Wednesday 15 February 2012

Crêpes

Tomorrow morning, we will have crêpes.  It's one of our regular breakfasts on rotation.  It's one everyone enjoys to varying degrees (like every other meal) from like to really like to get-excited-and-go-to-sleep-with-a-smile-on-knowing-it's-on-the-menu-tomorrow like.

We've had lots of success finding recipes for cake-like molasses cookies, carrot cake and crêpes on this site.  The success lies in knowing what you're looking for and finding it.  My Man is French Canadian and each time we've made the three recipes I just mentioned from this site, he said they were like how he remembered them from when he was a kid.  I make a great carrot cake with a cream cheese icing, but I grew up adding pineapple, nuts and coconut to the batter.  For him, a carrot cake had carrots in it and that's it.  Huh, who'da thunk?  One of his favourite cookies I make is a molasses cookie recipe from my Nanny (I've mentioned her before and I've a lot more to say about her, she's the bomb).  But, it's not a fluffy, squishy cookie like from his childhood.  One day, he went looking for something to make - himself.  He stumbled on this site and looked up "mélasse" and made a batch of the highest rated cookie and they were really, really good.  I don't make them, but he does whenever he wants them.  He still asks for my cookies, but they're two very different cookies, both good.

Ah, back to the crêpes.  These are not pancakes.  These are real crêpes like his father used to make (my Man is the baby of six kids - six!) for his family.  I never had a crêpe recipe in my repetoire before a couple of years ago.  Sure, I made Crêpes Suzette a few times for my parents' bridge group (is this an accurate memory or a mix of a few events?).  They were good, but they were dessert.
Here is the recipe we use regularly (in English, just in case you don't speak French). 

Crêpes
1 cup flour
dash salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk
- whisk together really well to very smooth (best if ingredients are at room temperature to start)
- let rest as long as you can, mere minutes or up to an hour.  I put this in the fridge overnight and take it out as early as I can to let it warm up a bit, whisk it again.
- heat the pan up (I use 4.5 on 10 on my burner), lightly coat bottom of your pan with light-tasting oil
- drop about 1/3 cup batter in the middle and swirl the pan to spread it out thin
- in about 30 seconds, the top should be dry and the bottom a light brown, carefully turn over and cook a few more seconds to light brown.
- repeat, serve as you cook them or stack them in a covered container in a warm oven so you can enjoy with your family at the same time.
This recipe doubles and triples really well.  Store the leftovers in the fridge tightly sealed or freeze.

TOPPINGS: table syrup, maple syrup are obvious ones.
- roll it up and squeeze a lemon on top, dust with icing sugar
- spread peanut butter, with or without a banana, a light sprinkle of brown sugar or a drizzle of syrup, roll and eat like a cigar.
- your Nanny's jam with or without whipped cream
- Nutella or chocolate icing, though it's hard to justify this as breakfast, it does make a wonderful snack if you have any crêpes leftover.
- fruit, of course!

What would you / have you put on your crêpes?

6 comments:

  1. My favourite is pb, banana and brown sugar!

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  2. We always put a sprinkle of white sugar, lemon and plain yogurt, then rolled them up. Yum!

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  3. raspberry sauce with toasted slivered almonds and whipped cream. Mom and I had this at the Creperie in Edmonton years and years ago and she still comments on how good it was. I'm sure their recipe was a little more complicated but this works.

    Maureen

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  4. first try i put layers of strawberry jam n nutella.
    but this time i tried whole wheat ones with a layer of nutella, bananas and strawberry jam, sprinkled with sugar.
    but i have a question for you Rana or anyone else...when using whole wheat flour, should i be using anymore milk? it was much thicker and didn't give much movement to thin out once in the pan?

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    Replies
    1. Once I make the batter, there is a bit of guessing to make it just the viscosity you are looking for. Do not be afraid to add milk until you are pleaed with it, it can take it. Depending on the day and measuring accuracy, it may absorb up to 1/4 cup more milk. Add a bit, stir. Repeat as needed.

      I would not generalize that when you used wh wh flour you need extra wet ingredients though in every recipe (like muffins for example).

      Was that answer stisfactory?

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  5. thanx Rana, guess i'm just familiar enough with this type of thing in order to have figured it out that all i needed might have been abit more milk. i'll try it out my next batch and let you know, thank you

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