Crêpes

Two weeks ago I was terribly sick with a bad virus for an entire week.  Unfortunately, due to my overwhelming nausea I wasn't able to eat much and loss my appetite.  Surely enough, I was still craving foods.  As soon as I recovered and was able to enjoy food again, I made one of the things that I was longing for - crêpes!  I usually prefer salty breakfasts so it was curious that I craved crêpes.  I do enjoy them with fresh fruit, whipped cream and lots of maple syrup.

Crêpes are super simple to prepare but there are some guidelines to follow.  I happen to let my crêpe batter rest in the fridge for at least one hour to avoid having too many air bubbles.  If you don't do this step, air bubbles in the crêpe let some of the filling seep out, which is something you want to avoid, especially if you happen to be eating it with your hands (i.e. simple crêpe filled with nutella).  Another thing is that your first crêpe will always be a tester and won't look as good or brown as nice.  A tester crêpe is necessary to test the temperature of your pan.  A hot pan is imperative to a good crêpe.  Ideally, a crêpe should be cooked on one side for about 30 - 60 seconds and then the second side only requires 10-15 seconds.  

I liked this Alton Brown recipe because it used a blender which eliminated the use of a whisk and the blender provides an easy way to pour out the batter without using a ladle.  However, it is important to be consistant when pouring out the batter in order to make even sized crêpes.  I used a 10-inch pan for medium sized crêpes which yield about a dozen crêpes.

Crêpes

Ingredients

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 cup flour

1/4 cup of melted butter

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a blender, combine eggs, milk, water, flour, and 3 tablespoons of butter, sugar, vanilla and pulse for 10 seconds.  Place the crêpe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour.  This allows the bubbles to subside so the crêpes will be less likely to tear during cooking.  The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan.  Using a pastry brush, brush melted butter on the pan.  Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly.  Cook for 30 seconds and flip.  Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board.  Lay them out flat so they can cool.  Continue until all batter is gone. 

Source: adapted from Alton Brown