Mango Crepes ala Hershey's and Whipped Cream

I don't know about you, but I have always been intimidated by crepes. Not eating them. I love to eat them. But making them is a frightful endeavor. I always figured I couldn't since I don't have one of those fancy flat crepe skillet things that the restaurants use. Or a long skinny flipper spatula. 

Turns out, those are false impressions. Crepes are actually quite simple when you accept that the first one will be served to the trash can. Once you come to terms with that one little thing, you will become a crepe-making machine! 

So, let's dive in. Here's the ingredient list: 
Basic Crepe Recipe - This is from Allrecipes.com and was submitted by JENNYC819 (Thanks, Jenny!) - Should yield about 4-7 crepes
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
My Additions: 
fruit for filling: in this case, one large mango
chocolate sauce (to drizzle)
whipped cream (for topping) 

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Slowly add the milk and water and mix until blended. Add the salt and melted butter and whisk until smooth. (Make sure it's not thick. If it seems like regular pancake batter, thin it out with a little extra milk and water. You sort of have to use your intuition here. It should be runnier than pancake batter.)

 This is how mine looks. Doesn't really make a lot, but then again, you're only using enough to coat the pan...

2. Heat a lightly oiled (I used non-stick Pam Butter flavor) frying pan over medium heat. Pour enough batter to coat the bottom. Swirl the pan around so that batter covers the bottom evenly.

3. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Run your spatula/fancy crepe flipper along the edges to loosen and flip it over. Remember, the first one will be total rubbish. By my fourth one, I had it down. See:

4. When both sides are browned to your liking, slip it onto a plate and start on the next one. I piled each finished crepe on top of the last one and they kept warm that way. My batter, which used more like half the flour in this recipe, yielded 4 crepes and one for the trash. 
5. Once you've used all the batter, you're ready to build your masterpiece. Chop the mango into small bits. Distribute among the crepes. (Also, that green thing in the corner...that's my skinny little spatula and it worked like a dream! I never knew what to use it on until now!)

6. Next, drizzle with the Hershey's chocolate syrup. I didn't think I'd like this addition at first, but the crepe stand guy at my Farmer's Market put it on before I could stop him and I haven't been able to do without it since. 

 7. Now, for the finishing touches. Load that baby up with whipped cream. I made mine look pretty for the photo shoot, but normally I coat the thing until it just looks like a plate of whipped cream. 

 8. Dig in! 

So, I hope you'll be adventurous and give it a whirl. I nearly talked myself out of this one a few times. Once you've got it down, experiment a little. Throw some spices in your batter or go savory with the filling and toppings. Or, if you're craving ultra-simple, you can't beat a little lemon butter and sugar. 

The main key to this one is to relax. Have fun with your ingredients and cook for the enjoyment of the process and your food will reflect it. Let me know how it goes!