I so long to visit France because of picturesque evidences of how beautiful and romantic the country is and its culinary features on TV and the web. Many world renowned chefs and bakers were professionally trained in France, creating dishes that I salivate just thinking about – Duck à l’Orange, Coq au vin, soufflé, croissants and something as simple as crepe! I’ll let the professionals serve me the duck and coq au vin, but I can share my recipe for the easiest of the aforementioned: crepe!
While my go-to dish for midday brunch is a smoked salmon Eggs Benedict with hollandaise sauce on the side, with an iced or hot cup of cappuccino, I do enjoy an occasional sweet or savory crepe. Whether topped with strawberries and bananas and Nutella or used to wrap smoked salmon with spinach, crepes are thin pancakes that are so versatile they can be eaten alone or used to wrap a good breakfast, lunch or dinner … similar purpose a burrito would serve 😅.
COOKWARE FOR CREPES:
I currently own a nonstick crepe pan that was created for the sole purpose of … well, making crepes! What’s great about it is its flat surface (throughout the enter pan) and 10″ diameter, which allows for a fairly large crepe and surface area that makes flipping smoother. Prior to purchasing a crepe pan, I’d use the largest nonstick pan I own at home, which works well, except the edges are curved, so if you want to make a larger crepe, you’re limited to the width that your pan allows (within the curved edges). Flipping a crepe that fills the entire nonstick pan may also be difficult as the walls may stand in the way of your spatula. Either way, a crepe pan or a regular nonstick pan can get the job done!
FOLDING CREPES:
I’ve seen crepes served in multiple ways: rolled up like a burrito with fillings within, folded into a square, also with fillings within, and folded into a triangle with toppings and sauce atop. I personally like to serve sweet crepes in triangular form with confectioners sugar and fruits and/or chocolate over the crepes and savory crepes in “burrito” form with, for instance, smoked salmon, spinach and cream cheese inside. They can be served however you want, which is one reason why I love crepes – they’re forgiving and extremely versatile.
If you tried my recipe, tag me @rackoflam and #rackoflam on social media!
French Crepe Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 large egg beaten
- ⅛ tsp vanilla extract
- butter/oil for cooking
Instructions
- Mix the dry ingredients: flour, salt and sugar until well blended
- Whisk the wet ingredients: the beaten egg, milk and vanilla until combined
- Mix the dry and wet mixtures together until batter is blended and consistency is smooth. Alternatively you can mix all the ingredients together in a blender.
- Allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes so bubbles can subside
- Heat some butter on a nonstick pan or crepe pan.
- Right before cooking, give the batter a whisk. Depending on the size of your pan, pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the batter onto the pan and swirl until it creates an even, round layer.
- When the bottom of the crepe turns slightly brown, flip it over gently with a spatula. This can take anywhere between 30 seconds to a minute (or more if your crepe is thicker).
- Cook the other side until slightly brown or when batter has settled.
- Plate, then repeat steps 5 to 8 until the entire batter is used. Serve plain, with powdered sugar, Nutella and/or fresh fruits for a sweet variation or with meat, cheese and/or egg for a savory version. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
PRODUCTS USED:
- Whisk – https://amzn.to/2JPMzUe
- Spatula/Turner – https://amzn.to/3DuF3UW
- AP Flour – https://amzn.to/3v0KRm0
- Sea Salt – https://amzn.to/2XqjzFY
- Confectioners Sugar – https://amzn.to/3iR3Hav
- Vanilla – https://amzn.to/3mAtoNE
- Sugar – https://amzn.to/3lvipWg
