Any tips on making crepes?

Question

I'm making crepes for the first time. Do you have any suggestions or tips?

Answer 1

Just use a really good non-stick pan.

I make my crepe mix in the blender. It makes it easier to pour into the pan and clean up is a breeze.

Answer 2

Bettey Crocker cook books have a good recipe for crepes made from scratch. Or check the links below.

Crepes are cooked similar to pancakes, however you want to keep them fairly thin (thicker may be better your first time around - maybe 1/8 inch thick).

Using a round, well greased pan that is at medium to medium high heat.

Pour the batter (our use a measuring cup to ensure you use the same amount each time) and allow it to coat the bottom surface of the pan. If it coats the sides, this can make it difficult to get the crepe out of the pan, but if the pan is well greased, it should be fairly easy when the crepe is ready.

If you are making many and need to stack the crepes, wax paper works well in between each one.

You can use just about anything for filling, it just depends on your taste. Strawberries are wonderful fresh, maybe mixed and refrigerated for 30 min in a little sugar or corn syrup. I have also used peach and mango (sometimes combined). I usually cook it to get a thicker consitancy,but still enough fruit to sink your teeth into. Of course just about any fruit preserves work well.

Enjoy. Email me some... ;-)

Answer 3

The best and most funny tutorial I ever saw on crepes was by Alton Brown on "Good Eats" on the Food Network. Just search for crepes and Alton Brown on their website. Excellent!
He also suggested a good non-stick pan with not too much grease. Food.com is a great website with a ton of recipes-check it out! I've never made a bad one!

Answer 4

Just buy a really good crepes pan & practice. Have fun

Answer 5

follow the recipie to the T, except when they tell you to put oil in your frying pan; i use a paper towel folded with some oil on it cause if not youre left with oily crepes that are not that yummy...

Answer 6

go to allrecipes.com!

Answer 7

Making crepes is not hard. If you can make pancakes, you can make crepes. Before we start, I have a few tips:

Don't worry about getting the thinnest possible crepes. I have had people tell me that when they make crepes, they aren't thin enough. Crepes don't need to be perfectly thin, and they often aren't. When I ate crepes from a street vendor in Paris, they were about the same thickness as the ones I make, and they were not thin as paper. Relax, your crepes are not too thick.
You don't need a special crepe pan. You can buy very fancy skillets or electric pans. If you have a small non-stick skillet, you will get perfectly nice crepes, and you'll have one less pan crowding up your kitchen.
You'll probably mess up a couple of the crepes when you make a batch. So what? I've made lots of crepes, and I still mess up at least one per batch. Sprinkle some sugar on it and enjoy it as a snack. Don't let it worry you.
If you're making enough crepes to serve a lot of people, there are three easy ways to handle it. First, you can stick the crepes on a plate in a barely warm (200°F) oven, where they'll stay warm until you are ready to assemble them. Second, you can serve them as you make them. When serving family on a busy night, it's sometimes okay if people eat them as they are served. Third, it's not a big deal if the crepes cool down a little bit before you eat. If the filling is warm, it makes up for it.
To make about 20-24 crepes, you'll need a few ingredients and utensils:

Ingredients:
Utensils:

4 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
2 ¼ milk
¼ cup (½ stick) melted butter or margarine

A whisk, wooden spoon, fork, electric mixer, or eggbeater
A bowl to mix the crepe batter
Plastic spatula
8 inch non-stick skillet
A tupperware to store leftover bater



It is no problem to make a half-batch or a double-batch. This recipe is adapted from Crepe Cookery, by Mable Hoffman. I learned it from my mother, who is an excellent crepe maker. I use a whisk, but a mixer or blender would certainly work just fine. I'm still not used to the novelty of mixers after years of not having one.

Note: You can click on any of the pictures to see a larger version.

Making the Crepe Batter



1. Gather your ingredients.

2. Break four eggs into a bowl.

3. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to your eggs.


4. Whisk your eggs and salt together until the egg looks uniformly yellow.

5. Measure two cups of flour.

6. Add some of the flour to the egg mixture.



7. Whisk the flour into the eggs. It will be a bit lumpy right now, but that's okay.

8. Whisk some of the milk into the batter. It will get thinner. Keep adding milk and flour alternately until you've added it all.

9. Whisk the batter until it is smooth, like it looks here. It shouldn't take more than a minute or two to whisk it smooth, from the time you started to add the flour.


10. Add the melted butter to the batter, and again whisk it until it's smooth.

11. Cover the batter.

12. Put the batter in the refrigerator


At this point, your batter is ready to go, and you can begin making the crepes whenever you are ready. You can the batter a few hours or even a day in advance of when you make the crepes. If you let it sit for a long time, the butter will separate from the rest of the batter, but you just need to whisk it for ten seconds or so, and it will be ready to use. I've kept my batter for several days, and it has been fine. After a couple of days, the batter gets a bit darker in color, but the crepes still taste fine.

If I'm making the batter right before I make the crepes, I refrigerate the batter while I prepare the filling. You can look at several of the fillings I am fond of.


Cooking the Crepes


1. Select an eight inch non-stick skillet. You don't need a fancy crepe pan. It's okay to make larger crepes if you want to, just use more batter.

2. I use about one-fourth of a cup of batter to make a crepe in this size pan.

3. Pour the batter into the pan


4. As you pour the batter, twirl the pan around.

5. As you twirl the pan, the batter coats it and makes the crepe. If you put in too little batter to begin with, pour in some extra batter to fill in the gaps.

6. As the crepe cooks, it changes in appearance. The batter on the left looks moister and hasn't set. On the right, the batter has set. It is still a bit moist. You can usually see a lace pattern developing on the underside of the crepe.


7. This is what the crepe looks like when it has set. Notice you can see the spatula through the crepe, and this isn't a particularly thin crepe either. The crepe will also usually slide around when it is ready. (It make stick a bit a the edges though.)

8. Slip the spatula under the crepe. Sometimes you need to poke it a bit. If it helps to pick up the edge of the crepe with your fingers, do it.

9. Flip the crepe over. Look at that nice lace pattern on the crepes.
If you're skillful, you can flip the crepe with a quick action of the wrist and no spatula. I'm not that skillful even though I can juggle.


10. After the second side has cooked for maybe twenty seconds, slip it out of the pan onto a plate for serving, or into a baking dish that you can put into a warmed (200°F) oven.

11. Not all crepes come out in pretty circles. Usually my first one looks awful and falls apart because I didn't let the pan get hot enough. That's okay, sprinkle some sugar on it...

12. ...and feed it to someone you love.


Once you have prepared the crepes, you can fill them and eat them.



or''

lesson in crepe making
"It's easy to make crepes. Just put everything in the blender except the butter and blend it for about 30 seconds, strain it into a bowl and come back in an hour and we'll cook them."
"That's all I have to do? I thought crepes and French cooking was supposed to be so hard and complicated?"

This little snippet of conversation took place between my 14-year old daughter and I while we were working on her French culinary project. And I thought ah yes, out of the mouths of babes ~er ~teenagers. French cuisine, like teenagers, is misunderstood and just like the teenager who was learning to make the crepes, it can be complex, exasperating, irritating and yet at times, it will surprise you with its simple sophistication. Just take a look at a few of the recipes that follow for the enduring symbol of sophisticated, simple French cuisine ~ la crêpe. . .et voilâ, les recettes:

Crêpe Batter Recipes


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Basic Crêpe Batter for Dessert or Savory Crêpes ~ Blender Method
INGREDIENTS:
3 large eggs
1-1/3 cups whole milk
3/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
PREPARATION:
1. Combine the eggs, milk, flour and salt in the blender and blend on high speed for 1 minute.

2. If the batter is lumpy, strain it through a sieve. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature for at least one hour.

At this point, it can also be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day.

Bring it to room temperature before continuing with recipe.

3. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of the melted butter. Skim the foam off the rest of the butter.


or


1-1/2 cups whole milk
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon rum, brandy or other liqueur
3 large egg yolks
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 cup sifted, unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sifted cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter
canola oil for brushing on the pan
PREPARATION:
1. Place the milk, vanilla extract and rum in the blender. Add the yolks, sugar, salt, then the flour and cocoa powder. Finally, add the butter and blend on high speed 30 seconds.

2. Scrape down the sides of the blender and blend on high speed 30 seconds more.

Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

At this point, it can also be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Bring it to room temperature before continuing with recipe.

3. Heat an 8" crepe pan or skillet over med-high heat. Sprinkle a few drops of water on the pan; if they sizzle, the pan is ready to use. Brush with a little vegetable oil.

4. Using a 1/4 cup measure, fill it with batter and pour it into the skillet. Immediately pick up the pan and tilt and swirl it so that the batter covers the entire bottom of the pan. Pour any excess batter back into the bowl.

5. Loosen the edges of the crêpe with a metal spatula. You can use a spatula to turn the crepe, but I usually, turn it with my fingers. Using both hands, I pick up the loosened edges with my thumb and index finger and quickly flip it over.

6. Cook on the other side (usually less than a minute) and slide it out onto a plate. Cover with waxed paper. Repeat with the remaining batter.
To serve:
These crepes may be filled with many different fillings, such as jam and sprinkled with a little sugar. Use your imagination and a few of your favorite ingredients to develop your own recipes.
To store:
Crepes may be kept tightly wrapped for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. They may also be frozen. Be sure to bring them to room temperature before using.
To reheat:
Cover the crêpes with foil and reheat in a 300°F oven until warmed through
4. Heat an 8" crêpe pan or skillet over med-high heat. Sprinkle a few drops of water on the pan; if they sizzle, the pan is ready to use. Brush with a little of the melted butter.

5. Using a 1/4 cup measure, fill it with batter and pour it into the skillet. Immediately pick up the pan and tilt and swirl it so that the batter covers the entire bottom of the pan. Pour any excess batter back into the bowl.

6. Loosen the edges of the crêpe with a metal spatula. You can use a spatula to turn the crêpe, but I usually turn it with my fingers. Using both hands, I pick up the loosened edges with my thumb and index finger and quickly flip it over.

7. Cook on the other side until lightly golden (usually less than a minute) and slide it out onto a plate. Cover with waxed paper. Repeat with the remaining batter.


To serve:
These crêpes may be filled with either sweet fillings, such as jam and sprinkled with a little sugar. They may also be filled with savory fillings, like ham and cheese or chicken and spinach in a cream sauce. A favorite sweet filling in France is Nutella. In Brittany, they make them with buckwheat flour and fill them with seafood. In Alsace, they flavor the batter with herbes and use leftover meat for fillings. Use your imagination and a few of your favorite ingredients to develop your own favorites.
To store:
Crêpes may be kept tightly wrapped for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. They may also be frozen. Be sure to bring them to room temperature before using.
To reheat:
Crêpes may be reheated. Heat a skillet and brush with a little butter. Heat gently on both sides. Fold into half or quarters and serve accompanied by butter and sugar or preserves.