Forget Pancakes—Our Basic Crêpes Will Transform Your Brunch Spread (2024)

What Are Crêpes?

Hailing from Brittany, France, crêpes are the pancakes that are flatter than a pancake. Made from a thin, unleavened batter, they are spread out wide and flat on a griddle and cooked for the briefest amount of time; so instead of being tall and fluffy as a flapjack, they are soft and tender and very thin. At creperies in France, crêpes are cooked on griddles that can be as massive as manhole covers, but there’s no need for anything of sort at home. A good-quality nonstick skillet and a little practice are all you need to master this incredibly versatile treat.

How To Make Basic Crêpes

Ingredients

• Eggs: Eggs play a critical role of binding the batter and setting the crêpes. Room temp eggs blend more evenly for a smoother batter, so be sure to give them some time to come to temperature.
• Milk: I prefer to use whole milk for my crêpe batters. The extra fat acts as a counterweight to the gluten in the flour, ensuring tender crêpes. As with the eggs, you want the milk room temperature to get the smoothest batter possible.
• Sugar: I know some will object to sugar in crêpes, but I love the way it promotes the caramelization of the crêpes in the pan. Feel free to omit if you like, or if you prefer a sweeter crêpe, go ahead and bump up the quantity to 2 Tbsp.
• All-Purpose Flour: The foundation on which crêpes are built. Where bread flour would make the crêpes too tough and pastry flour, too tender, all-purpose right strikes a happy medium.
• Unsalted Butter: I always go with unsalted butter for crêpes. Salted butter makes it impossible to know just how much salt there is in the batter.

Step-By-Step Instructions

The first step to this recipe might come as surprise: Plug in your blender. What, no whisk? No bowl? Nope! Not only does the blender win for speed, but it guarantees the smoothest batter and the most even distribution of ingredients. Do make sure all your liquid ingredients are at room temperature so butter blends in evenly.

Once the batter is very well blended, pour it into a measuring cup and give it a rest in the fridge. This can be as short as 1 hour or as long as 2 days. Personally, I find the sweet spot to be an overnight rest, which allows ample time for the flour to hydrate and the batter to develop flavor.

Now that your batter is well rested, it’s time to make some crêpes! For that, you’ll need a suitable pan. A built-for-purpose carbon steel crepe pan is, of course, ideal, but a good nonstick skillet, 8" or 9" in diameter, is more than up to the task. Heat the pan over medium-low heat and lightly grease with butter. Now for a little technique: Pour 1/4 cup batter into the center of the heated pan while swirling until the bottom is coated in a thin, even layer of batter.

At this point things move fast. Cook the crepe, undisturbed (seriously, no futzing), until the top is set and the edges are beginning to look dry and lacey; it should take less than a minute. At that point the crêpe is ready to flip. This is where things can get tricky. Remember, crêpes are not American-style pancakes; they tear easily and are much too delicate to attack aggressively with a spatula. Instead, slide a rubber spatula under one edge of the crêpe to loosen it, then pick up the crêpe with your fingers and gently lay it back down flat in the pan on its reverse side. Cook just until golden brown in spots underneath—again, less than a minute—and get it out of the pan. Don’t sweat it if your first crêpe looks atrocious; it’ll still be delicious and you'll get the hang of it soon enough.

Recipe Tips

• Does crêpe batter need to rest? Crêpes cook up quickly, but the batter does need to rest for at least an hour before cooking. Don’t skip this step! Resting the batter gives the flour a chance to hydrate, so the crêpe will hold together, and also allows the gluten in the flour to relax, which helps create a tender crêpe. The batter will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days, which means you can even make it the night before so it’s ready to go in the morning.

• What kind of pan to use: One of the trickiest things about making crêpes is getting the batter to spread into an even, perfect circle in the pan. It’s definitely more difficult without a crêpe pan, but you can achieve good results in a standard 8" or 9" nonstick pan.

Crêpe Variations

Serving Ideas

Crêpes can be filled with all sorts of tasty things, from sweet to savory (or even a mix of both). Some of my favorite combinations include fresh fruit and whipped cream (or Nutella), leftover ham and cheese, roasted vegetables and chèvre...the list goes on and on. If you're serving them sweet, I highly recommend a generous dusting of powdered sugar. If you're feeling creative, step beyond breakfast, and use these to make our show-stopping crêpe cake. Filling a crêpe can be as simple as spreading it with jam and rolling it up. For chunkier fillings, top half of the crepe with the filling, then fold the crepe over once to make a half-moon and once again to form a triangle.

Storage

Crêpes are a perfect make-ahead breakfast. They can be made up to 3 days ahead. Let cool, then stack between sheets of parchment and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or freeze up to 1 month.

Made This?

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