for possible toppings to go in my breakfast galette. There were lots of options—we hoard omelette material like no other—but I settled on something sweet for myself and something savory for Chris.
Et voilà! Behold, that’s how my peach, Greek yogurt, honey, and slivered almonds filled crepe came into being. It was très très bon (uh-oh, watch out, I’m starting to pull out my high school French).
I actually made Chris a ham, brie, scallion, and egg crepe, as per these instructions, but didn’t get to take pictures as he gets irritable when he’s hungry. (Are all men like this?)
Next up, for lunch, I filled a galette with peppery turkey, ricotta cheese, and scallions.
Both were exceptional, with the flavor of the buckwheat definitely present, but not loud. Like the non-obnoxious kid in class who makes astute comments but doesn’t jump at every chance to speak, does that make sense? I enjoyed it a lot actually, especially compared to regular old crepes, which inherently don’t have a whole lot of flavor.
I must say though, I preferred the combination of plain yogurt, peaches, almonds, and honey. The richness of the Greek yogurt turned my crepe into a luscious dessert… except it had all the wholesomeness of breakfast, n’est-ce pas?
BUCKWHEAT CREPES
Recipe from David Lebovitz
Makes about 12
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
Directions:
In a blender or with a whisk, combine all the ingredients until smooth. Cover and chill overnight.
The next day, take the batter out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for about half an hour. It should be the consistency of heavy cream—if not, add a Tbsp of milk.
On medium-low heat, wipe a thin layer of neutral oil in a saucepan (or toss in a small pat of butter, let it melt, then wipe it around). After a few minutes, pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the center of the pan and swirl it quickly. When the surface is bubbly, flip it carefully. They’re fragile and break easily, so take it easy and don’t tug too hard. After 30 seconds or so, both sides should be browned, so remove it from the heat. Don’t stress if it comes out oily or just plain ugly—the first one usually is. (And the second and third, in my case.)
Once you get the hang of the right heat setting—for me, I started out with the stove on low, but notched it up to medium after the first crepe—you should be flipping them out pretty quickly.
Serve them warm. I tossed the cold ones into the toaster oven, but you can warm them up in the oven as well. And we don’t have a microwave so I can’t test it out, but you could probably zap them in there for 20 seconds or so and nobody would know the difference.
Toppings: the sky’s the limit. I’ve tried them with tomato, basil, and mozzarella—delicious; egg, gruyere and ham—delicious (and according to Clotilde, this is what they call complète). I also suspect these guys would make for a very satisfying dessert, with a scoop of pistachio ice cream and a nice smear of Nutella maybe?
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Churro Donuts Holes
I watched a documentary about Johnny Cash last night and now I am listening to his music as I write this post. He songs remind me of driving up to Canada in my dad’s Oldsmobile Regency with my parents and oldest brother. Dad had Johnny playing on the 8-track. There is just something about his voice that is haunting. While Elvis is still my number one singer, Johnny comes in a close second. I was definitely born in the wrong era. None of this has to do with churros or donuts, I just like good music and thought I would share. Don’t worry I’ll still share the recipe for these finger-lickin’ treats.
Now I have made Churro Donuts before and they were quite tasty. This time I decided to make them a little healthier by adding Chobani yogurt. The first time I used Chobani was in my Maple Apple Muffins and they came soft and moist, so I was aiming for the same texture with these donuts. I just replaced some of the oil and buttermilk from my original recipe with yogurt. Chobani has this great chart on their blog if you want to replace butter, oil, buttermilk, or sour cream in one of your recipes. Okay so the dulce de leche and cinnamon sugar are not good for the diet, but you don’t need to eat all the donuts by yourself. (I won’t tell anyone if you do.)
I made these donuts holes using my Babycakes Cake Pop Maker. The machine I bought came with an injector to add filling, so it was perfect to fill my donuts with my homemade dulce de leche. You can probably use the Wilton cupcake filler tip to do the same. You want to make sure that if you make your own dulce de leche or buy it, you want it to be thick, otherwise it will just seep out of your little donut holes. Another tool that is great for this project is the Tovolo pancake pen. It is so much easier to use it to fill the wells of my machine with batter than to try to do it with a spoon.
After you fill them, you just glaze them and roll them around in some cinnamon sugar. I like to use brown sugar and cinnamon. I find granulated sugar to be too gritty for me. Only after you finish all these steps can you pop one in your mouth. Yeah, right. I lost a few before I even got to fill them to my little kitchen troll that wouldn’t stop saying “donut” until I threw him at least three.
These guys are a little messy. You may need a napkin or two, but they are worth the trouble. A moist cinnamon donut with a burst of dulce de leche, coated with cinnamon sugar. If you aren’t drooling yet, you will be once you start baking. Now get to it.
Churro Donut Holes
by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 4 minutes per batch
Keywords: bake dessert snack cinnamon dulce de leche Chobani yogurt donuts
Ingredients (55 donut holes)
For the donuts
- 1 cup Chobani yogurt (vanilla or plain)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For the filling
- 1 1/4 cups dulce de leche
For the glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons milk
For the coating
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
For the donuts
Preheat your Babycakes Cake Pop Machine.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat together yogurt, milk, oil and sugar. Then add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients and slowly add to to the wet ingredients, making sure to have a nice smooth mixture. The batter will be thick.
Use a Ziplock bag with tip cut off or pancake pen to fill each donut reservoir with about 2 tbsp of batter.
Bake for about 4 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of donut comes out clean.
Place hot donuts on cooling rack.
For the filling
With the Babycakes injector or a cupcake filler, make a hole in each donut and fill with dulce de leche.
For the glaze
In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. You want the consistency to be runny, not thick.
Dip each donut in the mixture and flip it around by hand or with a fork until the whole donut is covered.
Then place back on the cooling rack until the glaze is dry, but tacky.
For the coating
In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.
Dip each donut into the mixture and roll around until all covered. Then pop one in your mouth an enjoy the ride.
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