Is this the perfect Mother’s Day breakfast?

Crepes aren’t meant to be eaten alone, but they also shouldn’t be overpowered by their accouterments. More than cradles for Nutella and banana, they can — should — be delicious in their own right, subtle and tender with just the right chew. The best way to achieve that is by making them at home.

You don’t need a crepe pan and tiny rounded rake to flatten the batter into beauties; you just need a nonstick skillet (or extremely well-seasoned cast-iron or steel pan) and a smart setup. They’re easy enough for breakfast any time but are especially lovely on Mother’s Day, because they don’t need to be served piping hot and look elegant whether they’re stacked, rolled or folded. They can even be scrunched into free-form flowers.

Coconut crepes with Pandan cream (Photo: Pexels)

To make the process feel relaxing, set up a little assembly line with the skillet; the batter in a cup with a spout or in a bowl with a ladle, an ice cream scoop or dry measuring cup; a bottle of oil with a pastry brush or paper towel; a silicone spatula; and a plate for finished crepes.

Once the pan is hot, lightly coat it with oil. As soon as you pour in batter, lift the skillet and quickly rotate your wrist in circles, as if stretching, to spread the batter into a thin round. Set the skillet back down and, when the crepe’s edges brown, nudge them away from the pan and slip the spatula under to flip the whole thing. Once you see golden spots on the bottom, you can slide the crepe onto the plate. It takes practice to form a nice circle, but even a slightly thicker Rorschach splotch tastes good.

To make swirling easier, I developed a batter that’s quite thin, with just a little more swish than heavy cream. It follows the basic formula of flour, milk and egg, but instead of using butter or oil as the fat, it includes the solid white cream that rafts above coconut milk in the can. Just a spoonful helps toast the sizzling batter, giving the edges a crackle and the whole thing a nutty note. It also scents the crepes with a tropical aroma that takes you somewhere beautiful.

That fragrance extends to the accompanying whipped cream, which includes the rest of the coconut cream and pandan extract. Glossy pandan leaves, long and tapered like a sword’s spear, combine a floral sweetness with a grassy edge and are used throughout Southeast Asia in sweets, tinting them shades of green.

My inspiration for the topping came from Diane Moua, chef and owner of Diane’s Place in Minneapolis, who pipes coconut-pandan diplomat cream into croissants for a spectacular pastry.

“Pandan in Asia is basically vanilla,” Moua said. “In the Hmong community, we use pandan in almost all desserts.”

Even though she starts her pastry cream with fresh leaves, she still adds a few drops of the extract for its color and to meet the expectations of moms and aunties who grew up on extract-flavored desserts. Moua explained that coconut brings out the subdued bouquet of pandan, and that pair is streamlined into my simply whipped cream.

It’s so airy it seems to hover over the crepes, not smothering them but lifting them to match their true form.

Recipe: Coconut Crepes With Pandan Cream

A spoonful of coconut cream scents these crepes with a tropical aroma that takes you somewhere beautiful. It also helps toast the sizzling batter, giving the edges a crackle and the whole thing a nutty note. To make swirling the batter into thin rounds even easier, this blend is quite thin, with just a little more swish than heavy cream. Coconut’s fragrance extends to the accompanying whipped cream, which also includes pandan extract (see Tip). Inspiration for this crepe’s topping came from Diane Moua, chef and owner of Diane’s Place in Minneapolis, who pipes coconut-pandan diplomat cream into croissants for a spectacular pastry. Coconut brings out the subdued bouquet of pandan and that duo is streamlined into this simply whipped cream.

Coconut crepes with Pandan cream (Photo: Pexels)

Yield: 10 to 12 crepes

Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

For the crepes

1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk, chilled

1/2 cup/65 grams all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup/240 grams whole milk (see Tips below)

1 large egg

Grapeseed oil or melted butter, for the pan

For the berries

1 pound/453 grams strawberries

1 teaspoon granulated sugar, plus more to taste

Small pinch of fine sea salt

For the pandan cream

1/2 cup/125 grams heavy cream (see Tips below)

2 tablespoons powdered sugar, plus more to taste

Small pinch of fine sea salt

1/8 teaspoon pandan extract, plus more to taste (see Tip below), or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Make the crepe batter

1. Open the can of coconut milk, scoop 1 tablespoon of the coconut cream (the solid white layer on top) and transfer to a small bowl. Scoop another 1/4 cup/60 grams of coconut cream, transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl and refrigerate. Save the remaining coconut milk for another use.

2. Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the tablespoon of coconut cream until smooth, then whisk in the milk and egg until smooth. Pour about half into the flour and whisk until no lumps remain, then whisk in the remaining liquid. Let stand for at least 5 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

While the batter rests, prepare the berries:

3. Hull the strawberries, then cut them into bite-size pieces. Toss with the granulated sugar and salt. Taste and add more sugar if you’d like.

Make the pandan cream

4. Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar and salt to the chilled 1/4 cup coconut cream. Whisk in the stand mixer, with a hand mixer or by hand until soft peaks form. Whisk in the pandan extract until evenly tinted pale green. Taste and add more if you’d like. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The cream can be prepared a day ahead.

Cook the crepes

5. Briefly whisk the batter again. Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium. Brush with oil to lightly coat using a pastry brush or folded paper towel. Add enough batter (about 2 tablespoons) to very lightly coat the bottom, then swirl and tilt the pan to evenly coat the bottom and half an inch up the sides of the pan. Cook until the edges of the crepe turn golden brown, about 45 seconds, then use a spatula or your fingers to flip and cook until the other side has golden brown speckles, about 15 seconds. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter, lightly oiling the pan between each crepe.

6. Serve the crepes with the pandan cream and strawberries however you like. You can spread the cream on top and scatter berries over to serve open-faced or roll or fold them. You also can dollop the cream and berries in the middle and bring up to sides to form a flower.

Tips:

Dairy-Free Variation: Whole milk makes the crepes more tender, and the cream gives the whipped cream lightness, but if you’d like to make these dairy-free, start with 2 cans of coconut milk. Separate the solid white coconut cream from both cans. To make the crepes, use 1 cup liquid coconut milk in place of the milk. The batter should be slightly thicker than heavy cream and will run easily; if it’s too thick, whisk in more liquid coconut milk or water. To make the pandan cream, whisk all of the remaining coconut cream until soft peaks form, adding powdered sugar, salt and pandan extract to taste.

Pandan extract is available online and in some Asian markets and contains green food coloring. If you’re able to find pure pandan extract blended from only pandan and water, you may need a bit more for flavor, and the color will remain pale.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.