Sunday, March 15, 2009

French Crepes

Long ago, my then-10-year old son studied a breakfast menu carefully in a restaurant and announced to the waitress in a clear and carrying voice that he would like to order "the French creeps, please." I believe this recipe is what he was thinking of, because it was always a popular one in our home. It comes from an older edition of The Joy of Cooking. I hear that the new edition no longer contains this recipe. I can’t imagine why they would leave it out.

French Pancakes (or Crepes)

Sift these dry ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Mix these ingredients in a bowl with a whisk:
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla, or a little grated lemon rind
1/3 cup water

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir a bit, just until the dry bits disappear. Lumps are ok as they will disappear during the cooking. Spray a little cooking oil in the pan, or wipe quickly with a paper towel scrunched up and dipped in vegetable oil. Pour in a couple of tablespoons of the batter and swirl the pan to spread it around. Cook until a peek underneath shows that the pancake is brown, flip it over to finish cooking, and put it on a plate to keep warm in the oven.

These can be rolled up with jam; or with powdered sugar, butter, and/or lemon juice.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

This is an outstanding recipe; we've been using it in our house for years. Thank you for posting it.