Easy to make Crepes take less than 5 minutes to throw together and less than 15 minutes to have on your table!
Just like pancakes, Crepes are extremely versatile and easy to make! Including a few tips and tricks to get you delicate, soft and buttery French Crepes every single time! Make them for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or dessert!
A simple, foolproof recipe you’ve seen before in our Strawberries and Cream with Orange Liqueur recipe.
WHAT ARE CREPES?
Similar to American pancakes, French crepes may have the familiar flavour, but they are different in size and texture. Crepes are thinner, softer and delicate. The batter is watery when compared to pancake batter, containing no leavening agents which prevents them from getting fluffy.
If you have never made them before, you may have heard that they are either too difficult to make or too delicate to deal with, but they are so easy!
After making them once, you will perfect your homemade crepes making every time after!
HOW TO MAKE PERFECT CREPES
All you need to make Crepes at home is flour, eggs, milk and butter (or oil). The usual recipes consist of 4 eggs, 1 cup milk and 1 cup of flour. Not a fan of a strong egg taste, I find these recipes are too strong. Through the years, we have been able to reduce the amount of eggs, swapping 2 of those out for extra milk and fats (butter/oil).
I also find the more eggs in the recipe, they turn out rubbery with an almost chewy texture.
If you love SOFT and delicate crepes, this recipe is definitely for you!
In our recipe, we include two methods for mixing your batter together:
WHISK the DRY ingredients together first. Make a well in the centre and add the wet ingredients. Whisk until lump free and smooth.
BLEND all ingredients together in less than 10 seconds.
REST your batter to rest while your pan heats up to let the ingredients settle into each other, while letting the gluten rest. I find 5-10 minutes is plenty of time.
You want a runny batter so that it runs freely around the base of your pan, evenly covering it when swirling it around.
COOK in a lightly greased nonstick pan over medium heat.
- For an 8 inch pan, you will need about 3 tablespoons of crepe batter (about 50 ml)
- A 10 inch pan needs about 1/4 cup of batter (about 60 mL)
- For a 12 inch pan, you need just over 1/3 cup of batter (about 80-90 mL)
You want just enough of batter to create a thin crepe!
Add batter while swirling the pan: Use one hand to pour the batter in, while the other hand swirls the pan. Work quickly to ensure the batter spreads evenly over the base and around the edges of the pan.
FOR SOFT CREPES
Use butter as your grease to make them super soft while cooking. Let cook until the surface has set and the underside is slightly golden, about 1 minute. Gently flip and cook until set, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
FOR CRISP EDGES
Using oil as your grease helps get those edges nice and crispy! Cook until the edges are starting to brown and crisp slightly, about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes. Flip and cook for a further 30 seconds until the crepes develop browned spots.
CAN I MAKE CREPES GLUTEN FREE?
Yes, crepes can be made gluten free. Use your regular gluten free flour, or buckwheat flour instead. They are slightly more delicate, but taste the same.
SUBSTITUTIONS
MILK: Almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, rice milk or goats milk can be used to make them. You can also swap milk out for water if you prefer, but the flavour will be altered.
FLOUR: Wholemeal and whole wheat flours can be used. They will have a nutty taste and will not be as delicate. The finer the flour, the softer the crepes.
BUTTER: Oil can be used instead.
MORE CREPE RECIPES
Nutella S’mores Crepes
Strawberry Cheesecake Crepes
Jam Donut Crepes
Easy To Make Crepes
Ingredients
FOR CREPES
- 5 oz (150g) all purpose flour, (1 cup)
- 2 heaping tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup milk, (310ml | 10 1/2fl oz)
- 2 large egg
- 4 tablespoons melted butter, (or oil)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
FOR COOKING
- 1 tablespoon softened butter
Instructions
FOR CREPES
- Whisk together flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl.
- Make a well in the centre and pour in milk, eggs and slightly cooled melted butter. Whisk wet ingredients first before folding into the dry ingredients.
- Whisk until batter is smooth. Batter should be runny/watery. Add in 1-2 tablespoons extra milk, if needed.
BLENDER METHOD
- Add all the ingredients into a blender. Blend until batter is smooth, about 10 seconds.
REST
- Let batter rest while preheating a 10-inch nonstick pan over medium heat. Alternatively, cover batter and refrigerate overnight.
COOK CREPES
- Lightly grease pan with a layer of butter with a butter soaked paper towel or silicone brush.
- Give the batter a light mix to move settled ingredients around before pouring out each crepe.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the centre of your hot pan. Swirl around in a circular motion to evenly coat the bottom of the pan, spreading the batter around the edges. Fill in any gaps with a little extra crepe batter if needed.
- Place pan back on the heat.
FOR SOFT CREPES
- Let crepe cook until the surface has set and the underside is slightly golden, about 1 minute.
- Gently flip crepe and cook until set, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Repeat until all the batter is used up, mixing batter before pouring out each crepe.
FOR CRISP EDGES
- Cook crepes until the edges are starting to brown and crisp slightly, about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes. Flip and cook for a further 30 seconds until the crepes develop browned spots.
- Repeat until all the batter is used up, mixing batter before pouring out each crepe.
- Stack cooked crepes on a plate.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Serve with fresh lemon wedges or thick slices to squeeze juice over crepes before eating, and whipped cream. If serving crepes later, microwave stack until warm, about 30 seconds. MAKE AHEAD Make crepes ahead of time and store layered with a sheet of parchment paper between each crepe. Wrap with cling wrap and store in an air-tight container. This prevents them from drying out. Refrigerate for up to 3 days, and warm (in batches) in the microwave before serving. They don't need long! Only about 10-15 seconds per batch of three crepes. FREEZE CREPES Once they have cooled completely to room temperature, wrap in a freezer bag and store in an air-tight container. Freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to serve, defrost in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm them in the microwave.
deena says
just made these delicious crepes and I agree with Deb, you nailed it! True to a classic French crepe- light, not rubbery egg and easy to make. Thanks for the recipe : )
Claire says
Is there an easy way to flip them and keep the shape?
Tracy Brennan says
I’d like to know as well. Need a video to see how it is does without breaking them.
Deb says
Making these RIGHT NOW and this is by far the best recipe I’ve followed! I love that you only use 2 eggs. One thing that turned me off crepes was the eggy taste, and I just had a sneak bite of the first crepe and you definitely nailed it. Going to slide this recipe across the table to my kids for Mother’s Day tomorrow.