5 Original Crepe Recipes

Crepe Suzette, beer, flambéed, sugar, there are so many recipes that everyone knows. What we especially love about crepes is that they are easy to make. For snacks, desserts, and parties, here are 5 original recipes that both young and old will adore.

A little history about the crepe

The crepe has existed since time immemorial. Back then, it was a bit thicker like pancakes. It is a dish with many variants across all continents. Its name and type of flour may differ, but the principle is the same: a base of flour and water cooked on a flat surface. In France, Brittany is known as the city of crepes. It is one of their sweet specialties. The crepe is also the symbol of Candlemas.

Classic crepe recipe

With a few ingredients in the cupboard, it's ready. This is also why the crepe remains one of the most consumed snacks at home. For the ingredients: a flour (wheat, rice, lentil, semolina, buckwheat...), water or milk, eggs, and sugar. Easy variations include beer, cider, rum, vanilla, orange blossom, etc. Mix everything to get a batter that is not too liquid nor too sticky. Cook on a pan or special plate with a bit of butter or oil. For tasting, some like the crepe plain, others prefer it with honey, chocolate, jam, or maple syrup.

Original crepes to delight the whole family

There are other original recipes that are easy to make to diversify the menu at home. Savoury or sweet crepe, here are 5 preparations.

Crepe gratin: a convivial savoury recipe

This recipe is the same as all gratins. First, you need crepes. For the gratin mixture, you need béchamel sauce. For the crepe filling: minced meat, onion, and cheese.

Preparation:

• Prepare the crepes with water or milk, eggs, and flour
• Cook the fillings by adding salt and pepper
• Prepare the béchamel with butter, flour, and milk
• Fill the crepes with the savoury preparation. You can roll them or place them in squares

For cooking, place the stuffed crepes in a dish, cover everything with béchamel, sprinkle with cheese, and bake at 180°C for about twenty minutes.

Variant: you can fill with chicken, pork, various cheeses, or vegetables. It's up to you to concoct your own version.

Savory crepe mille-feuille: a gourmet recipe

This is the savoury version of the crepe cake. For 6 servings, you need 8 to 10 crepes. For the filling, you are free to choose. It's like sandwiches, the more ingredients, the better. You can, for example, add ham, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, lettuce, and avocado.

For assembly, spread a crepe with mayonnaise or a sauce you regularly use for burgers, add an ingredient, another sauce-spread crepe, another ingredient, and so on. Wrap the whole thing and refrigerate overnight to set. Enjoy with salad or just the crepes.

Tip: prepare homemade mayonnaise, a yogurt sauce, or melted cheese to spread on the crepes.

Crepe cake: various flavours to choose from

As an birthday cake or for a small family party, the crepe cake requires only two ingredients: crepes and cream.

To prepare it, you need a lot of crepes. Count about 15 crepes for 6 people. For the cream, you have the choice: ganache, pastry cream, diplomat cream, etc. The assembly is simple: alternate a crepe and a layer of cream. Coat the cake with cream. To keep it upright, choose a more or less consistent cream like ganache or pastry cream. You can use the flavours you like: chocolate, lemon, strawberry, banana, etc.

Variant: with this same technique, you can make a rainbow crepe. In this case, colour your crepes like a rainbow. Otherwise, there is also the tiramisu-style crepe.

Crepe cone: ideal for summer

With this recipe, you can enjoy ice cream or fruits with whipped cream. Another way to eat crepes in summer, all fresh. The base is still the same: crepes. The particularity this time is the thickness. They must be very thin so they can harden. As soon as they come off the pan, shape them into cones. Once cooled, add ice cream or fruits and whipped cream inside. You can use sugar sprinkles, chocolate chips, dried fruits, etc.

Variant: this recipe also works with savoury fillings. You'll have a kind of taco cone.

Crepe lollipop: a treat for the little ones

Don't know what to do for your child's christening? The crepe lollipop will be of great help with the treats. For the ingredients: crepes and something to spread them with. Let's move on to assembly. Spread the crepes with chocolate, ganache, jam, cheese for the savoury version, etc. Roll them and cut into 1.5 to 2 cm pieces. Put a little spread on top so you can fix sprinkles or sugar pearls. Finally, stick the crepes with a skewer.     

Variant: with the same sweet or savoury preparations, you can make crepe makis without the skewers.