As you may have already guessed from the title of my blog, I'm a bit of a French geek. During my semester abroad in France in college, learned a little cooking and baking in addition to increasing my language skills. Probably my favorite thing that I learned to make is crêpes. In case you haven't heard of them, crêpes are basically the French version of pancakes, but they're much thinner. Last year for Christmas I asked for a crêpe pan and I got it, so on Christmas morning I made crêpes for my whole family and they loved it so much that I did it again this year!
For the recipe, I use this one from allrecipes, but I modify it a bit...
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
(sometimes I add a few shakes of cinnamon if I feel like it, but I didn't this time)
1) Melt the butter first so that it had time to cool off a bit before being put in with the cold eggs and milk (if the temperature difference is too big, you'll get a weird texture). Whisk the eggs and milk together, then add the vanilla and sugar. Whisk the melted butter in last.
2) Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda. The batter will be more runny than pancake batter- that's okay!
3) Heat a crêpe pan (or griddle) over medium heat with a tiny bit of oil, until the pan is evenly heated. Pour about a 1/3 to 1/2 cup batter into the middle of the pan and tip the pan around to spread the batter evenly. Cook until the edges get crisp-looking and start to peel up from the pan, then flip and cook for a minute on the other side.
4) Fill crêpes with whatever you want: Nutella and bananas, jam, powdered sugar, and applesauce are some good ideas!
Here are some of my best crêpe hints:
- Your first crêpe will not turn out pretty and perfect. I've been making them for a while and I'm still never satisfied with the way the first one of a batch turns out. The first couple crêpes exist to get the pan to the right temperature and greased-ness so that the rest of the crêpes will turn out beautiful. Don't get me wrong; the first few will still taste delicious, they just might be too thick or (as mine often end up) broken into multiple pieces. :-P
- Also, that thing about the edges getting crispy and peeling up from the pan usually doesn't happen for the first couple crêpes, so until it does happen, just try to use your best judgement on when to flip. If the bottom isn't golden brown enough, you can always turn it back over. :)
- The measurement for how much batter to use per crêpe will vary based on the pan you're using. For mine, about 1/2 cup works best for spreading across the pan and making nice, thin crêpes. Just keep trying difference amounts until you find the right one for your pan- it will be worth it!
- If you have a crêpe pan, don't EVER wash it. I'm so serious. After it cools, you can wipe it down with a paper towel. If you must use water on it (which you really shouldn't have to), make sure to dry it off immediately. They will rust and get ruined if you have water in them for too long. :-\
Anyway, unfortunately, my family loved the crêpes so much that I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of them! Boo. Well, I will be back later this week with baking/cooking for New Year's Eve/ New Year's Day! Merry Christmas!! :)
Okay, now I want to make crêpes. I've never done so, so the first batch or two will probably come out an utter disaster, but you make it sound worth it.
ReplyDeleteI had a question about the temperature of the milk and eggs: do they need to be cold? Does it affect the recipe if they're room temperature? If so, how? I'm assuming even if they can be room temp that you'd want the melted butter to cool for a bit, but it seems like then it wouldn't have to cool as long to diminish the temperature difference between it and the milk and eggs.
It is SO worth it! It might take a few tries to get the hang of getting the right thinness, but they'll still taste good, regardless of how they look. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question, and I forgot to mention it in the post. Ideally, the milk and eggs should be room temperature so they're closer to the temp of the butter. The problem is, my brain sucks and I usually forget to take the milk and eggs out of the fridge, then I'm too impatient to wait for them to warm up. :-P A couple times I've put the melted butter right into the cold milk and eggs and it's not a pretty picture!
Enjoy your crêpes! :)
Good to know. I hate when I forget to take stuff out and then the recipe says "room temperature" or "softened" (if it's butter). I know of a speedier way to get eggs to room temp - you put them in hot water for 10 minutes - but I don't know of one for milk. Short of sticking it in the microwave, I guess, and you'd have to be careful with that. Depending on how long it takes the butter to cool, it may be faster to do it that way than to warm up the eggs.
ReplyDeleteWhat IS the right thinness? I feel like the ones I've seen in restaurants are 1/8- or maybe 1/4-inch thick. Does this sound about right to you?
Sorry, forgot something. Is there a particular brand or size (if there are different sizes) crêpe pan you'd recommend? And what about a spreader? Is one necessary, or is it just as easy to swirl the batter around the pan to get an even layer? Thanks for all your help on this. :)
ReplyDeleteNo problem! I have a de Buyer pan and I really like it. It's about 8" diameter, and it's probably about middle-of-the-road as far as crêpe pan sizes go. Really, I think the only consideration with the size is whether you want to make small, medium or large crêpes. :) I've heard that de Buyer is a good brand and I really like mine, so I would recommend those.
ReplyDeleteAs for a spreader, I've never used one before, so I'm not even sure how they work. I'm guessing they just make it a little easier to spread the batter around, but I've really never had problems with the "tipping the pan" method.
Hope that helps!
Oh, sorry, didn't see the other comment above that! I'll have to try that egg trick. But yeah, you're talking to a girl who often forgets to preheat the oven (durrr!), so remembering to soften butter or take something out early to get it t room temperature is a challenge. :-P
ReplyDelete1/8" sounds about right for the thickness. Sometimes the edges are thinner than that (and then they tend to get crispy), but that's okay. Really, it depends on how thick you like them, but between 1/8" and 1/4" sounds like a good estimate.