Crêpes for breakfast! What a wonderful way to start your day. I love making this for our lazy weekend breakfast when I can savour each bite and admire this delicate little beauty!
Crêpes are a sort of dosa, only its made with all purpose flour (maida), eggs, milk, butter, sugar and salt. They are a snack and street food in France, and all the touristy areas of Paris are dotted with Crêperie serving freshly made crêpes with all sorts of toppings. You can typically spot a giant jar of Nutella, which paired with bananas, are by far the most popular choice.
Personally, I find the amount of Nutella they smear on each crêpe to be too much for my liking – it just gives me a sugar rush, and I feel full very quickly – which cannot be a good thing. Who, then, will try all the other patisseries, bakeries and all the goodies that they have?
Once I learnt that the locals like their crêpes simple – which just lemon and sugar, I gave it a try, and was hooked! Very simple, very elegant, and so tasty.
Crepes are so versatile, and very simple to make. I have only ever had them sweet, but it is wonderful with savoury fillings as well to make for a great lunch or dinner option, or just a snack.
I have shared the recipe I like to follow – it makes for very light crepes, so the count of crepes eaten does not matter 😉 Also, I can go to town with my choice of toppings with each crepe.
Ingredients
1 cup (120 g) of All Purpose Flour (maida)
1 tbsp (13 g) granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten well
1.5 cups (375 ml) of milk
0.5 cup (125 ml) of water
4 tbsp (60 ml) melted butter
Preparing the batter
In a large bowl, add the maida and pour the milk and water. Whisk it well so that there are no lumps. Add the sugar and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add the eggs to the flour mixture, and whisk again to ensure a smooth batter. Add in the melted butter.
Ideally we should let the batter sit for at least an hour in the fridge, or overnight. But normally, I can’t be bothered, and skip this step. Refrigerating helps relax the gluten formed by all that whisking, helping the crepes be a bit light and airy, so if you have planned properly, follow this step.
Cooking Method
Take a good non stick pan and put it on medium heat. Grease the pan a little with oil or butter. This is needed only for the first crepe you are cooking. The butter in the crepes batter and a good quality non stick pan are enough to ensure the crepes do not stick to the pan. I still had not had my morning coffee so went a ‘little’ (!) overboard with the amount of butter. But this was eaten by my son, so no worries there!
Take a ladle full of the batter, and pour it on to the heated pan. Quickly swirl it around so that there is a very thin layer of the batter on the pan. It should be as thin as a plain dosa.
When the top side has no more wet batter, and the edges are slightly browned, flip it over and cook on the other side for a few seconds.
To Serve
My family likes it with nutella and bananas. I spread a very thin layer of nutella, and a few slices of banana. For me, I like the freshness of lemons, with powdered sugar, and maybe some fruits on the side.
They are such an impressive breakfast and dessert idea. I hope you give these a try.