Whip Up These Easy Sweet Dish Recipes from France: Crepes, Clafoutis, Pots de Crème

If you’ve slogged in the kitchen to prepare a full meal, then it has to end on a high note. A great dessert can make or break the experience, but if it’s easy to whip up, then it’s so much better. The ending of a meal is so much more than just the final course; it’s the final impression that will remain with your guests. An easy sweet dish recipe is the perfect way to end a meal on a high note without stressing yourself. Here are some quick and convenient French desserts that you can serve at your next dinner party:

Crepes

Ingredients:

• 120 ml milk
• 120 g flour 
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 50 g sugar 
• 115 g melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 tbsp oil for greasing the pan
  
  

Instructions: 

• Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
• Then add the wet ingredients - eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract - into this and mix well. 
• Heat up a pan, if you have a specialized crepe pan then use that, and grease it with some vegetable oil. 
• Ladle about 1 ½ scoops worth of the crepe batter onto the hot pan.
• Rotate the pan so that the batter can spread around.
• Immediately turn down the heat to the lowest setting and let the crepe cook completely. This should take about 1 ½ minutes. 
• Using a spatula or a chopstick, extract the crepe from the pan. 
• The crepe doesn’t need to be cooked on the other side. 
• Place the cooked crepe on a parchment paper-lined plate. 
• Repeat these steps until you run out of all the batter. 
• Serve the crepes with some whipped cream, berries, maple syrup, chocolate syrup, and dust with icing sugar. Vanilla ice cream also goes well with warm crepes.

Clafoutis

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tbsp melted butter or oil for greasing the pan
• 400 g mixed berries or cherries

For the batter:

• 50 g ground almonds
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 100 g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 259 ml double cream

Instructions:

• Heat the oven to 190 C and grease a 23 centimeter cake tin. 
• Place the mixed berries on the bottom of the tin. 
• Add all of the ingredients for the batter - ground almonds, flour, sugar, eggs and their yolks, along with the double cream in a food processor. 
• Blend until smooth then pour the batter over the berries. 
• Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the batter is fully cooked, risen, and golden brown on the top. 
• Take out from the oven, let it sit for 5 minutes, before slicing into it and serving with some whipped cream or even ice cream. 

Pots de Crème

Ingredients:

• 480 ml heavy cream
• 120 ml milk
• 140 g chopped bittersweet chocolate 
• 6 yolks
• 67 g sugar

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 162 C.
• Add heavy cream and milk into a saucepan and bring this to a boil on medium flame. 
• Once the mixture comes to a boil, take it off heat and then add the chopped chocolate into this.
• Whisk together to smoothly incorporate the chocolate. 
• In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks along with the sugar. Ensure that the sugar blends well with the yolks.
• Gradually pour the chocolate and milk liquid over the blended egg yolks, and keep whisking. 
• Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve to remove any remnants of the egg and to ensure that the liquid is smooth and silky.
• Let the custard cool down slightly.
• Divide the custard into 6 ramekins, then cover the pots with foil. 
• Place the ramekins into a baking dish, then pour water into it. 
• Put the tray into the oven and let the custard cook for about 50 to 60 minutes. The custard should be jiggly. 
• Remove the ramekins from the baking tray and the foil lid too. 
• Let the custard cool down and then refrigerate for 3 hours. 
• Serve with a dollop of whisked cream and a dusting of cocoa powder.