Espresso Crepes with Ice Cream and Dark Chocolate Sauce

We are huge coffee lovers around here so this dessert appealed to me from the moment I saw it. We cheated a bit and instead of using the low-fat ice cream, that the recipe calls for, we used Starbuck's—Java Chip. It was amazing!

The espresso flavor in the crepes was not overpowering at all. The chocolate sauce although a bit thick and therefore not very "drizzleable," tied all the flavors together beautifully. This is an easy, do-ahead dessert. You can prepare the crepes and chocolate sauce beforehand and simply re-heat when ready to serve.

If your kids aren't fond of coffee ice cream (some of mine aren't), you can of course substitute vanilla. I believe that there will be no complaints about the chocolate sauce. It really is delicious! In fact, made with ingredients that are usually on-hand, this could be your new favorite chocolate sauce.

Espresso Crepes with Ice Cream and Dark Chocolate Sauce

Adapted from Cooking Light

• 1/3 cup half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 8 Espresso Crepes (see below)
• 2 cups low-fat coffee ice cream (or any coffee flavored ice cream)

Combine half-and-half and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook 3 minutes or until tiny bubbles form around edge of pan, stirring frequently (do not boil). Remove from heat. Add chocolate; stir until smooth.

Fold each crepe in half; fold in half again. Place 1 crepe on each of 8 plates. Top each serving with 1/4 cup coffee ice cream; drizzle with 4 teaspoons sauce.

Yield: 8 servings

Espresso Crepes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 2 large eggs

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, espresso powder, and salt in a small bowl. Combine milk, water, melted butter, and eggs in a blender. Add the flour mixture to milk mixture, and process until smooth. Cover batter; chill for 1 hour.

Heat an 8-inch nonstick crepe pan or skillet over medium heat. Pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into pan; quickly tilt pan in all directions so batter covers pan with a thin film. Cook about 1 minute. Carefully lift the edge of the crepe with a spatula to test for doneness. The crepe is ready to turn when it can be shaken loose from the pan and the underside is lightly browned. Turn crepe over, and cook for 30 seconds or until center is set.

Place crepe on a towel; cool completely. Repeat procedure with the remaining batter, stirring batter between crepes. Stack crepes between single layers of wax paper to prevent sticking.

Yield: 13 crepes (serving size: 1 crepe)