Crepas con Cajeta

Candied Walnuts

1 cup walnut halves
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-size bowl combine all ingredients with 2 tablespoons water and toss or stir until nuts are well coated. Spread nuts on a cookie sheet lined with foil and bake until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. You do not need to stir or turn. Let cool, then roughly chop; set aside.

Cajeta

4 cups goat’s milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine milk and sugar in an 8-quart pot (don’t use a small pot or milk will boil over at a later stage) and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

While milk is heating, in a small bowl mix baking soda with 2 tablespoons water. When milk is boiling, add baking soda mixture. Reduce heat and stir vigorously with a spoon to deflate milk suds.

Lower heat and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, until it is reduced to the consistency of heavy cream, a little more than an hour. Mix in liqueur and vanilla, stirring for a minute or two to combine thoroughly and allow alcohol to evaporate. Serve warm or at room temperature; refrigerate if not using immediately. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Crêpes

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature (so it won’t cook eggs)
4 eggs
3 cups milk
pinch salt

In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, mix all ingredients until smooth.

Heat a 10-inch, nonstick sauté pan over high heat. (If using a regular pan, spray with cooking oil before cooking each crêpe. If using a smaller pan, use less batter for each crêpe.) Pour approximately 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of batter on one side of pan and quickly swirl pan until surface is covered with batter. Cook crêpe until edges are brown, about 45 seconds, then flip with a spatula and brown other side. Slide cooked crêpe onto a plate and keep warm until ready to use. (When finished, cover the stack with a clean cotton cloth to absorb any steam and top with an upside-down plate; if you wish, you can put a paper towel on top of each crêpe as you add it to the stack.) Makes about 1 quart batter or 16 crêpes.

To serve, fold 3 crêpes into triangles and arrange on a plate. Top each crêpe with 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) cajeta and sprinkle with candied walnuts. Serves about 5.