When I was growing up I loved spending the weekend with my grandma at her home in Los Angeles. I would sit at her sunny kitchen table with the white lace tablecloth while she mixed up a batch of the most amazingly simple original French crepes. The crepes came off the skillet perfect every time…”except for the first one”, she would always say, “that one is a throw away.”
We would spread them with rich pats of butter, roll them up and pour warm syrup all over them. It was a kid thing and it made me feel so special. Like I was eating a treat made just for a princess.
I learned, from those mornings in her kitchen, the very simple French crepe recipe she taught me and the straight-forward technique for cooking up the batter in a small skillet sizzling with browned butter.
I still make her Original French crepes, using that very simple recipe of only 5 ingredients. These crepes are a favorite every time. Over the years I discovered the endless possibilities for fillings and toppings, but the basic recipe has never changed. This basic French crepe recipe is totally adaptable. Just add a sweet or savory sauce or filling, spread on top or roll inside. This little French-style pancake will have you singing La Vie en Rose all day long.
Original French Crepes
Equipment
- 6" skillet
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- ½ small lemon, juiced
- 8 Tbsp butter
- Fillings and toppings Butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, berry preserves, cream cheese, spinach, chives, salsa, shrimp, crab, mushrooms...you get the picture.
Instructions
- Add flour and eggs to a mixing bowl. Add the milk ¼ cup at a time, stirring batter in ¼ cup intervals until very smooth. (The trick here is to let the weight of the flour work for you to knock out all the lumps during mixing while the batter is really thick and then slowly thin out the batter by adding the remaining milk.)
- Heat small skillet over medium high heat.
- Drop ¾ tablespoons of butter into the hot pan and swirl to coat the bottom and sides of pan.
- When butter is golden brown and sizzling pour in ⅓ cup of batter. Tilt the pan around to coat entire bottom and just slightly up the side of the pan with batter. (If your pan is not hot enough, the batter will just slide off the pan and not sear itself to the bottom)
- Cook the crepe on first side until the edges start to crisp and slightly curl from the pan. Flip the crepe over and cook for only about 10 more seconds. Transfer to a plate and stack them flat so that you can serve them all at one time. Keep them warm in the oven or next to the burner while you are cooking the other crepes. Once you stack them they'll stay pretty warm from their own heat.
- Repeat steps 3-5 until all of your batter has been used.
- Serve rolled, folded or flat with your favorite toppings.