Crepes with Lemon & Sugar for Two

Continuing on with my quest to present to you smaller sized, delicious recipes, today I present some dessert crepes!

I used to be a bit intimidated by crepes. In the Christmas Market you always have that stall selling crepes and they are very popular on the continent, all at a pretty high price. Somehow the brain fools us into thinking that is something is expensive like that we can't make them at home.

If you can make a pancake however, I am happy to say you can make a crepe! A rose by any other name, a crepe is merely a very thin pancake without leavening, I might add.

I was really surprised when I moved over here to the UK and ordered pancakes one day. They were crepes, not the thick fluffy ones I was used to. Those type are called Scotch Pancakes here. Anyways, crepes . . .

Crepes are not that hard to make. The key to making good ones is to make sure that your skillet is heated properly from the get go. I like to oil mine lightly, and then leave it to heat over low heat while I am mixing up my crepe batter.

You want to check that your pan is properly hot before you begin. Once my batter is done, I use a piece of paper towel and remove most of the oil, leaving just a light film on the bottom and sides. (Use a good non-stick skillet as well!)

I always do a little test ~~pancake~~ crepe first. Just a teaspoon full of batter. Pour it into the centre of the pan, and tilt slightly. If you pan is the right temperature, it will cook to golden brown on the bottom in about 20 seconds.

If it doesn't your pan isn't hot enough. so increase the heat a bit and try again. Once you have your skillet properly heated you can start cooking the others.

60ml/1/4 cup full of batter at a time, pour it into the heated pan, swirling and tilting it slightly to coat the bottom. Leave it to sit, without moving it, over medium low heat until it looks dry on top, the bottom is golden brown and the edges are starting to look a bit brown.

Loosen it around the edge and carefully flip it. You can continue to cook it for about half a minute longer, just until the other side blisters a bit with some golden brown spots. Carefully lift it out to a wire rack and start cooking your remaining three crepes, one at a time.

Each time you will want to lift them out as they cook and stack them on top of the first one on the wire rack. Why a wire rack? The wire rack allows excess steam to escape so that they don't stick together.

This recipe makes exactly five crepes. The first one is always a bit of a trial and error thing as you work it out to get it just right.

Cooks treat I call it . . .

Once all of your crepes are cooked you can sprinkle them with sugar and fold them in half and then into quarters. I do like to sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar on them to finish . . .

These are gorgeous served with lemon juice squeezed over top. Before moving over here to the UK, I would never have thought of serving them with lemon and sugar, but trust me, it works beautifully. If you have it some fresh berries would also be nice served with these.

Crepes with Lemon & Sugar for Two

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Lacy and rich. The recipe makes five crepes as everyone knows the first one is always a test for the rest.

ingredients:

70g plain flour (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
180 ml whole milk (3/4 cup)
1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
1 TBS butter, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp vegetable oil
granulated sugar and lemon wedges to serve

instructions:

How to cook Crepes with Lemon & Sugar for Two

Heat the vegetable oil in a 12 inch non-stick skillet for 10 minutes over low heat. Make the batter while the pan is heating.
Whisk the flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Whisk together the milk and egg. Whisk half of this into the flour mixture until smooth, then whisk in the butter. whisk in the remaining flour mixture.
Wipe most of the oil out of the skillet, leaving only a fine coating. Increase the heat to medium. Leave for a minute. Test the heat of the skillet by adding a tsp of the batter in the centre of the pan. If in 20 seconds the bottom is golden brown, the skillet is the right temperature. If too light or too dark, adjust the temperature as needed.
Pour in 60ml of batter (1/4 cup). Tilt gently to cover base of the pan. Cook until the top surface is dry and the edges are beginning to turn golden brown. Gently loosen around the edges and then flip over. Cook for a further 20 seconds or so until lightly spotted golden on that side. Transfer to a wire rack and proceed to cook the remaining crepes in the same manner, stacking on the wire rack as done.
Transfer stacked crepes to a large plate microwave safe plate and invert a second plate over top. Microwave for about 30 seconds on high to gently heat through. Remove the top plate and wipe dry. Sprinkle some of the remaining sugar over half of the crepe (about 1 tsp). Fold in half and then into quarters. Place onto the dried plate, Repeat with the remaining crepes, sugaring each with about 1 tsp sugar, and then dividing them between the two plates. Serve immediately with wedges of lemon for squeezing over top.

NOTES:

If lemon and sugar is not to your taste, you can fill these with whatever you want. Nutella and banana. Peanut butter and jam. Berries and whipped cream. The world is your oyster.