Thin French Crêpes with Sugar and Lemon
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and America's Test Kitchen.
A smooth, rested batter of flour, milk, eggs and butter is swirled thinly into a hot non-stick pan, then the crêpes are folded with sugar and served with lemon.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Make the batter. Whisk the flour, 1 tsp sugar and salt in one bowl and the milk and eggs in the other. Whisk half the milk mixture into the flour until smooth, then the melted butter, then the rest of the milk. Adding the liquid in stages prevents lumps.
- 2
Rest. Leave the batter for 30 minutes. It should be the thickness of single cream; whisk in a splash of milk if it is thicker. Resting relaxes the gluten so the crêpes are tender and don't tear.
- 3
Heat the pan slowly. Put the oil in the pan over low heat for 10 minutes, then wipe it out with kitchen paper, leaving a thin film. Turn the heat to medium for 1 minute. Slow heating gives an even surface with no hot spots.
- 4
Test the heat. Cook 1 tsp batter for 20 seconds; it should be golden underneath. Adjust the heat if it is pale or too dark.
- 5
Cook. Pour 60 ml batter into the far side of the pan and immediately tilt and swirl it to coat the base thinly. Cook without moving for about 25-40 seconds, until the top looks dry and the edges brown and lift. Loosen an edge with the spatula, lift it with your fingertips and flip, then cook for 20 seconds until spotted underneath.
- 6
Stack. Turn each crêpe out onto the rack, spotted side up, and repeat with the rest of the batter, reheating the pan for 10 seconds between crêpes. You should get about 10; the first one is often a test.
- 7
Fill and serve. Sprinkle half of each warm crêpe with about 1 tsp sugar, fold it in half, then into quarters. Serve 2-3 per person with lemon wedges, and a little butter if you like.
Storage
Stack unfilled crêpes between baking paper, wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Warm in a dry pan before filling. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Equipment
- 2 medium bowls
- whisk
- 25-30 cm non-stick frying pan
- 60 ml ladle or measure
- rubber spatula
- wire rack
- kitchen paper
- 2 large plates
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 363 kcal |
| Protein | 11.3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 40.8 g |
| of which sugars | 14 g |
| of which free sugars | 9.2 g |
| Fat | 17.1 g |
| of which saturates | 8.8 g |
| Fibre | 1 g |
| Salt | 0.6 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.1 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
