Black Sesame Seed Crepes

Directions

• To make the paste, place the toasted black sesame seeds in a blender / grinder and pulse few times for about 20-40 seconds. If your blender is not too powerful, you can help it by adding a spoon or so of water. Depending on how powerful your blender is, you will get the mixture resembling paste or powder (either way will work.)
• Combine the mixture with 1 and 1/2 cups of warm water, and whisk to slightly combine.
• Sift the flour and add the sugar and salt into a large bowl. Gradually add the milk and sesame seed mixture, constantly mixing with a wire whisk, until homogeneous.
• Incorporate the eggs, one at a time, whisking.
• Add the melted butter, whisk.
• Refrigerate the batter for at least 30-40 minutes (preferably 1 to 2 hours). Once chilled, the batter will thicken up (sesame seeds also works as a thickening agent), so you will need to adjust its consistency by adding a spoon or so of water or milk.
• Preheat the crepe pan over low-medium heat; it should be hot enough. Slightly grease it with oil or butter.
• Pour enough batter to thinly coat the base and tilt the pan to create an even thickness (for a 9 inch pan about 1/4 cup of batter will be enough.) Cook until the top of the crepe is no longer wet and the bottom has turned light brown and edges are crisp and lacy, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook for another minute or so. Adjust the heat as needed. One side will be more browned while the other one – grey/black.
• PRO-TIPS: first one or two crepes are the “test crepes”. They might not turn well, and that’s perfectly normal. If you struggle with flipping a crepe, it could mean you need to grease the pan more generously or preheat the pan a bit longer. It is also the time when you check out the batter consistency and can adjust it (by adding about 1/2 tbsp. of flour or 1-2 tbsp. of water or milk. However, as black sesame seeds also work here as a thickening agent, you will likely need more liquid.) If crepes keep breaking, you can whisk in another egg – it will help make them more elastic; this also mean you should play with the heat settings – they may need lower/higher temperature. Also, try the first “test” crepe and add more salt or sugar, if necessary.
• Transfer a baked crepe on a plate and repeat with the remaining batter. Depending on your pan size and thickness of the batter, this amount of batter will yield 7 to 9crepes. Enjoy plain, with sweet or savoury toppings.