An Authentic French Crêpe Recipe

(Missed our Instagram Live crêpe-collab with Time In New York? No problem! Watch it on our IGTV.)

Crêpes are more than just super thin pancakes. They can come dressed up in sweet goodies, like strawberries, sugar, and Nutella. They can also be served up as a savory meal, filled with meat and cheese. 

Although you can buy one on practically every Parisian street corner, the crêpe actually originated in Brittany. If the name sounds familiar, it should! Brittany is a region in the northwest of France, and is French for “Little Britain”). Geographically, Brittany is both smaller and further south than its etymological cousin, La Grande Bretagne, “Great Britain”).

(A Map of Brittany. Zoom out to see how close it is to Great Britain!)

Origin of the Word

The word crêpe comes from the Latin word crispus, which means waved or curly. It’s the origin of words like “crisp.” Nowadays, we associate the word crispy with a crunch. However, it used to mean curly, which points to the curled up sides indicative of a well-cooked crêpe.

Lingo Lookout: Here’s a hint for those of you learning how to read French. If you see a French word with an accent circumflex (the   ̂  above a letter), it’s a little reminder that the word used to contain an extra consonant— typically an s. Look at the word crêpe, and the word crisp. Very similar words, except the modern French version has gotten rid of that telltale s that English and many Romance languages maintain. (Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese all use the word crispo).

The Recipe

Here’s our recipe for the perfect unadorned crepe.

Ingrédients

• 300g of flour

• 3 eggs

• 3 tablespoons of sugar (optional)

• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

• 50g of melted butter

• 60 cl of milk 

• 5 cl of rum or 5cl of orange flower water 

Utensils

• A salad bowl

• A whisk 

• A strainer

• A non-stick pan 

• A ladle 

• A spatula

Preparation

1. Put flour, eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, and butter into a salad bowl.

2. Combine the ingredients with a whisk

3. ·     Add the milk little by little, stirring with whisk until you achieve a slightly thick mixture.

4. Add rum or orange flower water and mix

Tip: Run the dough through a strainer to filter out any clumps

Cooking

1. Heat the pan and lightly oil.

2. Pour a ladle of crepe mix onto the pan.

3. Wait until the crepe is cooked on one side. Then, flip and wait again.

That’s it!

While this recipe is simple, the real fun comes with adding ingredients into your crêpe. What are your favorite crêpe mix-ins? Comment them below!

Thumbnail photo by Monika Grabkowska on Unsplash