DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
TROPICAL FRUIT: Place butter in large nonstick skillet. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean and stir over medium-high heat until butter melts. Add pineapple, sugar, and coarse salt; stir until sugar dissolves and pineapple and pan juices are lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Remove from heat.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 300°F. Place crepe stack (with paper towels between crepes) on rimmed baking sheet. Cover baking sheet with foil. Warm crepes in oven until heated through, about 15 minutes. Place rum butter sauce in small saucepan; heat over medium heat until melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. Rewarm pineapple mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Stir in papaya and mango. Remove vanilla bean.
Place 1 crepe on plate, browned side down; spoon 2 teaspoons rum butter sauce over, then fold crepe into quarters. Repeat with 2 more crepes on same plate. Spoon tropical fruit over. Repeat with remaining crepes, rum butter sauce, and tropical fruit, placing 3 crepes on each of 6 plates. Spoon any remaining rum butter sauce over crepes and serve.
For a tasty twist, serve the crepes with caramel sauce instead of chocolate sauce (such as the one on page 503) and sprinkle them with toasted pecans. Since this recipe makes extra crepes, cool and stack any leftovers, separating them with sheets of plastic wrap and storing them in the refrigerator in a resealable plastic bag. The next day, just rewarm the crepes in the microwave and serve them with jam or maple syrup for breakfast. 6 servings
1½ cups whole milk
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for brushingBrown Sugar Pears (see recipe)Vanilla ice creamChocolate Sauce (see recipe)
Combine milk, flour, eggs, sugar, and salt in blender. Blend until smooth, occasionally scraping down sides of blender, about 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon melted butter; blend 30 seconds. Cover and chill crepe batter in blender at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. Reblend batter 5 seconds.
Heat 10-inch-diameter nonstick skillet with 8-inch-diameter bottom over medium-high heat. Brush with melted butter. Pour ¼ cup batter into skillet, tilting skillet quickly to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top of crepe appears dry and bottom is golden, loosening edges of crepe with heatproof spatula, about 45 seconds. Turn crepe over; cook until brown spots appear on bottom, about 30 seconds. Transfer to plate. Top with plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing skillet with more butter as needed and layering cooked crepes between sheets of plastic wrap.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic; chill.
Preheat broiler. Line baking sheet with foil; brush with melted butter. Place 1 crepe on prepared baking sheet. Place 3 slices of warm Brown Sugar Pears side by side on 1 quarter of crepe, allowing pear slices to extend slightly over edge of crepe. Fold crepe in half over pear slices. Place 3 more pear slices on crepe above first 3 slices. Fold crepe in half over pears, forming triangle shape. Repeat with 5 crepes and pear slices. Brush crepes with some of pear syrup.
Broil crepes just until heated through and golden, watching closely to avoid burning, about 1½ minutes. Transfer to plates. Arrange any remaining pear slices atop crepes. Spoon pear syrup over. Place scoop of ice cream alongside. Drizzle with warm Chocolate Sauce. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.
Brown sugar is simply white sugar with molasses. The enriched sugar lends caramel-like notes to sautéed pears. Dark brown sugar can be substituted for golden brown sugar, if desired, for a more intense flavor. 6 servings
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
½ cup (packed) golden brown sugar
4 large firm but ripe pears (about 1½ pounds), peeled, halved, cored, each half cut lengthwise into 6 slices
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar; stir 1 minute. Add pear slices and lemon juice; cook until pears begin to release juices and syrup forms in skillet, turning pear slices frequently, about 3 minutes.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm before using.
This sauce is delicious and easy to make. Keep it simple for the crepes and pears, but when serving the sauce with vanilla ice cream, add your own spin. Dissolve a little espresso powder in the half and half to make a mocha chocolate sauce, or add peppermint extract. Makes about 1¾ cups
1 cup half and half
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
Bring half and half and butter to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm over low heat before serving.
Also known as a Dutch Baby, this is as delicious for breakfast as it is for dessert. The soufflé-like pancake puffs up impressively, so make sure your guests see it before you cut into it. 4 servings
1 pound small strawberries, hulled, sliced (about 1⅔ cups)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
3 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup unbleached all purpose flourPinch of saltAdditional powdered sugarLemon wedges
Preheat oven to 450°F. Stir strawberries and powdered sugar in medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature while preparing pancake.
Melt butter in 10-inch-diameter ovenproof skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat, swirling to coat bottom and sides of skillet. Blend milk and eggs in blender until smooth. Add flour and salt; blend batter just until incorporated. Pour batter into hot skillet.
Transfer skillet to oven and bake pancake until puffed and golden in spots, about 11 minutes.
Immediately cut pancake into quarters. Transfer 1 wedge to each of 4 plates. Spoon strawberries on top, dust with additional powdered sugar, garnish with lemon wedges, and serve.
A sweet, cheesy filling with caramelized pears is encased in crepes, then smothered in a buttery maple sauce for a truly satisfying dessert or a decadent breakfast or brunch. Although there are a few components to assemble, they aren’t difficult to make and each can be done in advance. Firm Bosc pears are the ideal choice for this recipe, because they hold their shape well when sautéed and baked. 8 to 10 servings
Maple Butter Sauce