Teatime Crêpes

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The secret to lacy crêpes is the thinnest batter and a very hot pan.  When the batter is poured into the pan, it will spread easily to form a delicate film.  It’s also helpful to let the batter rest for at least half an hour if you can; if you want you could make it the day before.  Just give it a good stir before using, adding a little water if it has thickened slightly.

Good crêpes are best served simply – just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of caster sugar.

makes 10-12 crêpes, serving 4-6

This recipe originally appeared in my second cookbook, Egg (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Photograph by Paul Winch-Furness.

Ingredients

  • 120g plain flour
  • pinch of fine sea salt
  • 200ml milk
  • 100ml water
  • 2 eggs
  • 20g unsalted butter, plus extra for frying
  • lemon wedges, to serve
  • caster sugar, to serve

Instructions

  • Sift the flour into a bowl and add the salt.  Put the milk, water and eggs into a jug and whisk well.
  • Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the milk mixture, a little at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon to gradually bring the flour in from the sides until you have a smooth batter.  Pour the batter back into the jug and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.
  • Melt the butter in the frying pan you are going to use to cook the crêpes, the pour it into the batter.  Give the batter a good stir, it should have the consistency of single cream.  If not, add a little more water.  The pan will now have a good film of butter in it for you to cook your first crêpe.
  • Make sure the pan is really hot and pour a small amount of the batter from the jug into the pan, tilting it all around as you go so that the batter spreads in a very thin, even layer over the bottom.  Any extra batter you can pour back into the jug.
  • Cook for a minute or so until small bubbles appear on the surface and then use a spatula to gently ease the sides of the crêpe away from the pan.  Carefully turn and cook for another minute on the other side.
  • Use a pice of kitchen paper to rub a tiny bit more butter into the pan before cooking each crêpe.
  • Crêpes can be made in advance and reheated easily.  Just stack the cooked crêpes on top of each other and cover with baking parchment or cling-film and store in the fridge until needed.  To reheat, put them in a low oven or heat individually in a frying pan with some butter.

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