Crepes are so popular right now. In fact, a French Creperie opened recently near where I live. While visiting my friend Francien in the Netherlands this summer, I asked her to teach me how she makes them. Afterall, the Europeans know and love their crepes. The Dutch call them pancakes. She took me through a step by step process, and then we ate them for dessert. Yum.
Crepes have only three ingredients – milk, flour, and eggs. The biggest difference between a crepe and a pancake is that pancakes use baking powder to make them fluffy.
You start by adding an egg to your bowl, and then whisk it.
Then you gradually add all-purpose flour. It’s very important to NOT use self-rising flour. If you did, then your crepes would become pancakes, and we don’t want that.
Then you pour in the milk, a little at a time. All the while, you are still mixing. Crepes have a rubbery consistency, and you get it from all of the stirring. (When making pancakes, you beat them as little as possible. That’s another difference.)
When the batter is at a consistency that you can pour it into the pan, it is ready. You need to make sure that you added plenty of flour and milk, or your crepe will resemble an omelette.
Add about 1/2 tablespoon of oil to either a crepe pan or a small skillet. Pour in the batter, and tilt the pan in all different directions so the crepe will spread and cook evenly. Then turn it over, but it will only need a few seconds after that. You can only make one in a pan at a time, and you need to add a little oil before cooking each one.
When it is done, roll it onto your plate and add the fillers. A crepe can be either a savory or a sweet depending on what you put inside.
Since this was our dessert, we added orange yogurt (yum) and raspberries. It was delish. This would be a fun recipe to make with your kids. Also, you can make crepes in advance, and store them in the frig with wax paper between them to prevent them from sticking together. Just heat before serving.
Take care and have a great week-end.
Seriously J., do you think I could make a crepe from these instructions? I need details…..amounts…..cooking times and temps…..someone to hold my hand!!! Does what you did in this post make 1 crepe? More? Some of us are not awesome, experienced cooks like you are!!! Guess I could hunt down a recipe. Maybe I’ll just come over when you are making them and eat your delish looking crepes. Or, better yet, we’ll walk down to La Petite Creperie and have lunch together!! :-)))