Passion Fruit Crêpes Soufflé
You absolutely read the title of this post right. It’s not a crêpe, it’s not a soufflé – it’s a combination of the two. And this might be the best dessert you’ll have all year. This fantastic recipe came all the way from Claude Troisgros restaurant in Rio de Janeiro (the son of the famed Pierre Troisgros in France) and also served by Laurent Tourondel at BLT restaurants in the US. It may look simple, but there’s more than meets the eye.
The crêpe part is a batter made with hot milk beaten into egg yolks to gently cook them, with just enough flour added to add structure. The egg whites are beaten with sugar separately and folded into the batter. The batter is then poured into a hot skillet like a crêpe, and cooked just long enough to get some color on the bottom. The skillet is placed in a hot oven, which, in turn, puffs the crêpe up like a soufflé. It’s so magic it will mess with your mind!
The crêpe soufflé is then removed from the oven and filled with a Tahitian-vanilla pastry cream before it’s folded over. It’s topped with sugar and caramelized with a blowtorch to add a little crunch and served with a passion fruit sauce made with caramel, passion fruit puree, fresh passion fruit and glorious butter for richness. It’s a simple, elegant dessert that you’re likely to make over and over again. Don’t forget to invite me!
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Passion Fruit Crêpes Soufflé
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- Adapted from Claude Troisgros & Laurent Tourondel
- Serves 6 to 8
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For the pastry cream:
- 2 cups milk
- 1 Tahitian vanilla bean, split and scraped out
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
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For the passion fruit sauce:
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2/3 cup passion fruit puree
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 fresh passion fruits, halved
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For the crêpes soufflé:
- 3 cups milk
- 8 tablespoons butter + more for cooking the crepes
- 12 eggs separated
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar, for caramelizing
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
- mint leaves for garnish
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For the pastry cream:
- In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, vanilla bean and seeds and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile in a bowl, mix together the yolks, sugar and cornstarch. Whisking constantly, pour the hot milk over the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream until smooth and well blended. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and place it over high heat. Stir constantly with a whisk and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes until thickened and smooth. Pour the pastry cream into a bowl, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until cold.
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For the passion fruit sauce:
- In a small pot, cook the sugar and water until light amber caramel in color. Stir in the passion fruit puree and cook for 2 minutes more. Just before serving, whisk in the butter until smooth. Scoop out the fresh passion fruits pulp and seeds and stir them into the sauce. Keep warm.
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For the crêpes soufflé:
- Preheat the oven to 375’F.
- In a saucepan, bring the milk and 8 tablespoons butter to a boil. In a mixer bowl, beat the egg yolks and 6 tablespoons of the sugar on high speed for 30 seconds. Add the flour and beat on high for 2 minutes, until creamy. Slowly pour the boiling milk and stir until blended.
- In a clean mixer bowl, beat the egg whites until very thick and foamy. Slowly add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar, beating until the egg whites form peaks when the beaters are lifted.
- With a rubber spatula, gently fold the beaten whites into the egg yolk/milk mixture, folding it well from top to bottom.
- Warm a 10 inch ovenproof pan with some butter over medium heat until the pan is greased. Ladle 1 cup of the batter evenly into the saute pan and cook for 10 to 20 seconds. Transfer the pan to the oven for 3 minutes or until puffed and set.
- Place a large sheet of wax paper on a baking tray. Carefully slide the crepe onto the waxed paper with the browned side facing down (the top side would stick). While still hot, place a tablespoon or two of vanilla pastry cream in the center of the crêpe and fold in half. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
- When ready to serve warm up the crêpes in the oven for 4 minutes (or 20 seconds in the microwave). Sprinkle some granulated sugar on top and brown lightly with a blowtorch. Spoon some passion fruit sauce around and over the crêpes soufflé, dust with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with a mint julienne.
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