Nutella Pop Tarts

While I'm happy to say that Miss A has never had an actual packaged Pop Tart, she has enjoyed a yummy homemade one. Thanks to Pinterest, I got the idea to make these and thought it would be a fun treat for the kids.  

After making the pastry, they were really quite easy. You just have to be a bit careful putting the pieces of pastry together so they don't tear. 

After you roll out the pastry, you cut out the rectangles, place a dollop of Nutella on each square and then transfer a second square to the top. 

I sealed the edges with a little egg and the tines of a fork, brushed them with an egg wash and sprinkles cinnamon and sugar on top. 

While they weren't perfect, they turned out nicely for a first try and were oh so yummy. 

A grown up pop tart for breakfast. Yes, please. 

Nutella Filled Donuts

I LOVE Nutella. I've always looked at it as a breakfast treat and especially like it paired with banana...like Nutella on toast with sliced banana and Nutella and banana crepes. When I saw a post on the Tartelette blog with a recipe for donuts filled with Nutella I knew I had to try them. I had a lot of family visiting this past weekend, so while we enjoyed yogurt parfaits with the lemon curd I made last week, I attempted to make these donuts.

Nutella is quite thick, so I stirred it up in a dish before putting it in the piping bag. I also prepped everything - a plate to put the donuts after they were fried (which I lined with paper towel), a piping bag with Nutella and a sifter with powdered sugar to sprinkle on the fresh donuts.

The batter was delicious made with whole milk ricotta. I found it difficult to keep the temperature steady to fry the donuts, so the first few batches seemed to fry to quickly on the outside before completely cooking the inside. But, I got it down after a while and ended up with pretty golden donuts that were filled with Nutella and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside and oozing with warm Nutella....then washed down with a strong cup of coffee.

Crepes

When I went to school in England, we had several trips to France for field trips to complement our studies. One of my courses was art history and we were lucky enough to have a field trip to Paris visit the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay and see all the beautiful paintings we were studying. One of my favourite things about walking around Paris were all the crepe stands. I remember one time in particular when my friends and I were on our way to take a boat ride on the River Seine and stopped at one of the crepe huts. I ordered a Nutella and banana crepe and it is one of my favourite combinations to this day. Crepes have become quite popular in the U.S. as well and many restaurants focusing on crepes have opened (Creperies). This nice light pancake is not only good with sweet fillings, but great on its own or with savoury fillings for lunch or dinner. I love them filled with melted cheese and sauteed mushrooms. Many pancake house chains serve them, but they tend to be made too thick (more like a traditional pancake) and often have too much cream cheese type fillings. I think they call them blintzes. You can usually ask for them plain, but you might as well leave them to what they do best - traditional pancakes - and make the real crepes at home.

It's a nice creamy batter and it is best to let it rest after you mix it for the flour to absorb as much moisture as possible. I usually make it the night before, leave it in the refrigerator overnight in a bowl wrapped in plastic and then make them for breakfast the next morning.

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You don't need one, but I have a special crepe pan that is non-stick and has low edges and works perfectly to make a 6 inch crepe. Most recipes tell you to measure out a 1/4 or 1/3 cup of batter, but I find it easiest to use a ladle and pour it in the pan and then move the pan around to spread the batter for a nice thin crepe. They cook very quickly and turn easier (much easier than our traditional cakey pancakes).

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Now for preparing them to eat.... I usually never use maple syrup with these, but you could. My mum's favourite is to sprinkle them with powdered sugar and have a some fresh squeezed lemon on them. My favourite is much more rich, but I love a light spreading of Nutella on the inside with sliced fresh banana. Bon Appetit! Next, I want to try to make a yummy dessert made of crepes.