unforgettable chocolate-hazelnut crepes

When I’m travelling, I struggle with the question: to take pictures or not to take pictures?

Part of me wants to hold onto the scene forever, and nothing freezes and frames sentimental moments quite like photos do. But I’m also a person who loves to be completely absorbed in the moment, allowing the sentimentality of the present to embrace me so tightly that forgetting its warmth is never a concern.

In my experience, your photos can sometimes become stacked in boxes or lost in your digital archives, and though you can find them when you want them and muster the resolve to look, nothing can quite bring you back to a place like a meal you’ve had.

And thank goodness for that, because I’m very afraid of forgetting wonderful moments. I treasure them and do everything I can to ward off their impact’s dissipation. Lately, I’ve been anxious about slowly forgetting what it feels like to be in Italy. It’s been two years now since I’ve returned from a semester abroad, and while I maintain the changes it made within me, I sometimes long for a lingering thin crust meal at Premiata Pizzeria, or the thicker walking slice of pie from Garbagnati at the perfect location halfway between the Duomo and the Castello Sforzesco, a cappuccino at Café Saint George nestled between the shops of Via Torino, or the novelty of the juice box wine in the cafeteria at my collegio (dormitory).

So this last week it was important for me, and therapeutic, to try my hand at making crêpes at home. Since nearly every night after dinner in Milan sounded like the perfect time for a crêpe con Nutella from Le Colonne in the bustling and vibrant Porta Ticinese neighborhood, nothing could quench my longing for Milanese life like this divine treat.

Also, even though photos often do this work, nothing could introduce my time in Milan to my family at home like a taste of the dessert I had consumed each night with the fortitude and consistency of prayers before bed.

I borrowed and adapted a recipe for Double Chocolate Crêpes from David Lebovitz’s, The Sweet Life in Paris. I opted not to add cocoa to the crêpe batter, mainly because that’s not how I had them in Milan. I instead added a teaspoon of vanilla extract (though I would have used vanilla bean had I had any on hand). The vanilla really does come through in a subtle and luxurious way.

The star of the show is, however, Nutella.

Nutella is the kind of thing that steals the spotlight no matter who it’s standing next to. And when the glare of the bright lights causes that luxurious chocolate-hazelnut spread to melt, its celebrity increases tenfold.

I even hate to admit that crêpes are easy to make. They’re just so good and uniquely elegant that I don’t want to shatter the façade of sophistication that they sometimes tout.

In fact, the hardest part of making crêpes is in the waiting. Once you’ve melted the butter in the company of the vanilla, sugar, milk, and salt and then blended the mixture together with the flour and eggs, you allow it all to cool before chilling it in the refrigerator.

Once it has sat for at least an hour (why do you do this to me?), you must leave the batter to come to room temperature before beginning to cook. But since you actually shouldn’t make these crêpes until seconds before you’re ready to eat them, waiting might actually work out perfectly.

In that way, this is a great make-ahead dessert for anytime. Really. Anytime. It’s a must, in fact.

Since many crêpes have a fruit option, and since strawberries and chocolate go together like soul mates, I either like to fold strawberries into the crêpes or, at the very least, top the crêpes with them and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

I have a feeling that that warmth of the crêpes and the creaminess of the Nutella will work on you to create a sentimental moment. And while you may not take a snapshot like you might of the sun setting over the Mediterranean or a Rocky Mountain stream, it will certainly take hold of you and not allow you to forget the goodness of a simple and elegant dessert.

Crêpes con Nutella
Adapted from David Lebovitz’s recipe for Double-Choclate Crêpes.

2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups flour
1 jar of Nutella
Sprinkling of powdered sugar

Heat the milk, vanilla, butter, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over low to medium heat until the butter is melted.

Put the eggs and flour in a blender and pour in the milk mixture. Blend until smooth. Chill the batter for at least 1 hour.

Remove the batter from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature.

Heat a 10- to 12- inch nonstick skillet over medium to high heat with a bit of butter in it.

Once the pan is is hot, wipe the butter around. Give the batter a good stir and pour in 1/4 cup of the batter. Quickly tilt the pan so the batter spreads and covers the bottom. Cook the crêpe for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until the edges are crispy, then slide a spatula under the bottom and flip it over. Sprinkle about a tablespoon (or two) of Nutella over one half, and let cook for another minute. (Watch it, this happens quickly.)

Fold the crêpe into quarters (once in half, and then in half again), enclosing the chocolate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

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