On Crêpes (recipe)

You are correct. This is not the photo of the crêpes whose recipe I will share, because they get eaten up as soon as they are plated, and they are so easy to make, you don’t think it’s a big enough deal to photograph them. There’s no messing with icing sugar or other accoutrements. I serve them with jars of local jam, Nutella, chocolate ganache (traditional, or lactose-free version made with coconut milk), lemon honey (fill a glass jar with sliced organic lemon, and fill it up with honey, stick it in the refrigerator). If you have pieces of fruit past their prime, it’s a good time to also use them up (in a separate pan, sautée them with some sugar). I have served them to people from different countries: Russia, Japan, Thailand, U.K., U.S., Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France… they all seem to like it. This is the recipe that I get asked about the most.

Here is the recipe, adapted from Alton Brown:

1. Mix 2 large eggs, 3/4 cup of whole milk, and 1/2 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of melted butter, 2 1/2 tablespoons of white sugar, 2 tablespoons of triple sec*, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract** in a medium size bowl with a whisk. (Variation: replace the triple sec and the vanilla extract with orange blossom water, available from middle eastern grocery stores).

2. To the bowl with the liquid mixture, put a cup of flour (or about 140 g) and whisk until large lumps are gone. Do not over mix!

3. Place in the refrigerator (with the whisk still in there, because you will use it when you take it out) for 30 min. to an hour. Take it out of the refrigerator, stir lightly a couple of times with the whisk.

4. Heat a non-stick pan with a teaspoon or so of butter to medium heat. Pour between 1/8 cup to 1/4 cup of the batter onto the pan, and pivot the pan around with your wrist to spread the batter out into the crêpe. Flip when the sides start to lift from the pan. Once flipped, keep an eye on it, as it doesn’t take as much time to finish cooking. Don’t serve the first one to guests… it comes out blotchy. Keep it on the side for you to munch on as you start the next crêpe.

It works well when I have a couple of good friends over (and you have an open kitchen). I prep the batter before dinner starts, then after the main course is done, I start making the crêpes.

*Other orange liqueurs like Cointreau and Grand Marnier will work fine. Amaretto and brandy work well, too.

**It seems harder to find reasonably priced vanilla extract in parts of Europe. Try substituting vanilla sugar (which seems to be more common) instead of white sugar, and you can skip the extract)