Berry Crepes
Berry crepes – the sophisticated French counterpart to traditional American pancakes. These crepes are tender and buttery with a slightly crispy edge - the perfect base for delivering fresh berries and whipped cream.
Equipment
- 1 8-10 inch non-stick skillet
- 1 plastic spatula
- 1 Whisk
- 1 small mixing bowl
- 1 medium mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons salted butter melted
Instructions
Making the Crepes
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together the eggs
- Add the milk, water and vanilla extract and whisk together until combined. Set the bowl aside.
- In a medium sized bowl stir together the flour and granulated sugar.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together until it forms a smooth batter.
- Add in the melted butter and whisk again until fully incorporated.
- Cover the batter with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 60 minutes or overnight if you can. If you don’t have time, you can make the crepes right away, but allowing the batter to rest does allow the flour to fully hydrate giving a nice elasticity and flavor to the crepes.
- Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is heated up melt some butter into the skillet especially at the edges and then pour in your crepe batter into the centre of the pan. If you are using a 12” skillet use ½ cup of batter, if you are using an 8-10” skillet use 1/3 cup of batter.
- Twirl the pan around to allow the batter to reach all the edges of the bottom of the pan. You need to work relatively quickly so the batter doesn’t cook before you get a chance to swirl it around the pan.
- Once you see the edges beginning to dry out a bit and release from the pan and they are a bit brown, it is time to flip the crepe over and let the other side cook for about 30 seconds.
- Remove the cooked crepe from the pan and keep them warm on a plate.
Assembling the Crepes
- Crepes are usually either rolled with their filling or folded. If you fold the crepe, you can put a little whip cream on half the crepe and then fold over in half (over the whipped cream). Then fold in half again in the opposite direction. You can then place the fruit on top with more whipped cream if you like and/or icing sugar. Ready to serve.
- If you prefer you can roll the crepe instead. Place the filling in about ¼ of the crepe (like a burrito, you don’t want to over stuff), and then begin rolling the crepe over starting from the side that the filling is on. This will leave the top and bottom open which can give a nice presentation.
Notes
- The first crepe almost always isn’t a pretty one. It seems like the first one is getting the pan ready for cooking crepes and needs to be sacrificed to the crepe gods (ie. the Cook) before you start to get really nice crepes.
- It may help to butter the skillet between each crepe, but often after the first one is cooked you are good to keep going. It depends on your skillet really.
- I find that the longer you leave the batter to rest in the fridge the more tender the crepe and the more little holes the final product has in it (not big enough to cause leaks etc). But, I have to admit that sometimes crepes happen at the last minute and I don't have time to let the batter rest, the crepes are still pretty darn good.