Julia Child's French Crêpe Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make Joanna Gaines crêpes? ›

Directions. In a blender, combine the flour, eggs, milk, 1/2 cup water, the sugar, vanilla, salt, and butter and pulse to combine for about 1 minute. Let the batter sit in the fridge to rest for at least 20 minutes or overnight. Heat a dry nonstick medium skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

One of her books, aptly named Julia's Kitchen Wisdom, contained a simple, master recipe that you can use for both sweet and savory crêpes. Although some recipes for sweet crêpes call for sugar, I find that this makes them stick to the pan.

Crêpes are an ultra-thin pancake common in France that can be made sweet or savory, typically rolled or folded with a variety of fillings from jam or Nutella to ham and cheese to seafood.

Let the batter rest.

If you can make the batter the night before, or 8 hours before you plan to make crêpes, they will be better than straight away. This resting period allows the gluten in the flour to develop and bond to the milk and eggs, and this yields a more complex flavor.

Child's Boeuf Bourguignon recipe was featured in one of the earliest episodes of The French Chef and has become a classic among the many Child enthusiasts at GBH. In fact, GBH News host Henry Santoro concludes there's no better recipe for the dish.

The Name "Crepe"

Crepes are so popular in France that they have Le Jour Des Crêpes, a holiday every February 2nd. Street crepe carts in France are about as popular as hot dog carts in the US, so you can find everyone eating crepes that day.

A crepe is a classic French dish made from a simple batter of flour, eggs, and milk. Crepes are similar to pancakes, but they are not made with a leavener—like the baking powder and baking soda used in pancakes—which results in a thinner batter and delicate crepes.

Traditionally, crêpes are folded or shaped according to the recipe directions. However, there are many recipes that would work well with different types of folds. Crêpes are also very versatile. Once you have the basic crêpe recipe down, you can use whatever ingredients and folds you like.

Crêpes are usually one of two varieties: sweet crêpes (crêpes sucrées) or savoury galettes (crêpes salées). They are often served with a wide variety of fillings such as cheese, fruit, vegetables, meats, and a variety of spreads. Crêpes can also be flambéed, such as in crêpes Suzette.

What is the difference between American and French crepes? ›

If you're new to the game of crepe, French crepes are pancakes. They are moist and thin and not thick and fluffy, unlike American pancakes. The taste and feel of French crepes are like a hybrid of a pancake, pita bread, and an omelet.

In France, a majority of the population enjoys eating crepes with various types of fillings: sugar, jam, salted butter caramel, and Nutella, etc. We can however identify sugar and spreads (such as Nutella) as the true French favorite fillings.

In a recent survey, the crêpe au sucre (crepe covered with melted butter and sprinkled with granulated sugar) was named as French people's favorite way to enjoy a crepe. This is followed by crepes filled with different kinds of jam, and with spreads like Nutella.

The standard recipe for French crêpe calls for flour, eggs, milk, salt, and butter. Sugar is optional. In the industrial production of crêpes, the dry ingredients are combined with eggs to form a dough. The rest of the wet ingredients are then added to thin the batter to a loose enough consistency to spread easily.

No! Just a small heavy-duty nonstick fry pan and a thin spatula and you're ready to go. Cooking the crepes so they are evenly thin and relatively round can be a bit challenging, but they'll still taste amazing even if they're not perfectly round.

Use a thin spatula: A thin, flexible spatula is essential for flipping crepes without tearing them. Butter or oil: While non-stick pans reduce the need for additional fats, you can lightly grease the pan with a small amount of butter or oil before pouring in the batter for extra flavor and browning.