Sweet Corn Crêpes

These sweet crêpes have dozens of uses. Serve with ice cream, fruit, dessert sauces like crème anglaise, or even sweet yogurt. You can use a half-and-half mix of corn flour, which gives this dessert an earthy texture, and cake flour, which keeps the crêpes exceptionally light. You also can substitute cornmeal for the corn flour. These corn crêpes are ideal when served with a warm fruit compote.

Sweet Corn Crêpes

Tools: Sieve, 8-inch crêpe pan or 8-inch nonstick fry pan, pastry brush, ladle

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: About 20 crêpes

1/2 cup (2 ounces) cake flour

1/2 cup (2 ounces) corn flour or cornmeal

6 tablespoons sugar

pinch of salt

1 cup (8 ounces) skim milk or soy milk

3 egg whites

3 tablespoons safflower or corn oil

zest of 1 lemon (1 tablespoon)

2 tablespoons Cointreau, or other orange-flavored liqueur (optional)

vegetable oil, for greasing the pan

1. In a bowl, sift together the cake flour, corn flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, and salt.

2. While mixing (by hand with a whisk is best), slowly add the milk. Then whisk in the egg whites, followed by the safflower or corn oil. (If lumps appear in the batter, try to break them up with a whisk — if you can't, press the batter through a sieve with a rubber spatula.) When the batter is smooth, add the lemon zest and Cointreau (optional). The batter should be thin.

3. Prepare a crêpe pan or an 8-inch nonstick fry pan by brushing it with vegetable oil.

4. Heat the crêpe pan over medium setting for about a minute.

5. Ladle some batter onto the middle of the pan and immediately start swirling the pan to distribute the batter over the surface. All the while, keep the ladle over the center of the pan as the remaining batter pours out — you want the batter to always land in the center of the pan for even distribution. Pour the batter so that it's very thin on the pan. Remember to move the pan, not the ladle.

6. Cook the crêpe for about 30 seconds, or until it's brown around the edge and dry in the center. Using a thin spatula, flip the crêpe quickly and cook for about 15 seconds. Remove the crêpe to a warm plate. Sprinkle the crêpe with the remaining sugar.

7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 with the remaining batter. Before dipping your ladle into the batter to make another crêpe, remember to stir up the corn flour that sinks to the bottom of the bowl.

After making the first few crêpes, you shouldn't have to add more oil to the pan. Be careful not to let the pan get too hot — it will sizzle too much, and the batter will cook immediately upon hitting the pan rather than swirl around.