Almond Milk Crepes with Coconut Milk and Honey Caramel Sauce...no dairy or refined sugar!

Ever since we returned from Paris I have been dreaming of making crepes.  Then I remembered I had a crepe maker from my college days...some friends gave it to me and I totally forgot I had it until now!  

While we were in Paris we had a caramel and sea salt crepe so I wanted to attempt to make it without milk and without sugar.  Figured there were recipes for such things online...and I figured right!  The caramel was the real surprise here, so sweet and delicious!  Maybe even a little too sweet.  Next time I make these I think I will saute some fresh apples to give it a little more earthiness and texture, and maybe cut down on the sweetness of the caramel a little.  

Almond Milk Crepes
originally found here
1 cup almond milk
3 eggs
1¼ cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
¼ cup water
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth
Transfer mixture into bowl and let rest on counter for one hour. (I skipped this step and they turned out fine)
Heat skillet on medium-high heat. Spray with oil (I used Coconut Oil Spray). With a ladle, swirl 2-3 tablespoons of batter onto skillet while tilting the pan in a circular motion, allowing batter to cover the surface evenly. Cook for 20-30 seconds on first side, flip crepe over and continue to cook for 10-20 seconds more until crepe is light golden. Turn crepe out onto a clean surface. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Coconut Milk and Honey Caramel Sauce

Originally found here, this is the adapted version.

1 can full fat coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups) 

1/2 cup honey

1 tablespoons ghee, I used butter (but you can probably use coconut oil too)

1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine all ingredients and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Mix until combined and butter is melted.

Continue to lightly boil undisturbed, anywhere from 20-30 minutes (sometimes more depending on how much you are making) or until it reaches a nice golden amber color and about 245-250 degrees on a candy thermometer*.

Toward the end of cooking, stir often to keep any of caramel from burning on the bottom of the pan, but also to incorporate the small amount that is burning into the caramel. This gives it that lovely burnt sugar flavor and color that we associate with caramel.

Cooking times vary significantly depending on the width and thickness of your pot, stove, heat and batch size. Just roll with the nature of candy making. Color and smell is the key. 

Remove from heat and allow to cool 10-15 minutes.  Makes about 1 cup.