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    Home » Recipes

    The Best Traditional French Crêpes

    Written by Kathrin (Leave a Comment)

    With this quick and easy crêpe batter recipe with helpful tips, you are guaranteed to make delicious French pancakes at home.

    french pancakes

    Whether with jam or chocolate cream, crêpes always hit the spot! This is no wonder: The thin French pancakes can be filled individually - and always remind me somehow of an exuberant visit to the fair.

    Jump to:
    • Taste and Occasion
    • Ingredients
    • How to make the French Crêpes
    • Top Tip
    • Recipe Card
    • French Crêpes
    • Variations
    • Nutrition
    • Reviews

    Taste and Occasion

    With my basic crêpes recipe, you can also conjure perfect crêpes at home, like at a fair. The preparation is anything but witchcraft. Basically, it is similar to the German pancake basic recipe. The main difference is certainly that crêpes are very thin, as they are made of a much more liquid batter. Due to the filling and unique folding technique, they somehow also taste significantly different from pancakes. With one bite, you sort of get a layered treat. My family and I, we love it! For breakfast, lunch, coffee dates.

    french crepe recipe

    Ingredients

    The fact that the crêpes recipe is easy adds icing on the cake. It takes less than 5 minutes to mix the batter. Okay, for baking in portions, you have to take a little time. French crepes are best when you bake them in a traditional cast iron pan. Meanwhile, there are also crêpes pans with non-stick coating, for which you need less fat. The typical dough spreader (made of wood or plastic) is helpful from experience. However, a regular large pan and a turner for spreading and turning can also be used in a pinch. By the way: The basic recipe is also suitable for crepe makers.

    Whether you make the crêpes recipe sweet or neutral does not matter. We always add a maximum of 1-2 tablespoons of sugar to the dough. The remaining sweetness comes from the more or less luscious fillings or toppings 😉 . Among the top favorites of our crêpes fillings are cinnamon sugar, berry jam, applesauce, and Nutella.

    easy thin and delicious crepe recipe

    How to make the French Crêpes

    First of all, whisk together the flour and milk, stirring constantly. Then gradually add the melted butter and eggs, stirring constantly. Finally, add salt and sugar. There should be no lumps in the dough. If necessary, blend everything again briefly. Now, cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30-60 minutes. Stir again briefly.

    Check out my other similar recipes!
    • German Pfannkuchen (Pancakes)
    • French Lemon Tart Recipe
      Lemon Tart
    • Easy Basic Pancakes
    • Lemon Curd

    Continue with heating a shallow (crêpe) pan and brushing it with a little clarified butter or oil. Place a ladleful of dough in the center of the pan and spread thinly in the pan using a batter spreader or by swirling back and forth. Once the crêpe comes away slightly from the bottom, turn with a spatula or similar and bake again briefly from the other side.

    After this, simply do the same procedure with the remaining dough and fill crêpes as desired.

    delicious french crepes simply homemade

    Top Tip

    To ensure you succeed with the batter, here are a few helpful tips on preparing it. And after reading - nothing like go to the stove!

    How do I make crêpe batter without lumps?

    First, it is essential to mix the ingredients while stirring constantly. I start with flour and milk, then butter and eggs. Sometimes it is also advised to mix eggs with flour first in any case, then add the milk. If the dough still has lumps, it's easy to blend it again until smooth, put it in a stand mixer, or pass it through a sieve.

    Why should crêpe batter rest?

    This allows the gluten in the flour to work and the dough's ingredients to combine better.

    How do you fold crêpes?

    Recipe Recommendation

    German Pfannkuchen (Pancakes)

    THE classic for the whole family. This easy, quick basic Pfannkuchen recipe is suitable for sweet and savory German pancakes.

    It's easy to spread the filling on half of the crêpes, then fold the second (empty) half over the top and fold the half circle into a quarter again. Rolling also works, of course.

    How long can crêpes be kept?

    You can keep the unbaked batter covered in the refrigerator for 2 days. The finished pancakes will also keep for a day; however, they are always better fresh.

    How to keep crêpes warm?

    Easy in the oven at 120°F-160°F / 60°C-80°C.

    crepe like in france

    Recipe Card

    The best traditional french crepes
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    French Crêpes

    Easy recipe for delicious French pancakes just like at the fair. These crepes always hit the spot!
    Prep Time5 mins
    Baking Time10 mins
    Resting Time30 mins
    Servings: 12 pieces
    Calories: 145kcal

    Ingredients

    • 3 eggs, medium
    • 500 milliliters (2 cups) milk
    • 40 grams (3 tablespoons) melted butter
    • 250 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
    • 1 pinch salt
    • 1 tablespoon sugar, or more
    • clarified butter, or oil for frying

    Instructions

    • Whisk together the flour and milk, stirring constantly. Then gradually add the melted butter and eggs, stirring constantly. Finally, add salt and sugar. There should be no lumps in the dough. If necessary, blend everything again briefly.
    • Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30-60 minutes. Stir again briefly.
    • Heat a shallow (crêpe) pan and brush with a little clarified butter or oil. Place a ladleful of dough in the center of the pan and spread thinly in the pan using a batter spreader or by swirling back and forth. Once the crêpe comes away slightly from the bottom, turn with a spatula or similar and bake again briefly from the other side.
    • Do the same with the remaining dough and fill crêpes as desired.

    Notes

    • Crêpes are delicious with just powdered sugar or filled with cinnamon sugar, jam, chocolate cream, applesauce, etc.

    Ingredient substitutions

    Do you want to replace some ingredients? Here you find tips for baking ingredient substitutions!

    Variations

    Enjoy making your own crêpes! Desserts are real soul food for the whole family: Whether American pancakes, low carb pancakes, classic Kaiserschmarrn, or vegan pancakes. And if you've been bitten by the French bug - why not try other French classics like chocolate mousse?

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    French Crêpes
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 145 Calories from Fat 45
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 5g8%
    Saturated Fat 3g19%
    Trans Fat 0.1g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4g
    Monounsaturated Fat 1g
    Cholesterol 53mg18%
    Sodium 57mg2%
    Potassium 103mg3%
    Carbohydrates 19g6%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 3g3%
    Protein 5g10%
    Vitamin A 212IU4%
    Calcium 63mg6%
    Iron 1mg6%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    With this quick and easy crêpe batter recipe with helpful tips, you are guaranteed to make delicious French pancakes at home.With this quick and easy crêpe batter recipe with helpful tips, you are guaranteed to make delicious French pancakes at home.With this quick and easy crêpe batter recipe with helpful tips, you are guaranteed to make delicious French pancakes at home.

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    • About Kathrin & Jan

      It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking simply makes you happy. Welcome and enjoy our blog!

      Kathrin & Jan

      Get to know us. →

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    Hi, we're Kathrin & Jan!

    It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking is what makes us happy.

    Welcome and enjoy our blog!
    Learn more about us. →

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