The Best Crepe You Will Ever Have, Is The One You Make!

by Marjan


Cooking French cuisine can be a bit intimidating. I know! Watch a couple of Julia Childs' clips on Youtube to give you the encouragement to start. Her 'no-nonsense' approach makes it easy to forget the 'fuss' and just start cooking from the heart for the love of it!
As a matter of fact, start with my recipe for Crepe Suzette!
Forget about all the crepes you have had on the streets of Paris or touristy restaurants. Definitely any image you have of crepes from IHOP! Instead, try my recipe for an authentic French Crepe: thin, light, crispy on the outer edges, and delicately smooth on the inside drenched with homemade caramelized orange syrup!
Need I say more?


Without fail, any one who has tasted these crepes failed to stop at one serving! Whenever there is a special occasion such as birthdays, I invite friends and family over for brunch and serve my specialty crepes as the main event. I garnish my table with bowels of fresh fruits such as raspberries, blueberries, and figs. Slices of fresh bread, home made jam, crème and butter are set out for my guests to nibble on while I prepare crepes suzette.
I suggest you make a small batch prior to serving guests…It does take some practice to achieve the right consistency and to flip the crepes over without tarring them. It is well worth the effort. Practice makes perfect!
Warning: These crepes are addicting!



Recipe for about 12-14 crepes, enough for 4-5 people
It is imperative to have both eggs and milk at room temperature. Therefore, plan ahead!

Crepe:
1 cup baking flour
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
4 eggs- room temperature
2 cups milk- room temperature
½ cup cooled melted butter

Crepe Pan or flat non-stick pan

Suzette syrup:
8-10 tablespoon powdered sugar
¼ cup butter
½ cup sweet, freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ cup Cognac if desired
Fresh mint sprigs and berries for garnish


1. Gently melt one stick of butter; cool to room temperature.
2. Swift the flour sugar and salt until blended in a small bowl.
3. In another medium size bowl, mix well the eggs and milk. Then add the melted butter to the mix.
4. Whip in the flour mix to the egg mix in increments to prevent lumps from forming. Mix well to create a creamy, uniform mix. Set aside.
5. In a small sauce pan, bring to boil orange juice, sugar and butter. Allow to reduce to a maple syrup consistency. Add more powdered sugar if the syrup is sour.
6. Once the desired sweetness and consistency is reached, remove the pan from the stove, add Cognac if you desire, and flambé. Allow the alcohol to burn off completely.
7. Check your crepe mix consistency. It should be runny and smooth, like buttermilk. If not, add enough milk until the desired consistency is reached.
8. Over medium low heat warm crepe pan or 10 inch, non-stick flat frying pan. Once pan is hot, pour enough of crepe mix in the pan (this you have to eye, ¼ cup approximately); quickly swirl pan with mix to evenly cover the entire flat portion of the pan. If any holes, simply spoon more crepe mix to fill in.
9. Adjusting the temperature of the pan as to not burn edges (medium low), once small bubbles form, the outer edges become golden brown, and the center is cooked, use a flat spatula to separate the edges of the crepe; with your fingers (be careful to not burn your fingers) separate the crepe from the pan and flip over.  The first couple of crepes might not turn out well...Practice does make perfect!
10. Remove the crepe from the pan and place it flat on a round, flat dish. Spread a teaspoon of the syrup on the outer edges of the crepe. Flip over one side of the crepe on itself-to create a half. Then flip one end of the crepe over the other end, to create a quarter. Spoon another teaspoon of the syrup on the face of the crepe, sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with fruit and mint.
11. Continue the same with remainder mix.



Bon appétit! Marjan

From our partner: LO+JUNE

From our partner: LO+JUNE
Artisanal French products in our Swiss fine food boutique