Crepes

Jun 6

Written By Tessa

Happy Sunday!

When I was growing up and my Mum said we were having pancakes for breakfast, we had crepes. I was much, much older when I first tried "American" pancakes and I never liked them as much as crepes.

When we were first married these were a weekend breakfast staple. But with little ones around it is harder because it takes a little while to prepare, and you need both hands. So my standard one handed cooking, while the other supports the baby on my hip doesn't work for these.

However, this morning I had the luxury of sleeping in (thank you, Jimmy) and by the time I moseyed out of bed Charlie was down for a morning nap, so crepes it was for a very late Sunday breakfast.

Recipe | Crepes
(recipe updated in 2015 to match my Mum's, my earlier recipe was a bit different):
1 cup flour
2 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
2 cups milk (2% or whole work best, no skim)
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
Lemon zest of 1 lemon

1. Sift together the dry ingredients in large bowl, make a well, set aside
2. Combine wet ingredients in small bowl
3. SLOWLY add wet ingredients into the center of the well, while you stir them into the flour mixture. Go slow, because you do not want to end up with lumps.
4. Stir in lemon zest
5. Let mixture rest for 45 minutes at room temperature
6. Warm up crepe pan on medium heat.
7. Swirl a little butter (just the tip of a knife) in the pan, then add a little less than 1/4 cup of batter. I remove the pan from the heat and swirl the batter around until it covers the pan. Then add it back on the burner. This technique takes a little practice. The first couple times I made crepes I had a number that ended up in the garbage. It takes a little wrist action, but once you get it down it is very easy.
7. Cook for about a minute, maybe less and then gently flip. This also takes a little practice. I use a spatula and my finger tips to lift the crepe about 1/4 of the way. Then I slide the spatula under and flip all the way. I promise, if you try to make these, you will get it.

I have memories of seeing my Aunt Loline's neighbor in Belgium flip his crepes in his kitchen. We could see him through the window when standing in her garden. He tossed them up in the air to flip. No spatula or fingertips for him. My brother and I used to watch to see if they actually fell back down or stuck to the ceiling. I can't do it that way.

The other key is using a good quality crepe pan. I have used this one for the last 12 years and it's still perfect.

I keep them all on a plate covered with foil while I prepare the rest.
I serve them with lemon and sugar.