Easy Crepe Recipe

Crepe recipe

There’s no breakfast quite so sweet as a plate of crepes. When Sunday morning rolls around, an easy crepe recipe brings joy to the table.

If your family has a love affair with pancakes, you’ll find either sweet crepes – as we’ve made here – or savoury ones (sometimes called galettes) irresistible. Originally from Brittany, a region of western France, you can now find them served right across the world. And they’re not just for breakfast either. Try a savoury version for lunch, and save sweet for a dessert if you have friends around for dinner. 

Much thinner than a pancake, crepes suit  all manner of toppings and fillings. Here, we’ve suggested Nutella or chocolate syrup with berries – bananas are good too – but even simpler is a classic like lemon and sugar. If you’d rather a savoury crepe recipe, leave out the sugar but otherwise prepare the crepe batter as we have here. Ham and cheese or spinach and mushrooms, rolled or folded into the cooked crepes, are a couple of great flavour combinations.

How to make crepes

In many French homes, you’ll find a crepe pan is a standard piece of kitchen equipment. You don’t need a special pan though; any good, medium-sized non-stick frying pan will work just as well.

When you’re making these easy crepes, don’t forget to leave enough time for the batter to rest at room temperature – at least 30 minutes – before you cook it. This allows the gluten in the flour to relax, so your finished crepes are soft rather than chewy. 

When you come to cooking the crepes, pour the batter into the middle of the pan and, using a tilting motion, quickly swirl it around the pan, as far to the edges  as possible. You want the crepes to be as thin as possible. Once the crepe mixture has set, Use a rubber spatula to lift around the edges as they cook, which will help when it comes to lifting them from the pan.

Once you’ve finished one crepe, place it on a plate, cover with a clean cloth napkin and quickly start the next. As long as the day isn’t too cold, the heat from each crepe added to the stack should keep those beneath it warm. The more you practise your crepe cooking technique, the better and quicker you’ll be.

Tips and tricks for perfect French crepes

The butter used in this easy crepes recipe is melted. Allow it to cool a little before adding it to the batter, so you don’t risk scrambling the eggs.

It’s important to make sure your pan is properly heated before you start pouring the batter. Part of the success of any crepes recipe is making sure there’s no chance the batter will stick. The French brush butter onto the pan between the cooking of each crepe, which only adds to the indulgence and tends to make the edges crispy. You can also use an oil cooking spray.

It’s normal for the first crepe to stick to the pan or not be quite the right colour. This is all part of the joy of cooking crepes – and, as the cook, you get to snack on the imperfect crepe, which we guarantee will still taste delicious.

How to serve this recipe for crepes

There are innumerable ways to serve this French crepe recipe. Early in the day, you can go with absolute simplicity. Spread the crepe with jam and roll it up to eat. In summer, try a pavlova-style topping of tropical fruit and cream. Make like a true Australian and add raspberry jam, chocolate sauce and coconut for a ‘lamington’ crepe. And, as we mentioned before, sprinkle crepes with a little sugar and squeeze over fresh lemon juice for a family favourite.

If you prefer a savoury crepe, omit the sugar from the recipe. Then the options are only limited by your imagination and some nifty rolling or folding  to enclose the filling. Spread them with cream cheese and top with smoked salmon, red onion slices, capers and a little fresh dill for a take on a classic bagel. Sprinkle them with cheese when the batter is almost dry on top – it will melt a bit – then add ham to finish them off. Top a stack with fried eggs and bacon. Sauté some mushrooms with a little garlic and cream, add some chopped flat leaf parsley and place in the centre of your crepe, rolling or folding to enclose. 

Now get cooking

Want to make your French crepes recipe a little bit fancy? If you make this slow cooker beef ragu, save a little and use it as a filling. The same goes for this creamy chicken, mushroom and leek pie. In fact, lots of leftover sauces make a great savoury crepe filling or topping. If you’ve got a birthday you need to prepare for, why not make this white chocolate and coconut custard crepe cake? It’s decadent and delicious.