Coconut Crepes With Pandan Cream

By Genevieve Ko

Updated May 5, 2026

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
Media 1 of 2
Ready In
40 min
Rating
4(10)
Comments
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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, the 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.

Featured in: Is This the Perfect Mother’s Day Breakfast?

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Ingredients

Yield:10 to 12 crepes

For the crepes

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

  • ½ cup/65 grams all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

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

  • 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

  • ½ cup/125 grams heavy cream (see Tips)

  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, plus more to taste

  • Small pinch of fine sea salt

  • ⅛ teaspoon pandan extract, plus more to taste (see Tip), or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Make the crepe batter:

    1. Step 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 ¼ 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. Step 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.

  2. While the batter rests, prepare the berries:

    1. Step 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.

  3. Make the pandan cream:

    1. Step 4

      Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar and salt to the chilled ¼ 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.

  4. Cook the crepes:

    1. Step 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.

    2. Step 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 the 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.

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Comments

tomrely

No. Stop the bus. Mother doesn't want pandan and coconut cream, but you're a darling and Mother appreciates the thought. Mother wants blueberries, strawberries and maple and yes, banana and Nutella. Mother doesn't need another pantry orphan ... the pandan extract sitting between the black garlic paste and the yuzu essence. Mother has enough to worry about. Maybe next year.

Emma

Ridiculous. Pandan is the best flavor there is! It’s between a warm aromatic vanilla and earthy grassy matcha flavor. This mother says take the risk. MAAIE (Mothers Against Arbitrary Ingredient Elimination.)

B

Radical thought here - maybe some mothers like different treats! This one wants pandan and coconut all the way.

Ankur M

Made for mother's day and it was a hit! Just the right balance between fussy enough to feel special and simple enough for a home cook to manage with a 6-year-old sous chef. I used Coco Lopez coconut cream instead of heavy cream or the coconut milk topper - worked very well, if a bit too sweet even forgoing the powdered sugar. (The tart strawberries were perfect for balancing that out - don't skip them!)

Brendan

Made this for the mother in my life this morning. It was fantastic! Really nice combination of flavors, not to mention the beautiful vibrant colors. First time using pandan extract but it was lovely. Like a nuttier vanilla. Very powerful stuff though, the 1/8 teaspoon was plenty.

Summer

This looks yummy! But I don’t have pandan extract and don’t have time in the foreseeable future to track it down, or as another mom said a desire to leave it sitting in my pantry to never be used again if it’s not my thing. What are some other suitable flavors or extracts that can be substituted? Preferably that I don’t have to order online and can found without a specialty grocery store trip in a Midwest City.

Beth from NJ

@Summer, it says in the recipe to sub in vanilla if you don't care to use the pandan.

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Credits

Caroline Lange

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