Gateau de Crepes a la Florentine

Translation: Mound of French Pancakes Filled with Cream Cheese, Spinach, and Mushrooms

The first thing I did upon opening Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking on Christmas day was flip to the chapter marked Crepes. I had enjoyed these delicious French pancakes many times at The Flat on The Downtown Mall, and I was eager to try them for my self. A few months later on my birthday, my mom got me an official crepe pan. Ever since then, I have been experimenting will all sorts of dessert crepe fillings. However, this is one of the first times that I have tried making dinner crepes. Although more challenging, they proved to be delicious! This recipe consists of three components: a spinach filling, a cheese sauce, and a mushroom-cheese filling.

The Crepe Batter 

The batter consists of water, milk, four eggs, salt, flour, and melted butter. I just used a blender to mix the ingredients because it saves dishes and it makes it easier to mix. After the ingredients were mixed, I put it in the refrigerator for about an hour (or just while I was making the fillings).

Cheese Sauce: Step 1

In a sauce pan, I melted butter in with flour, forming an interesting consistency.

Cheese Sauce: Step 2 

After the Butter and flour were fully combined, I added the rest of the ingredients: Milk, nutmeg, whipping cream, swiss cheese, and salt and pepper. The mixture was rather thick and flavorful.

The Spinach Filling 

For the spinach filling, I started by sautéing minced shallots, spinach, and salt in butter . After the spinach had wilted, I added a few spoonfuls of the cheese sauce.

Mushroom-Cheese Filling 

The mushroom-cheese filling consisted of cream cheese, an egg, minced shallots, butter, oil, minced mushrooms, salt, pepper, and some of the cheese mixture. First, I beat the cream cheese in with the egg, salt, and pepper. Once this was smooth, I added the rest of the ingredients.

Crepe making: Step 1

The first thing to do was to coat the bottom of the pan with a substantial amount of butter, and let it heat until a stream of smoke ascended from the surface of the iron into the emptiness of the room, vanishing. After this, using a ladle, I added a somewhat generous amount of batter, immediately tilting the pan in every direction in order to facilitate an even distribution. Very carefully, I flipped the thin pancake (failing many times), repeating this process until the batter was no more.

Crepe making: Step 2 

Once the Crepe lay flat on a plate, I started forming them into their final product. I began with the mushroom-cheese sauce, evenly spreading it onto the right side. After that, I added a little of the cheese sauce, and finally, the spinach.

Finished Product 

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I chose this recipe. Most of the crepes that I'd had in the past were sweet. However, these were, without a doubt, absolutely exquisite! The three flavors, although very different, form this unity that is indescribable. Yet, at the same time, each flavor is very prominently displayed. The cheese sauce (present in all three fillings) unifies the components of this impeccable creation. I definitely recommend this recipe to anyone looking for both a delicious meal, and a bit of a challenge.