Crepes are often associated with fancy brunches or breakfast at a downtown French restaurant, but their history is actually quite the opposite. Crepes were first developed by peasants as a way to use up leftover porridge, but the popularity of this French classic has remained strong for more than a hundred years and they can now be found all over the world with more sweet and savory variations than you could count.
Let’s get started…
The ingredients needed to make a great crepe are simple and whether you want to enjoy them as sweet or savory, the recipe for the actual crepes remain the same.
You will need 1/4 cup of melted butter, 165 grams of sifted all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of fine salt, 2 cups of whole milk, 3 large eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Simple, right?
If you have a blender, just toss everything into it and blend until completely smooth. Done.
If you are mixing by hand, combine everything in a large bowl (sifting the flour will help avoid lumps in your batter) and whisk until fully combined.
Transfer the batter into a glass bowl or something with a nice pouring spout, cover tightly and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Once you are ready to cook up your crepes, place a crepe pan or wide shallow non-stick skillet over medium heat and grease it generously with butter.
Grab your batter from the refrigerator, give it a quick whisk to bring everything back together and then pour 1/4 cup into the greased pan.
Cook the crepe for about 60 seconds or until the underside is golden brown and will easily release from the pan.
Flip and cook for 45-60 seconds on the other side and then slide it off onto a plate and repeat the same process until all of the crepes have been cooked.
Stacking the cooked crepes on top of each other will help keep them warm while the others are being cooked.
The only thing left to do is to fill these beauties up with something delicious.
Traditional fillings include everything from salted butter and caramel to jam, whipped cream or hazelnut spread. Today, we are using hazelnut spread, fresh fruit and a little homemade whipped cream…
Crepes are often served folded into elegant little quarters and this is not just for aesthetics. Adding filling onto 1 quarter of the crepe, folding it in half (covering the filling) and then add a little more filling over the half you just folded and then fold it once more to cover the filling.
You can also spread a small amount of filling over the entire crepe and roll them up like little cigars.
Regardless of how you add your filling and fold your crepes, one thing is for sure, they will be a delicate and delicious treat that everyone will love.
Classic French Crepes
Ingredients
Crepe Batter
- 1/4 cup of butter, melted and cooled
- 165 grams of all purpose flour (about 1 1/3 cups), sifted
- 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of fine salt
- 2 cups of whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Fillings
- hazelnut spread
- jam or jelly
- whipped cream
- fresh fruit
- caramel
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth with a consistency like heavy cream
- Transfer the batter into a bowl, cover tightly and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes or up to 24 hours
- Once ready to cook, give the batter a vigorous whisk to bring everything back together
- Place a shallow skillet or crepe pan over medium heat and grease generously with butter
- Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the warm, greased pan and swirl the pan or use a crepe tool to work the batter out evenly throughout the pan
- Cook the crepes one at a time for about 60 seconds per side
- Stack cooked crepes on top of each other until all of the crepes have been cooked
- Smooth some hazelnut spread over a quarter of the crepe, fold the crepe in half covering the hazelnut spread and then add a bit more spread over one half of the crepe and fold in half once more covering the spread
- Top the folded crepe with berries and enjoy!
