Baked Austrian Crêpes with Apricot Caramel Sauce
Overview: First make the crepes and the filling, then assemble the crêpes and place in dish, whisk together custard sauce, pour over the crêpes, then bake.
- Prep Time: 1 1/2 to 2 hours
- Cook Time: 35 to 40 minutes
- Total Time: 2 1/2 hours plus chill
- Yield: 12 to 14 servings 1x
- Category: Desserts Crepes
- Cuisine: Austrian
Ingredients
To assemble the Austrian Crêpes:
- 18 to 25 crêpes, from this recipe for crepes
- filling, below
Filling:
- 1/2 cup dried currants, dried cranberries, or dried cherries
- 1 cup boiling-hot water
- two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup apricot jam
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Custard Sauce:
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk
Finish and accompaniment:
- confectioners’ sugar for dusting
- recipe for apricot caramel sauce
Instructions
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly butter a 14-inch-long oval gratin dish or another 2 1/2-quart shallow baking dish.
For the Filling:
In a small heat-proof bowl plump fruit in boiling-hot water for 15 minutes. Strain and pat dry between paper towels.
In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add sugar to whites and beat until it holds stiff peaks.
In a food processor or in a bowl with an electric mixer, blend together well the cream cheese, jam, yolks, zest, and vanilla. Fold the cream cheese mixture into the egg whites gently but thoroughly, and fold in the plumped fruit.
Assemble the Austrian Crêpes:
Working with 1 crêpe at a time, spread about 2 tablespoons filling down the center of each crêpe. Fold in half over the filling, and roll from the center. Gently pat to make sure filling is distributed throughout the length of the crêpe.
With a sharp knife, cut crêpes on a diagonal in half and arrange vertically, cut side up, overlapping slightly. Crêpes may be prepared up to this point 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered. Bring crêpes to room temperature before proceeding.
Custard Sauce:
In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, and milk, and pour over the stacked crêpes, letting custard seep between layers. If necessary, depending on how tightly packed, nudge the crepes just a bit to allow the custard to seep through.
Baking:
Bake the dish in the middle of the oven 35 to 40 minutes, or until puffed and the custard is softly set. Watch carefully as this varies quite a bit with different pans and ovens.
Have a piece of foil ready to gently lay over the top of the crêpes once they’ve turned golden brown, as the tips may easily burn. Cool to warm before serving.
Finish and accompaniment:
Dust crêpes with confectioners’ sugar and serve with apricot caramel sauce.
Note: save the drained off liquid from the dried fruit & mix it with any of the carbonated water leftover from the crepes for a fun, fizzy, fruit-flavored carbonated water.