TimmyC’s love of pancakes quickly shifted to crepes when he discovered their crispy buttery goodness a few years ago and I thought while I was trying to get a good pancake, I could probably look into crepes as well.
A wonderful Belgian friend of mine made me some crepes for breakfast the last time I stayed with her; the crepes were delicious with a subtle sweetness from the vanilla sugar she uses. I didn’t find it needed much else but a touch of cinnamon to enjoy its buttery crispy goodness but she had hers with bacon, banana and syrup. Her recipe comes from an old photocopied recipes from Belgium and she was also nice enough to translate it for me so I could try to make them when I got home.
Crêpes (makes 15)
I had to double check with my friend that I had written down the right type of flour, I just thought it was an odd concept for something so thin and crispy to have self raising flour.
I forgot to make a well for my wet ingredients which just meant I had to mix a bit more but it incorporated together in the end.
Ingredients
- 200g self raising flour
- 30g caster sugar
- 10g vanilla sugar
- 500mL milk
- 4 eggs
- Butter for frying
Equipment
- Fry pan with shallow sides
- Spatula
- 2x Mixing bowls
Method
- Sift flour into a bowl
- Mix through both sugars
- Make a well
- Mix wet ingredients in another bowl
- Put eggs and milk in the well and mix until everything is incorporated
- Ladle the batter into medium hot buttered pan.
- Swirl the pan instantly to cover the bottom of the pan evenly with batter
- Loosen edges with spatula when bubble start to form
- Flip the crepe without dropping it on the floor
- Cook for less than a minute on the other side or until golden brown
Tips
We were eating them by the stove top because we were impatient and we liked them hot. My friend placed all of the layers on a plate kept it warm in the oven until she was done cooking. You will have to keep adjusting the heat to the pan so the crepes won’t burn.
For my own convenience, I cooked them all in one hit and just microwaved them when I wanted one; they were hot but lost their crispiness. They looked ugly at first but it takes a few tries to get them thin and flip them without breaking.
Choose your condiments and you’re on your way! Tim likes maple syrup and ice cream (you’ll see a trend) but I like it plain and simple with hints of icing sugar and cinnamon. 
Layers of crispy thin crepes. 
TALES OF A CONFECTIONIST 