Thursday, June 10, 2010

Crêpes

Growing up in the province of Québec, where everything is influenced by French culture, I was always familiar with crêpes, the thinner cousin to the pancake. When I discovered pancakes, I didn't understand why anyone would pick the thicker version over thin and dainty crêpes, slathered with maple syrup.

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Crêpes - Makes about 8-10 crêpes
From Take Home Chef - Curtis Stone.
Have them on their own for breakfast with maple syrup, add cheese and vegetables for a savoury dish or it's perfect as dessert, folded up with ice cream and drizzled with chocolate. I don't think you need a recipe per se; my sister would probably say to add ingredients until you get the "right" consistency. However, I've been using this recipe for a while and it works every time!

* 1-¼ cups whole milk
* 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
* ½ cup heavy cream
* 2 large eggs
* 4 tsp sugar
* pinch of salt
* 1 tbsp unsalted butter

Mix milk, flour, cream eggs, sugar, and salt (the recipes calls to blend it, but I just mix it by hand).
Set aside for 30 minutes allowing the flour to absorb the liquid and the foam to dissipate.
Strain the batter through a sieve to ensure there are no clumps.
Preheat oven to 200F.
Heat a heavy 8-inch nonstick saute pan over medium-low heat.
Dab some of the butter on a paper towel and wipe the pan with it.
Pour a ladle full (or 3 tbsp) of the batter into the center of the pan and swirl to coat the bottom thinly.
Cook until the edge is light brown (and large bubbles form), about 1-½ minutes.
Loosen the edges gently with a spatula, and carefully turn the crêpe over.
Cook for another minute.
Place the crêpe on a plate and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.
Serve with maple syrup or maple whipped cream.
Tada!

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Mixing the batter, straining and cooking a crêpe!

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Nothing better than a stack full of crêpes waiting for you at breakfast!

1 comment:

Ashley said...

Hi! Just stumbled upon your blog because of the crepe posting. Maple syrup is one of my favorite toppings, too! If you've written a review of a Montreal or another Canadian creperie, please consider submitting it to my creperie review page. Thanks for sharing!