French Crepes

Glorious crepes... so versatile and delicious... from savory to sweet.. there's something for everyone!

TIPS

You can revise it in a number of ways to suit what you plan to fill it with.

For one thing…. if the crepe will be a crepe with a sweet filling…. I add one teaspoon vanilla to the batter….

If the filling is savory…. I usually leave the batter plain. You can add subtle spice to the crepe too…. personally… I’d rather the filling be the star of the event…. The crepe just makes it that much better.

When making savory or what I call non-sweet crepes... breakfast crepes or dinner crepes... I add 1 1/2 cups of milk and omit the water.. it makes a thicker batter which makes a little firmer crepe.. better suited for a savory crepe...the water .. in my opinion makes them more delicate and better for light fillings.

Use whole milk... lower fat milks make the batter runnier.... if you want to lower the fat.. then I would suggest you use fat free half and half.

You can add 2 tablespoons melted butter to the batter... I add that sometimes to savory crepes... although it's not necessary.. and my family never did that, I recently tried it when making breakfast crepes.. and liked the slight buttery flavor.. it went well with the scrambled eggs.

Several things are important to making great crepes…. a good crepe pan helps. I have one I bought a number of years ago from Williams Sonoma…. I think I paid about $30- $40 (US) for it.

Mine pan is non-stick…. the non-stick seems to be a commercial grade…. I’m lucky… they never stick. If you don’t have a crepe pan…. you can use a saute or omelet pan …. My grandmothers and my mother used whatever they had available…. their crepes came out perfect. The key is knowing your pan and your batter.

You may have a few “throw-aways” before you get the hang of it…. but believe me…. you will get the hang of it and then you will be able to do them time and time again.

Know your batter….. the consistency of the batter should be like heavy cream. If your batter seems a little runny after resting the required ½ hour… then add a tablespoon of flour and whisk it in…. repeat until you have something like heavy cream. If the batter is a little thick… and a tablespoon or two of milk.

Your pan needs to be greased… I use butter flavored cooking oil spray…. You can use melted butter or margarine … and brush it on in between crepes…. if you have a non-stick…. use the spray… now you might ask me why I use cooking spray when I have a good non-stick pan…. one for taste…. and two I think the crepe slides out even easier…. and you definitely want that.

Your pan needs to be hot…. we have a gas stove…. and I use the high setting…. I spray the pan away from the flame… and set the pan on the heat for about a minute…. you want it to sizzle slightly. DO NOT BURN THE BUTTER…. that will definitely ruin the taste… if that happens… just whip it out and start over…. no big deal.

Then I remove the pan from the heat…. and using a 1/3 or 1/2 cup measuring cup not quite filled ( depending on the size of your pan), holding the pan slightly vertically, I pour the batter into the pan…. turning the pan in a rolling motion to cover the bottom of the pan evenly.

The pan should be hot enough to have the batter cling to the pan. If you use a sauté or omelet pan… your edges are rounded ….so be careful not to coat the sides up too far.

Set the pan back on the heat. Allow plenty of time for the batter to set. You can carefully peek underneath lifting an edge with a spatula… but be careful the crepe is delicate. When the bottom is lightly brown… flip it over for about 10 seconds…. Then slide the crepe out of the pan onto a work surface or platter.

If you stack them… I place them between pieces of waxed paper. They can be refrigerated and then quickly microwaved before serving, if you are making them ahead.

I have learned just how much batter will evenly cover the bottom of my pan…. I use measuring cups to measure out my batter… so that the amounts will be consistent…. every pan will vary a bit…. it takes a little practice to figure out what works best for your pan…. hence the throwaways….. believe me, if I were to change pans…. I would have throwaways too.

Try it.. they really are easy... you too can become a crepe-making master!







PRINT RECIPE

Crepes Recipe:

All you need:

1 cup sifted flour
2 tablespoons sugar
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup water *See TIPS
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

All you need to do:

Sift together the 1 cup sifted flour and sugar.

Beat 4 eggs.

Add the dry ingredients to the eggs.

Beat the mixture until smooth.

Add gradually the 1 cup milk and the 1 cup of water, beating after each addition.

The batter will have the consistency of heavy cream.

Let the batter stand for 30 minutes.