Grain Free Dessert and Breakfast Crepes

Let’s talk about store-bought, gluten free products for just a sec.  When I first went gluten free I mostly avoided all grains, but when I’d cave and have commercial gluten free versions of breads and pastries two things would happen:  one, I’d kinda gag, and two, I’d kind of freak out about all the starches they used.  But mostly gag.  Commercial gluten free tortillas taste like cardboard…cardboard that’s been peed on, lived under an overpass, run over by a car and then left in the sun to dry.  Store-bought gluten free bread tastes like that same abused cardboard, but put through a wood chipper and then smashed back together with glue and sand.  (Looking at you, Udi’s.)

Yummmm.  I’ll pass.

And this concludes my review of standard commercial gluten free foods.  Now let’s talk about alternatives that actually taste – and perform – like the real shebang.

As I’ve said a few times here, I opted to make it all myself and there’ve been lots of experiments.   The staff at my girls’ school is welcome.  I won’t settle for anything less than awesome so that’s what I publish.  I still use gluten free grains occasionally depending on what I’m making, but I’m always looking for alternatives.  I’ve tried to love coconut flour, and I just can’t.  It’s fine if it’s one of the flours within a recipe, otherwise it just seems to fall apart. Enter cassava, and these crepes.

Cassava is the ground whole root of the yuca plant.  Tapioca is derived from the same root but it doesn’t have the nutritional profile of cassava, and cassava has a much lower glycemic index than tapioca.  Basically, tapioca is the extracted starch from the root, whereas cassava is the whole ground root, containing many vital nutrients, and considered a resistant starch.  It can often be substituted for wheat flour in equal amounts and has no funky taste, but it’s not known for its rising properties.  This makes it very well suited for baked goods such as tortillas, wraps, crepes and even gravy.  Pasta is next on my experimental list so BOLO for that soon!

This ingredient is optional, but to make these even better, I was able to substitute some of the cassava for Kfibre.  It is an unparalleled ingredient in gluten free baked goods in my opinion, and makes for a perfect crust, dough, bread, crepe, tortilla…look at it!  If you don’t have Kfibre on hand, just use 2/3 cup cassava as your only flour.  And then order some Kfibre.

High in fiber and dense in nutrients, Kfibre has the magical ability to bind gluten free flours and often completely eliminate the need for gum binders.  You can read more about Kfibre here and here.  You can find more information from them and order directly from their site.

Crepes!

 

These crepes can be easily altered to be a base for either a sweet or savory dish – if you’d like to use them for a savory dish, just leave out the sweetener.  If you’re new to crepe making, it might take a few tries before they don’t fold or buckle when flipping, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I’ve made these as breakfast or dessert crepes, I’ve filled them with a sweet-tart whipped cheese and a few different compotes, often drizzling with a coulis.  Banana compote seems to be the biggest hit, but my favorite is the blueberry crepe…or the peach.  I can’t decide.

 

If you want to make a cheese filling for this you can use organic cream cheese, or my preference – a soft, creamy goat.  It still has the same tangy bite and consistency, but without the inflammatory properties of most cow-based dairy.  To fill 6 crepes, use about a half cup of the cheese and sweeten it with whatever you prefer.  Stevia and Pure Monk are great options for refined sugar-free fillings.  Conversely, if you prefer to use them as a savory crepe, goat cheese, sauteed spinach and jalapenos are soooooooooooo good as a filling!

 

These are SUPER easy and quick to make.  Let me know how you like them!