Berry Crêpes with Cheesecake Cream

These Berry Crêpes are the perfect way to serve pancakes. The fruity coulis is so deliciously sweet yet fresh, which pairs perfectly with thin, soft crêpes. I’ve served these with a whipped cheesecake filling, which is essentially mascarpone and whipped cream together, to make it a real show-stopper but you can leave out the cheesecake filling if you’d rather.

It’s really easy to bring together. You just make the crêpe batter, which I often do in a blender as it’s super quick and gets out lumps. Then I never let the batter rest as I rarely have enough foresight for that and I never have issues. Fry the crêpes until golden and then top with the coulis and cheesecake cream. The coulis is just raspberries (fresh or frozen) bubbled on the stove with a splash of water, touch of sugar and lemon zest. It softens into a delicious sauce. The cheesecake cream is double cream and mascarpone is whisked until smooth. It’s really a great one for pancake day or any day of the year. You could even serve this as pudding (a little like my tiramisu pancakes).

To Rest Or Not To Rest (that is the question)

I was always taught that it's very important to rest your pancake batter but truly, I've tried it both ways and I don't find it makes much difference. If you want to rest the batter, by all means, you can but I find it's not necessary. I like to make the batter the night before for maximum ease in the morning. I blend it up and then put the blender container directly in the fridge (sealed) and leave it overnight. Then in the morning, give it a shake (it may have separated) and it's ready to go!

Why you will love this recipe:

• Simple and easy to make.
• The perfect combination with the fruity berries and tangy mascarpone topping.
• You can make the crêpe batter in a blender to take out any hassle at all.
• You can scale up the recipe easily if making for a crowd.
• The toppings are adaptable, depending on your tastes.

Ingredients:

Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!

Eggs: large eggs work best here. Try to use free range eggs if you can!

Whole milk: whole is ideal but it would be fine with semi skimmed or even skimmed milk too. Whole just gives the best, well-rounded pancake.

Plain flour: also known as all purpose flour, this keeps the crêpes nice and thin without a rise (unlike fluffy banana pancakes)

Butter: I like to fry in butter (salted or unsalted is fine) as I find this gets you a golden colour and tastes the best.

Caster sugar: I like a touch of sugar, although of course, it's optional.

Berries: I like raspberries here and I make a simple coulis to go with the crêpes. Use frozen or fresh.

Lemon: a touch of lemon zest cuts through the berry coulis and adds a nice zing.

Substitutions and Variations:

Sugar - you can leave out the sugar altogether if you like (if you’re making for young children for example) but it does add a nice hint of sweetness. Other sugar works too - granulated, soft light brown, dark brown.

Whole milk - you could use semi skimmed or skimmed milk. Or swap for a dairy free milk.

Dairy free - swap for a dairy free milk and plant-based butter. Fry in plant based butter too. Use your favourite. 

Toppings - Obviously these berry crêpes have a berry coulis topping but I’ve also added a cheesecake filling to them to make them even more delicious. It’s tangy and sweet and pairs beautifully with the berry crêpes. It is optional though or if you want something creamy with less work, just add a scoop of Greek yoghurt or even a scoop of ice cream.

Here's how to make Berry Crêpes:

Here's a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.

Step 1: Make the Berry Coulis

ONE: Make the raspberry coulis: tip the raspberries into a medium-sized saucepan. Add the caster sugar, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon water. Place over a low-medium heat and slowly bring to the boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.

TWO: Once simmering, reduce the heat and cook gently for about 5 minutes - or until the raspberries have softened. Remove the raspberries from the heat and add lemon juice, to taste. Adjust the sweetness, if necessary. Pour into a bowl and set aside. 

Step 2: Make the Cheesecake Cream (optional)

THREE: Whisk together the mascarpone, double cream and sugar.

FOUR: Once whisked and smooth, it should be nice and thick.

Step 3: Make the Crêpes

FIVE: Simply mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the centre and crack in your eggs. Add the melted butter and whisk well. Then add the milk and whisk again to bring it all together.

SIX: Alternatively, add all ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth. I always use a blender as it's the only way to get it really smooth.

SEVEN: Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat and then grease with butter using a scrunched-up bit of kitchen paper.

EIGHT: Use a ladle and add batter to the pan. Getting the right amount of batter in the pan is a bit of trial and error. Remember that the first pancake never turns out right – it’s a scientific fact, so don’t stress and then just enjoy it as a chef’s perk.

NINE: Use a wooden crêpe spreader or hold the man and tilt it to spread the batter across the base of the pan.

TEN: Cook for 30 seconds or so without touching it, then loosen the edges and flip! Cook for another 30 seconds or so until it's a lovely colour and then slide onto a plate.

Step 4: Assemble the Crêpes

ELEVEN: Add a dollop of cheesecake cream to the crêpe and top with berry coulis. Otherwise, you could fold some berry coulis into the cheesecake cream so it's marbled and just add a spoon of that to the crêpe.

TWELVE: Fold into quarters and arrange on a plate. I like to dollop more raspberry coulis and cheesecake cream on top and dust with icing sugar. Enjoy!

Cooking Tips:

Using a blender: you can be team blender or team elbow grease - I always use a blender as it's the only way to get it really smooth. But elbow grease with a whisk is also a good technique too, but it is harder to get it really smooth. The trick is that once the dry ingredients are in the bowl, add the eggs and whisk really well until as smooth as possible. Then add the milk, only once it’s as smooth as possible. That gives you the best chance of getting rid of lumps.

Non-stick pan: I would really recommend using a non-stick pan here as it means you avoid any berry crêpe mishaps.

When to flip: After 30-60 seconds, the edges should slightly curl up. Once they do that, that means they are ready to flip. The edges will be darker and slightly loosened.

Tilt the pan: Once the batter hits the pan, immediately spread the batter out with a wooden crêpe spreader or tilt the pan so that the batter spreads around evenly. If you wait too long, the berry crêpes will set and it’ll be too thick or an odd shape.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storage & Make Ahead Instructions

Other Recipes You Might Enjoy:

Try my strawberry millie crêpe cake, banana crêpes or poffertjes for more pancake recipes! For pancakes you may not have tried before, try my Pannukakku (Finnish oven pancake) or pannekaken (Norweigian crepes).

Made this recipe and loved it?

I would love love LOVE if you could leave a review in the comments…  I love hearing what you thought, any changes you made, the stories behind what made you try my recipes. Also, if you share a photo on Instagram, please tag me @desertislanddishes, it makes my day to see you making my creations!

Berry Crêpes with Cheesecake Cream

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Berry Crêpes are so delicious, and taken up a level here with a cheesecake cream filling that pairs beautifully with the berry coulis.

• Author: Margie Nomura
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: Makes 6 pancakes 1x
• Category: Pancakes
• Method: Stove
• Cuisine: British
• Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 110g plain flour
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 280ml (½ pint) milk
• extra butter for greasing the pan

For the raspberry coulis:

• 300g fresh or frozen raspberries
• About 1-2 teaspoon caster sugar, to taste
• Zest of ½ lemon and about 1 tbsp lemon juice, to taste

Optional - for the cheesecake cream:

• 175g mascarpone, softened to room temperature
• 300ml double cream
• 1 tbsp icing sugar

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Instructions

1. Make the raspberry coulis: tip the raspberries into a medium-sized saucepan. Add the caster sugar, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon water. Place over a low-medium heat and slowly bring to the boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Once simmering, reduce the heat and cook gently for about 5 minutes - or until the raspberries have softened. Remove the raspberries from the heat and add lemon juice, to taste. Adjust the sweetness, if necessary. Pour into a bowl and set aside. 
2. Optional: Make the cheesecake cream by whisking together the double cream, softened mascarpone and sugar until thickened. Set aside.
3. Simply mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the centre and crack in your eggs. Add the melted butter. Add the milk and whisk well to bring it all together. Or add all ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth. I always use a blender as it's the only way to get it really smooth.
4. Grease a nonstick frying pan with butter using a scrunched-up bit of kitchen paper. I use a ladle to get the right amount of batter in the pan, but this is a bit of trial and error. Remember that the first pancake never turns out right – it’s a scientific fact, so don’t stress and then just enjoy it as a chef’s perk.
5. Cook for 30 seconds or so without touching it, then loosen the edges and flip! Cook for another 30 seconds or so until it's a lovely colour and then slide onto a plate.
6. If you want to do these ahead of the game, just stack them up using a little greaseproof paper between each pancake to stop them sticking and then they reheat well in a low oven (around 90-100c)
7. When ready to eat, take a hot crepe and add cheesecake cream to one quarter, don't pile in the middle or it'll be hard to fold. Top with berry coulis. Fold into quarters and enjoy. I often top the folded quarters with more coulis and cream.

Notes

Scroll up for a helpful step by step guide on how to make these berry crêpes.

To store: Cool and transfer to a plate with sheets of greaseproof paper in between each one. Then clingfilm tightly and place in the fridge for 2 days. I wouldn’t store any berry crêpes with the filling and cream already in them as this makes them go soggy. The berry coulis keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for 5 days. Any leftovers are delicious on porridge! The cheesecake cream also keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days.

To reheat: Any leftover crepes can be reheated in a pan over medium-low heat. Flip over once until heated through, it shouldn’t take more than a minute or so. Otherwise, heat in the microwave in 20 second bursts until hot. Don't reheat crepes that have cream and berries already in them as the cream will melt and turn liquid.

To freeze: Cool then stack up with sheets of greaseproof paper in between each crepe. Then clingfilm the whole thing tightly and place in a freezer bag (or wrap with a final layer of foil).Place in the freezer for up to 3 months. I wouldn’t freeze any berry crêpes with the filling and cream already in them as it won't freeze well. The berry coulis can be frozen for up to 3 months. Transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag and place in freezer. Defrost at room temp until liquid again and use as desired. If you want it warm, you could also add the frozen coulis to a pan over low-medium heat with a splash of water and defrost on the hob until smooth and warm. I wouldn't freeze the cheesecake cream as it turns grainy when defrosted. 

Make ahead: You can store crepe batter in the fridge for up to 2 days in an airtight container. But I would use it in the first 24 hours when it’s at its best. You can also freeze crepe batter for up to 2 months. When ready to use, defrost overnight until it’s liquid and then give it a good whisk to bring it together. The berry coulis can be made 5 days in advance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container. I like to make the cheesecake cream fresh as I find it has the best texture. You could make it a few hours in advance though, cover and keep in the fridge until ready. Remove from fridge 30 mins before sitting down to eat so the cream loses the fridge chill.

Using a blender: you can be team blender or team elbow grease - both work well! Blender makes it super smooth and makes it super easy. But elbow grease with a whisk is also a good technique too. The trick is that once the dry ingredients are in the bowl, add the eggs and whisk really well until as smooth as possible. Then add the milk, only once it’s as smooth as possible. That gives you the best chance of getting rid of lumps.

Non-stick pan: I would really recommend using a non-stick pan here as it means you avoid any sticking mishaps.

When to flip: After 30-60 seconds, the edges should slightly curl up. Once they do that, that means they are ready to flip. The edges will be darker and slightly loosened.