Crêpes
Paper-thin pancakes from Brittany, now made in every French kitchen — for Candlemas, for breakfast, for any afternoon. The batter rests for half an hour so the flour softens and the crêpes come out supple instead of rubbery. The first one is usually a mess; that is tradition, not failure.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour — 250 g
- sugar — 1 tbsp
- salt — 1 pinch
- egg — 3 pcs
- milk — 500 ml
- butter, melted — 30 g
- vanilla extract (optional) — 1 tsp
- butter, for the pan — 15 g
- sugar, to serve — 2 tbsp
- lemon, to serve — 1 pcs
- jam, to serve (optional) — 4 tbsp
Instructions
- Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Break in the eggs and whisk, drawing in the flour, while adding the milk a little at a time, until the batter is smooth and free of lumps.
- Stir in the melted butter and the vanilla, if using. Leave the batter to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature; it should be about as thick as single cream, so thin it with a little milk if needed.
- Heat a 22 cm frying pan over a medium-high heat and grease it lightly with butter on a piece of kitchen paper.
- Pour in about 50 ml of batter, tilting and turning the pan at once so it spreads in a thin layer. Cook for 1 minute, until the edge lifts and the underside has golden spots.
- Turn the crêpe with a spatula and cook for 30 seconds more, then slide it onto a plate. Stack the crêpes as you go, greasing the pan every few.
- Serve warm, sprinkled with sugar and a squeeze of lemon, or spread with jam and folded into quarters.