The famous crepes originate from Brittany and are considered a national dish. They were popular in France and became famous throughout Europe, North America and Australia. Each time I have to prepare ‘crêpes’, I follow this VERY EASY recipe…
Watch a short video presentation of La Chandeleur (Candlemas):
What you need to know about crepes
The word “crêpe” derives from the Latin crispa, meaning curled. Its simple preparation makes it a favourite dish for Candlemas – la Chandeleur – or Mardi-Gras. Chandeleur is known as Crêpes Day. Generations have kept alive a variety of traditions and customs around the making and eating of crêpes.
Crepes and Brittany
Although in Brittany, crêpes are traditionally served with cider, your imagination is the limit: favourite toppings include:
- chocolate spread,
- jam,
- lemon and sugar,
- chestnut cream, etc.
Crêpes can also be served with savoury fillings: for example, cheese and ham.
Making crêpes, crêpe Suzette and crêperies
Crêpes are made by pouring a thin liquid batter onto a hot frying flat pan, previously greased with butter or oil. The batter is spread evenly over the cooking surface of the pan by tilting the pan.
Another standard French and Belgian pancake is the crêpe Suzette, a crêpe with lightly grated orange peel and liqueur (usually Grand Marnier), which is subsequently lit upon presentation.
In France, crêpes are usually bought in a crêperie, which may be sold as a takeaway in a stall on the street, in public gardens, or a proper restaurant.
My [very easy] method for making crêpes
Crêpes Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Crêpe pan or a frying pan
Ingredients
- 190 g plain flour
- 4 eggs
- 45 cl milk
- 60 g caster sugar
- 30 g soft butter
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 bean vanilla
- 1 orange (for zest)
Instructions
- Combine the flour, sugar, salt, vanilla, and orange zest in a mixing bowl.
- Make a well in the centre. Crack the eggs into the centre one at a time and gently mix with a whisk. This helps prevent lumps.
- Thin the batter with 2/3 of the milk, adding it gradually.
- Heat 1/3 of the milk with the butter to melt it. Once the butter has melted, mix in a little cold milk to ensure it's not too hot when added to the batter.
- Stir in the melted butter into the batter. Mix well to achieve a smooth mixture.
- Cover and let it rest for at least 30-60 minutes or overnight in the fridge. When ready to make the crepes, beat the batter lightly.
- Grease a crepe pan with a bit of neutral oil using a paper towel.
- Wait for the pan to be hot enough so you hear that “pschitttttttttttt” sizzling sound when pouring the batter.
- Pour a small amount of the batter in with a ladder and work quickly, tilting the pan to cover the base with a thin layer of the batter. When it bubbles a little and comes away from the sides of the pan, it is ready to turn … toss if you feel confident or turn with a spatula.
- Serve warm with sugar or any topping you fancy.
4 Tips for Delicious and Irresistible Crepes
- Prepare the batter at least the day before for enhanced flavours, and keep it refrigerated. Indeed, it’s crucial to make your batter in advance, at least the night before, so it has time to rest. This allows the flavours to develop and improves the taste. You can prepare the pancake batter for three or four days ahead; keeping it in the fridge is perfectly fine.
- Preferably, use a heavy steel pan, which conducts heat even better than an aluminium pan.
- The secret is to have a solid recipe using very high-quality ingredients. You can use organic flour, eggs from the local farm, fresh whole milk, and AOP butter from Charentes. Also, use untreated orange zest and Madagascar vanilla.
- It’s pretty uncommon to find crepes recipes with butter. It makes the pancakes softer and prevents the crepe batter from sticking to the pan.
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- Find out more about the tradition of Candlemas in France.
- Find out more about Winter in France on our French blog.
