Always in demand in my household and really easy to make savory or sweet (eliminate sugar and vanilla from the savory versions) if you pay attention to a few details. We make these very frequently, mostly for dessert or breakfast. The few rules of note that I think make for great crepes are:
- Mix only half of the liquids into the flour to get a paste. This easily avoids the dreaded clumping issues. If you dump everything into a bowl and whisk chances are you will get clumps. Pesky clumps are not the nd of the world I guess and you can strain them out, but that is a bit of a pain in the neck and dirties more utensils.
- Whisk well. We are not terribly worried with gluten development here. So, get it smooth. IT should be thick pourable batter, like a thicker heavy cream.
- Let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes. A couple of hours is even better. I leave it on the counter usually for such a brief period of time. If I want to do it the night before, I rest it in the fridge. This helps you gauge if you need more liquid to a thicker batter and lessens the presence of air bubbles in the batter.
- Use a nonstick pan with low sides. I’ve never bought a dedicated crepe pan and doubt i ever will but you really do not need it.
- Greasing the pan? well, for the first crepe only. drop a tablespoon of butter into a medium hot pan, let it melt and then wipe gently with a paper towel. I’ve never needed more butter for every crepe. Possibly since I have a decent amount of butter in the batter or because I use a non-stick pan. Not sure exactly, but adding butter or oil to the pan before every crepe is another step that feels wasteful and not needed.
- Easy on the fillings. Like a good pizza, you really want to taste the delicious crepes you made.
For fillings, a lot of the time we stick to the classic Nutella and banana plus toasted hazelnuts or almonds.
Options are limitless though and jam is a wonderful filling too. I wanted something like that for my portion this time and spread strawberry-balsamic jam on mine and served it with a scoop of homemade creamy birthday cake ice cream.
Crepes
- 120 gr (4.25 oz) All-purpose Flour
- 2 Large Eggs
- 60 gr (2 oz) Melted Butter
- 120 gr Whole Milk (or 2% Milk)
- 120 gr Water
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1 Tbsp dark rum, bourbon, Cognac or Grand Marnier (Optional, and really any liquor you like can be used)
- In a bowl, whisk the flour, eggs, melted butter and half of the milk (about 1/4 cup), sugar and salt until you get a smooth paste, about 15 seconds.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk well until you get a smooth pourable batter the texture of thick heavy cream. If it is too thick add a tablespoon of water at a time until you get to the right consistency.
- Let the batter rest at room temperature for one hour or in the fridge for up to 10 hours.
- Place a non-stick pan (10 to 12 inches) with low sides over a medium hot flame. Give the batter one more stir to make sure you still have the right consistency and adjust with milk or water if needed.
- When the pan is hot enough to sizzle a drop of water on the surface add a teaspoon or so of butter to it and swirl it around for a moment. Wipe the butter off gently with a paper towel.
- Lift the pan with your dominant hand and ladle a 1/4 cup or so of batter into the pan as you gently swirl the pan to get the patter to cover the whole base.
- Place the pan back on the flame and let the crepe cook until the edges start getting curly and lift up from the edges, about 30 seconds to one minute.
- I use my fingers to grab the crepe edges and flip, but a thin plastic spatula works well too. Cook on the other side for not more than 20 seconds to 30 seconds.
- Remove the crepe to a platter and repeat with the rest of the batter piling the crepes on top of each other (no, they will not stick).
- Fill as desired or let cool and cover with plastic wrap. In the fridge they will be fine for a couple of days.