How to make perfect French pancakes (crêpes) – recipes and tips

If you have already read our post on pancakes (if not, go to the post about French pancakes (crêpes)), you are probably curios how to make an ideal homemade French crêpe. It is really easy, and definitively you will not have any problems with doing it. Well, maybe at the beginning first tries would not be ideal and not as you might expect. But it is all about practice. I guess that at the end of the frying of the first set of pancakes, you will get something at least a little bit similar to the one you know from restaurants and food stalls. So, do not give up!

What you need?

• Flour – wheat flour is usually used
• Milk – you can skip it and replace fully by water
• Water
• Eggs
• Oil or butter
• Some salt and sugar

That is all. Not a lot, am I right? Especially that these ingredients are almost in every fridge and kitchen. They are so basic and so cheap.

Proportions of ingredients

Eggs : milk/water : flour – 4:1:1, what means take 4 eggs, one cup of milk or water or mix of milk and water and one cup of an all purpose flour. Dash of salt and sugar. That is according to the theory. But in my case, I would prefer to take less eggs and add some more milk to the batter. Usually, I am using only two eggs, and I guess it is sufficient. I am also adding some oil – just a spoon, to the batter. Thanks to that the frying process is easier and pancakes can be fried even with no oil. Apart from that, the batter is a little bit softer. If you prefer to use butter instead of oil, melt it before, so that is easier to mix with all other ingredients.

Ingredients for perfect classic French crêpes – sweet pancakes

• 2 to 3 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• ¼ cup of water
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon of melted butter or oil
• 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar, depending on your preferences
• Dash of salt
• 2 tablespoons of oil or butter for frying

Ingredients for perfect classic French crêpes – savory pancakes

• 2 to 3 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• ¼ cup of water
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon of melted butter or oil
• Dash of sugar
• Dash of salt
• 2 tablespoons of oil or butter for frying

Instructions

Use blender or a whisk if you do not want to mix all ingredients for the batter manually.

Preparing batter manually

1. Start with all powdered ingredients. Put all-purpose flour.
2. Add salt and sugar and mix all well.
3. Add eggs one by one. Mix after each added egg.
4. In a separate bowl mix milk, water and oil or melted butter.
5. Add the mixture from the bowl to the bowl with flour and eggs. Do it slowly, step by step. Avoid pouring all liquids at once, as it might be more difficult to get a smooth batter with no lumps.

Preparing batter with a blender

This is the easiest way of preparing an ideal, smooth batter. Just put all ingredients into the blender, adding flour at the far end. Blend it for a couple of seconds.

Preparing batter with a whisk

This method is similar to the manual one.

1. Start with putting eggs and milk into a bowl. Whisk it.
2. Add oil or melted butter and whisk again.
3. In a separate bowl mix all-purpose flour with salt and sugar.
4. Add to the flour mixture half of the whisked liquid mixture of milk, eggs and oil. Whisk it again.
5. Add the rest of the liquid mixture and whisk it, till you get a smooth and a little bit watery batter.

If you need it for your breakfast, no worries, you do not have to hurry in the morning. You can prepare the batter the previous evening and keep it in the fridge. Cover the batter for storing. Than, in the morning, just take a ready batter and start frying.

How to fry ideal French pancakes?

1. Use a 30-centimeter non-stick pan. Preheat it.
2. Brush the pan with some oil or butter.
3. Mix the batter.
4. Take about ¼ of the cup of batter and pour it on the pan.
5. Swirl it, so that the batter covers the whole bottom of the pan. Start from the edge, and then go to the middle of the pan.
6. Make sure the batter is spread uniformly.
7. Let the pancake fry till they get a little bit brownish on the edges – more or less for about 40 seconds. If you wish to get extra soft pancakes, fry them only for about 30 seconds
8. Flip your pancake or just remove it straight forwardly. If you decide to fry them on the other side too, do it for about ten to fifteen seconds.
9. Place on a large plate and cover it with another plate.
10. Mix once again (do it before preparing the next pancake) the batter and repeat the whole process.
11. After each pancake, put it on the plate and cover.

How to serve pancakes?

You can serve them warm or cold. If you prefer a warm version, and your pancakes are already cold, just put them for a while to the microwave. Before heating them, cover them so that they do not get too dry. Heat them in the microwave for about 30 seconds. After that, remove them straight forwardly and remove the covering plate too. Thanks to that, your pancakes will not be too moist or soggy.

Filling pancakes

Sweet pancakes

What do I need for Nutella and bananas pancakes?

• Batter for sweet pancakes (see the recipe above)
• 2-3 tablespoons of Nutella per each pancake
• 1 sliced banana per each pancake

How to make sweet pancakes with Nutella and bananas?

1) Prepare batter for sweet pancakes as in the recipe above.

2) Preheat a wide, flat pan. If you have a special pan for pancakes, use this one.

3) Brush the pan with some butter or oil.

4) Fry your first pancake.

5) When almost ready, spread evenly Nutella on half of the pancake. Leave about 1,5-centimeter space from the edge.

6) Slice bananas and lay on Nutella.

7) Fold the pancake by putting the empty side on the one with Nutella and bananas.

8) Take a long knife and using the upper side of it (not the sharp one), divide the pancake in three equal triangles. Do it carefully, so that the pancake is not cut, but only slightly dented. Thanks to that, folding the pancake would be easier.

9) Fold the pancake, following previously done lines.

10) Turn the pancake upside down, press to the pan and let it heat for a couple of seconds.

11) Eat when it is warm.

12) Optionally, you can garnish it with whipped cream. 

Read also about sweets and pancakes in Romania and about meals in touristic spots in Romania.

Savory pancakes

What do I need for Italian style pancakes with mozzarella, Parma ham, rucola and cherry tomatoes?

• Batter for savory pancakes (see the recipe above)
• 4 wide slices of mozzarella per each pancake (if your cheese has a smaller diameter, take more slices so that they evenly cover the whole central part of the pancake)
• 2 Parma ham slices per each pancake
• Handful of rucola per each pancake
• 5-6 cherry tomatoes per each pancake

How to make savory Italian style pancakes with mozzarella, Parma ham, rucola and cherry tomatoes?

1) Prepare batter for sweet pancakes as in the recipe above.

2) Preheat a wide, flat pan. If you have a special pan for pancakes, use this one.

3) Brush the pan with some butter or oil.

4) Fry your first pancake.

5) When almost ready, take mozzarella slices and place them in the middle part from the top till the bottom of your pancake.

6) Let it melt for a second or two.

7) Take Parma ham slice and put them on the cheese.

8) Take rucola and place it on the Parma ham.

9) Cut each cherry tomato in four and put them on the rucola layer.

10) Let it heat for a moment.

11) Fold one empty side of the pancake, so that the resting stripe would nicely cover the middle part with all ingredients.

12) Repeat it with the other side of the pancake.

13) When you get an almost ready pancake, evenly folded and already filled, turn it upside down, and let it heat for a short moment.

14) Remove and eat immediately.

Tips and tricks for preparing perfect pancakes

How to make gluten free pancakes?

• Replace a regular, all-purpose wheat flour with buckwheat one.
• Or use a special, gluten free wheat flour.
• Or use an almond flour.

How to make pancakes with no eggs and no milk – vegan pancakes?

• Use flax seed egg to replace a regular egg.
• Or use baking powder (use about 1 tablespoon per 500 gr of flour).
• Replace milk with water.
• Or use soy milk or almond milk or coconut milk (actually, you can use every plant-based milk). Thanks to that, you will also get special, additional flavor.
• Skip adding almond or coconut milk to savory pancakes, and just add more water.

How to freeze pancakes?

For a longer storage period, take a wide container (so that each pancake can loosely lay in it without being folded) and place your pancakes in it. Put a parchment paper on each pancake. Close well the container and put to the freezer. Before eating, let it warm in a room temperature and reheat either on a pan or in the microwave.

Author: Beti – A passionate traveler and lover of Asian cuisine, especially Thai and Japanese dishes, Bernadeta brings her culinary and cultural experiences to life in her writing. Beyond her travels, she’s an avid technology enthusiast with a deep interest in data processing, merging her love for exploration with analytical insights.

Photographer: Adalbert – An aficionado of computers and photography, Adalbert captures the essence of diverse cuisines with a discerning eye. A connoisseur of rich flavors and particularly fond of meat-based dishes, he combines his technical skills with his passion for the culinary arts in every shot.

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