Crepes Four Ways
Crepes were my father’s Sunday morning specialty. He would crank them out by the dozen, while all of us kids sat at the table, scarfing them down and battling each other to get the next one fresh out of the pan, stuffing ourselves until our stomachs hurt.
His specialty, which I’m calling French Canadian maple crepes, were always filled with a good swipe of butter and lots of freshly grated maple sugar, which he would restock on every time he went home to upstate New York for a visit. It is not the easiest product to source, but it makes an amazing crepe.
Crepes are also Ayana’s favorite breakfast, but she takes a more continental approach, and prefers lemon juice and sugar. As an adult, I still get a stomach ache when I eat sweets for breakfast, so I like a savory filling, like ham and cheese.
No matter how you eat them, they are simple to throw together with what’s already in your pantry, and they are always delicious.
Crepes
Serves 2 people to stomach ache levels
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1.5 cups milk
2 tbsp neutral oil or melted butter
Pinch of salt
¼ tsp vanilla, optional
Directions:
Add your dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl, and stir them together. Add the eggs, and beat them well. Pour over the milk, and mix until the batter is smooth.
Heat a 10-12” non-stick pan to medium-low. Grease with butter or, for simplicity’s sake, cooking spray.
I like to use around ¼ cup batter per crepe, but this makes relatively small crepes (feel free to use more batter if you would like them larger). Pour the batter into the center of the greased pan and swirl it to spread the batter into a large, thin circle.
When the edges of the crepe are cooked, but not crispy, flip it over (around 60 seconds). Cook the other side for 20-30 seconds, and remove to a plate.
Re-grease the pan, pour the next scoop of batter in, and while that side is cooking, finish the crepe that just came out.
For the Forget family classic, give the still-warm crepe a good swab with a pat of butter and then sprinkle heavily with maple sugar. If you’d like something a bit more French, try white sugar and lemon juice in place of the maple sugar. Or fill it with cheese and sausage, or fresh fruit and whipped cream, really whatever your heart desires.
Enjoy!
Related Recipes:
Triple Chocolate Pancakes with Coffee Mousse