Recipe: Cream Cheese-Filled Masa Harina Crepes with Blueberry-Cranberry Compote (Vegan)

 

Chocolate chip cookies were an accident, as were potato chips. Both were lovely things stumbled upon when something didn't go according to plan. Well, here's my own happy accident: These masa harina crepes filled with sweetened cream cheese and topped with blueberry-cranberry compote. The flavors are delightful together, and I feel pleased, too, that they are rooted in foods indigenous to North America. I always get excited when I can have a North American-centric meal (although there are still ingredients here, to be sure, that are not North American in origin, like wheat).

I was setting out to make masa harina pancakes, but my batter was way too thin because I absent-mindedly put in twice as much soy milk as I had planned. (I was actually trying to work out a vegan version of masa harina pancakes, because I couldn't find a recipe for them, and I thought this could be one of my contributions to the world.) Oh, well; waste not, want not, right? So I went in a slightly different direction, and it worked out gloriously.

As crepes go, these may be a bit thick; if they're thicker than you want, just add a bit more water to your batter. Or just eat them as they are and call it a day, because they're still delicious either way, and I personally found the thin pancake-style crepe just to my liking. But these are not like French crepes, so they won't be that paper thin kind; they're just thin enough to fold like this without ripping. This may be more of a loose interpretation of a crepe than proper crepes, but hey, we make our own rules around here.

The cream cheese filling is totally optional, but I think it really elevates things. You do you, though. Use what you've got.

In the interest of full disclosure, I took inspiration here from the following recipes:

No Fuss Blueberry Cranberry Sauce from The Wanderlust Kitchen
Simple Vegan Pancakes from Nora Cooks
Mixed Berry Cream Cheese Crepes from Whole and Heavenly Oven
Masa Harina Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce from King Arthur Flour

I cut things down, mixed a few things up, cooked some things differently, and ended up here, with something vegan, unusual, and delicious. 

Cream Cheese-Filled Masa Harina Crepes with Blueberry-Cranberry Compote
Yield: About 5 Crepes with Filling and Topping

For the Blueberry-Cranberry Compote:

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
1 cup fresh whole cranberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
A pinch of lemon zest
A pinch of cinnamon

For the Cream Cheese Filling:

4 oz. vegan cream cheese (I used Miyokos)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice (or more to taste)

For the Masa Harina Crepes:

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons masa harina
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup soy milk (or other plant-based milk)
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon canola oil
Some vegan butter or coconut oil, for cooking


1. First prepare your compote. Mix sugar and water together in a medium to large saucepan and bring to a boil, then add remaining compote ingredients. Lower heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the berries have burst and the mixture is thickened, about 30-45 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prepare your filling and crepes. For the filling, using a hand-held mixer or a fork, blend the cream cheese and powdered sugar until no lumps remain. Add lemon juice and mix again until creamy. Taste and add more lemon juice if needed.

3. Prepare your crepe batter by first whisking together flour, masa harina, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add soy milk, water, and oil and stir with a large spoon just until incorporated. A few small lumps may remain, and this is fine. Set aside.

4. Heat a cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Melt a bit of coconut oil or vegan butter in it before cooking each crepe. When the skillet is heated, use a measuring cup to ladle 1/3 cup crepe batter in and cook until bubbles form and stay (rather than popping), usually just a few minutes. Carefully run a spatula underneath the crepe to loosen, then flip and cook until set. Transfer each crepe to a plate and add more coconut oil or vegan butter before adding the next 1/3 cup of batter. Continue until all crepes are cooked.

5. To serve, add about a tablespoon of the cream cheese filling to the center of a crepe, then fold into quarters. Arrange crepes on a plate and top with blueberry-cranberry compote. Enjoy!