Easy Crepes Recipe (how to make)

Basic homemade crepe recipe that is easy and delicious. Thin and buttery, these basic crepes are a wonderful simple breakfast that can be accompanies with both sweet or savory fillings and/or toppings. Family recipe from my nana’s cookbook.

Wonderfully easy to make, these basic crepes have been served at my family table for generations. They are perfectly thin and light with crunchy edges and they carry a delightful buttery taste that melts in your mouth. Usually whenever I make these, my boys fight over who gets to eat the first crepe.

WHAT ARE CREPES?

Crepes are a type of pancake that is thin, light, perfectly soft with crunchy edges. They are a widespread all across Europe – with each country having it’s name and variations. Each crepe recipe however calls for a few basic ingredients – flour, eggs, milk. Salt and sugar are optional. Crepes can be enjoyed with both sweet or savory filling and/or toppings.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FRENCH-STYLE CREPE AND OTHER EUROPEAN CREPES?

Not much really, the ingredients are the same, but the quantities differ in each crepe recipe. Some have sugar, others call for butter, salt, cacao, etc. At the end of the day all crepes consist of the 3 main ingredients we mentioned above – milk, eggs, flour.

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BASIC CREPES (EASY RECIPE)

1. In a sauce pan melt butter, then add milk to reach the same temperature of liquid ingredients. Otherwise, if you mix melted butter with cold milk the butter will harden again. 
2. Adjust the thickness of the crepe by adding 3/4 of a full ladle of the crepe mix. We love our crepes thinner. Therefore, when I pour crepe mix into the crepe pan, I add just about what’s needed to cover the bottom of the pan. If you love them thicker tough, add a pinch more. 
3. When the edges of the crepe start to separate from pan, flip the crepe over using a wooden spatula – that way crepes won’t overcook & become to crisp and try.
4. Use a thin bottomed crepe pan – using a regular pan to make crepes takes so much longer in my experience. 
5. Stack crepes over one another when cooked and leave to cool for about 10 minutes before eating. That way, natural heat from crepes, stacked over one another will make them so much softer. 

If you are a crepe/pancake lover – I also recommend checking out our Greek Yogurt Pancakes – they are so soft and delicious, made  entirely with Greek yogurt. 

BASIC TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST CREPES:

The secret to making the perfect Crepes is the batter liquidity. It’s recommended to aim at ‘’liquid-y runny honey’’ batter – one that is neither too liquid-y nor too thick. I tend to use cow’s milk with around 2% fat. Good thing to remember is that if you use whole milk (which has around 3.5% fat content) the batter becomes thicker, you may add a tbsp or 2 of water to thin it. Generally, the thinner the batter, the crispier crepes will be.

Another thing to consider is the flour you choose. Always recommend using finely milled flour as opposed to ‘crunchier’ ones. I’ve even made this recipe with one cup white all-purpose flour and one cup spelt flour (finely grinded) and they still turn amazing!).

The third to consider is how long you keep crepes in the pan before flipping over – once crepe’s edges start to separate from the pan – it’s time you flip that sweet pancake over! Otherwise, they might turn crisp and break easier. 

One last tip on preparation method – I discovered (by necessity really) that crepe batter becomes perfectly homogenized, silky and airy when one uses (hand) blender in spite of beaters or fork. The recipe however works wonderfully either way.

MORE EUROPEAN RECIPES TO TRY :

CREAMY MASHED POTATOES (NO MILK RECIPE)

EXTRA CRISPY GARLIC SMASHED POTATOES RECIPE (AIR FRYER OR OVEN)

BEST GROUND WALNUT COOKIES (3 INGREDIENTS)

LOADED POTATO SALAD – OLIVIER SALAD (WITH MAYO)

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