One of my favourite weekend breakfasts is crêpes filled with sweet or savoury fillings. I may not be a french pastry chef, but I feel I’ve mastered the art of cooking up a batch of crêpes using a non-stick pan instead of the fancy crêpe griddle. Of course, my crêpes are not perfectly round, but they still taste delicious. The trick is to make sure the batter isn’t too thick. Spoon it into the middle of the pan and then quickly tip the pan to let the batter spread out to the edges of the pan, or nearly so. (You get some interesting shapes depending on your dexterity. If you have kids, make a game of guessing what animals they represent.)
Simple ingredients:
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 2 ¼ cups milk
- pinch salt
- a couple tablespoons of butter (melted on the side to coat the pan every 4-6 pancakes)
Start by sifting all the dry ingredients together, then add the milk and eggs. Blend until smooth and creamy textured using a hand whisk or electric mixer. The batter should be somewhat runny because you’ll need it to spread out on the pan as you tilt it from side to side. The butter applied to the pan isn’t necessary, but it adds a little flavor and gives your crêpe those brown spots and flecks.
I have a spatula handy to slide under the edge of the crêpe as it cooks. Each side only takes 30 seconds to a minute, depending on how hot your pan is. Once I am able to loosen the first side of the crêpe, I use a broad spatula to flip the crêpe over to brown the other side. They are best cooked and served immediately but you can stack a few on a warm side plate and keep them warm until you’re ready to sit down together to partake. Usually the first one or two crêpes are throw-aways… or tasters. The pan often isn’t the right temperature or I am not very adept at the flipping… a couple crêpes usually get stuck or torn and you don’t want to serve these – so they become yours by delicious default.
I use my imagination for the fillings. Some days I want a dollop of apricot preserves folded into the middle of the crêpe, other times I fold the crêpe around a couple slices of ham and swiss cheese and settle it back in the pan for a quick warm – just enough to melt the cheese. Some other favourites are strawberries and/or bananas mixed with a healthy serving of Nutella. Or go with canned or fresh peaches and a liberal squirt of whipping cream. Whatever your taste, there’s a crêpe to match it. That’s the versatility of crêpes.
Of course the best known French crêpe is Crêpe Suzette, which is served as a dessert. This consists of a mixture of butter, sugar and Grand Marnier flambeed into a syrup and poured over a warm crêpe. This requires setting the ingredients on fire using an open flame – a technique beyond my expertise at the moment, so I’ll leave it to you to research this appetizing morsel and master the method, if that’s your favourite flavour of crêpe.
Oh yes, bon appétit!
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