Vanilla Bean Crepes with Orange Marmalade Sauce

How do you celebrate your birthday? Today, I celebrated mine with CREPES! Keep reading to learn how easy they are to make.

Crepes are very easy to make and are just a little more impressive than pancakes, my other favorite breakfast food. You can make them ahead of time and store them between sheets of wax paper. Growing up, when my mother knew we were going to have company, she would make a bunch of crepes, wrap them around a browned breakfast sausage link and place them in a 9- x 13- inch baking pan (coated with cooking spray). She them froze them until she needed them (up to a month would be just fine). Then all you do is pop them in a 350º oven until they're hot, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Today's version I added a little something special to the batter...ground Tahitian vanilla bean. If you haven't tried it you really need to. It's a great way to add real vanilla flavor without the expense of whole vanilla beans. Plus you get those little brown seeds in your dish just like you would if you scraped a vanilla bean.

Vanilla Bean Crepes with Orange Marmalade Sauce
Be sure to not skip the resting step. It will take at least 30 minutes for the gluten (the protein in flour) to relax. You can even make the batter the night before and store it in your refrigerator.

1/2 cup unflavored almond milk
2 large eggs
2 ounces all-purpose flour (1/2 cup)
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground Tahitian vanilla bean
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup orange liqueur

I'm a huge orange marmalade fan and a friend of mine brought back a jar of one of the best ones I've ever tasted. It's the Old English Hunt Marmalade from Fortnum & Mason in London.

Whisk together first 6 ingredients in a small bowl just until smooth. Set batter aside at least 30 minutes or refrigerate overnight.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray and pour 2 to 3 tablespoons batter into the center of the pan. Swirl the batter around to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Cook 20 to 30 seconds, just until the batter is almost set on top, and then flip. Cook 10 seconds and then slide crepe onto plate. Fold in half horizontally and then in half vertically to form a triangle. Repeat with remaining batter.

After crepes are made, add marmalade and liqueur to pan and stir to combine. When fully melted, pour over crepes and serve immediately.