Showing posts with label maple syrup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maple syrup. Show all posts

Friday, April 12, 2013

Wrap and roll breakfast for dinner

*yup, this is my image... and my dinner!

You have no idea how much I love breakfast. I never tire of breakfast food... like, never. So when I'm bored with recipes and want to do something delicious, I often explore breakfast options. Why not, right?

When Tim and I were dating, we would often go to Chez Cora for breakfast or brunch. It's delicious and they have a little more variety than your standard breakfast place on their menu. That's where the inspiration for this recipe came from: we tried a "Good Morning", and we were both hooked! Essentially, it's a basic crèpe wrapped around fried eggs, bacon, and cheese, then pressed in a panini press and served with fresh fruit. I skip all the formalities like pressing and fruit... who do I think I am?

The nice thing about this is you can make most of it ahead of time. I've done the prep work the night before so we could have a really nice breakfast without cooking for an hour first. I make the crèpes and bacon ahead, then fry up the eggs when we are ready to eat. Yum!

What you need:

Crèpes:
1C flour (AP)
2 eggs
2/3C milk
1/2C water
1/4tsp salt
2TBSP butter, melted

1 package of bacon (I like John Morrell Applewood Smoked)
Your favorite cheese (we used pepperjack cheese this time; I highly recommend it!)

What you'll do:

Making the crèpes:
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour and eggs. I mixed by hand, and got them as smooth as possible.
Slowly add the milk and water, stirring continuously to try and keep the mixture as smooth as you can.
Add salt and butter. Beat until no lumps remain.
Heat a pan to medium. Use about 1/3C of batter per crèpe. Cook on one side until there are bubbles across the entire surface, then flip for a few seconds.

Once they're done, set the crèpes aside for a bit. I put mine into a ziploc bag, each separated by a sheet of wax paper. This keeps them soft and pliable.

Next, cook your bacon however you like to. I vote BBQ, but that's just me. You want to let it drain and pat it dry as much as possible... you don't want too much grease getting into your wrap/roll.

Finally, if you're ready to eat, fry up some eggs. We use one egg, 1.5 pieces of bacon, and 1 slice of cheese for each wrap. Tim and I both prefer our eggs over hard for this sandwich, but you could do them lighter if you prefer.

Assembly:
Put a crèpe on your prep surface and place your cheese in the centre. Take your egg right out of the pan and put it right onto the cheese, then put the bacon (broken into smaller pieces) on top. Fold up the bottom 1/3 of your crèpe, pulling the edge towards the centre. Then fold in the sides, and roll the whole thing up until you've got a tidy little packet. I throw my little packets back into the egg pan for a few minutes to seal them up and crisp up the outside as well. Serve and eat them hot!

You could (probably, you should...) serve them with fresh fruit or a light salad. You could also douse them in maple syrup, if you're so inclined, and I'm pretty sure honey or jam would work really well too.

Enjoy!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Cupcaketastic's Awesome Maple Cupcakes


*Not my image... it's Cupcaketastic's!

Delicious Maple Cupcakes

Cupcaketastic posted this awesome, delicious recipe for creamy maple syrup cupcakes. The original recipe 'Maple Walnut Delights' in Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman.

I don't like walnuts, so they got scrapped. I also mixed the syrup and the milk together before adding them to the batter. I don't know that this would make any appreciable difference or not. I beat the hell out of the butter and sugar, and I  mixed the batter thoroughly after each egg addition. My batter was smooth and creamy and I got 18 perfect cupcakes from this recipe. 

Please, for the love of maple, DO NOT attempt this recipe with table syrup. It's not worth it. It won't taste good. The maple flavour in this recipe is lovely; you get the scent of maple when you put the cupcake to your lips, but it's not overpowering in the cake itself. You do get a nice maple aftertaste though. Trust me, real maple syrup is the only way to go for this recipe. 

Making the cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup/1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup real maple syrup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Alternatively add dry ingredients and syrup and milk, blending well after each addition. (Fold in walnuts).

Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a tested into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

You'll notice on Cupcaketastic's version there is a recipe for maple meringue icing. I skipped this, not being a huge fan of meringue, but if you try it please let me know how it worked out. I topped these babies with my maple buttercream instead, and sprinkled some maple flakes for looks.