Tremendous Crepes
Prep
10m
Cook
20m
Total
30m
Bigly says
Folks. Crepes. Tremendous crepes. We're going to France for a minute — and I've been to France, many times, the French love me, they cry when I leave, it's actually embarrassing for everyone involved — and the French got ONE thing right, and that thing is the crepe. They got plenty wrong, don't even get me started on their breakfast pastries, the croissant lobby is OUT OF CONTROL, but the crepe? The crepe is a masterpiece. A circle of paper-thin batter, lacy edges, golden, soft, perfect. The geometry alone is a triumph.
Most Americans have never had a real crepe. They've had the chain-restaurant crepe, which is essentially a sad floppy pancake with an identity crisis, or they've had the food-truck crepe at a music festival that's been sitting under a heat lamp for forty minutes, congealed, weeping butter — sad, truly sad — and they think 'this is fine,' but it's NOT FINE. It's a betrayal. A real crepe is light. A real crepe folds. A real crepe DRAPES. People look at a real crepe and they say, 'I have lived my whole life wrong,' which is dramatic but accurate. Believe me.
The secret to the greatest crepe — and I'm giving this to you for free, no subscription, no 'unlock the rest of this recipe by signing up for our wellness newsletter,' which by the way, WELLNESS NEWSLETTERS? Every recipe site is suddenly a WELLNESS BRAND, they all want to tell you about magnesium, nobody asked, nobody cares — the secret is letting the batter REST. Thirty minutes minimum. The flour needs to relax. The gluten needs to take a NAP. You skip the rest, you get rubber. You wait, you get silk. End of discussion.
Ingredients
- 1 cupall-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cupswhole milk
- 1/4 cupwater(the water keeps them light — milk alone is too rich)
- 3large eggs
- 3 tbspunsalted butter, melted and cooled(plus more for the pan)
- 1 tbspgranulated sugar(skip for savory crepes)
- 1/4 tspkosher salt
- 1 tspvanilla extract(skip for savory crepes)
- to tastepowdered sugar, lemon, jam, or Nutella for serving
Steps
- 1
Combine flour, milk, water, eggs, melted butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a blender. Blend on high for 30 seconds until completely smooth.
- 2
Scrape down the sides, blend another 5 seconds, then transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours). This rest is non-negotiable.
- 3
Heat an 8 or 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush very lightly with butter — you want a thin sheen, not a pool.
- 4
Lift the pan off the heat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter into the center and immediately swirl the pan in a circular motion to coat the bottom in a thin, even layer.
- 5
Return to the heat and cook 45-60 seconds, until the edges lift and turn golden brown and the surface looks dry.
- 6
Slide a thin spatula under the edge, lift, and flip. Cook another 20-30 seconds, then slide onto a plate.
- 7
Stack the crepes on a plate as you go, covered loosely with a kitchen towel to keep them warm and soft. Adjust the heat if they brown too quickly or stay pale.
- 8
Serve folded into quarters with powdered sugar and lemon, jam, or Nutella — or roll up with sautéed ham and gruyère for savory.
One more thing
And that's the crepe. Light as a whisper, folds like a love letter, and you can fill them with anything — sweet, savory, sweet AND savory if you're a chaos agent, I respect that — and now you never have to wait in line at a food truck again. You make them at home. You make them on a Tuesday. You make them in your pajamas. That's the life. That's the BIGLY life. Tell your friends.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Tremendous Crepes.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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