The strawberry’s big night out

Dear SOS: I went to the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana to view one of their exhibits and had a most enjoyable lunch at its Tangata restaurant. I think of the wonderful crepes filled with cream cheese and covered with a strawberry sauce that I had while dining on their outdoor patio.

Can you please obtain that recipe for all to enjoy?

Helen C. Norkon

Culver City

Dear Helen: These crepes were created by Tangata chef Chris Robbins. Our tasters were enthusiastic about the delicious cheese and strawberry combination. The recipe has several steps, but none are too time-consuming.

Total time: 1 hour

Servings: 4 (makes 12 crepes)

Crepes

1/2 cup flour

1 pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons butter

1 egg

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, salt and sugar together.

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until it just begins to brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the egg into the milk and add to the dry ingredients. Quickly fold in the cooled butter.

4. Heat an 8-inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Drop a spoonful of the crepe batter in to test the temperature. It should cook quickly all the way through with the crepe golden brown on the pan-side only. Using a 2-ounce ladle or one-eighth-cup measure, make the crepes by pouring the batter into the pan and allowing it to cook until golden brown underneath. Do not flip. Remove them from the pan and stack on a plate as you go, separating each with a piece of waxed or parchment paper.

Cheese filling

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 large vanilla bean

10ounces (1 1/4 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup (1 8-ounce package) mascarpone

1 tablespoon sugar, or more to taste

1 egg

1. In a small, chilled bowl, using a small hand mixer or wire whisk, whip the cream until stiff.

2. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into a medium bowl. Add the cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar and egg and beat together until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream.

*

Strawberry sauce

2 cups chopped strawberries

1 tablespoon sugar, or more to taste

4 tablespoons water

1. Place the strawberries, sugar and water in a saucepan and cook on medium heat until the berries have broken down and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 8 minutes.

2. Remove from the heat and blend with a hand blender until smooth, about 2 minutes, or process in a food processor.

Assembly

12 crepes

Cheese filling

Strawberry sauce

Whipped cream

1/2 cup diced strawberries

Fresh mint

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Lay each crepe flat with the browned side down. Spoon an equal amount of cheese filling down the center of each. Roll up the crepes and place seam-side down in a nonstick baking pan.

2. Bake the crepes until heated through, about 4 to 5 minutes.

3. To serve, place 3 crepes on each plate. Surround with strawberry sauce and top with whipped cream. Garnish with diced strawberries and mint sprigs.

Each serving: 951 calories; 20 grams protein; 34 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 84 grams fat; 48 grams saturated fat; 347 mg. cholesterol; 370 mg. sodium.