Recipe - Crepes with Sugar and Lemon

Recently, it seems like several of you are going paleo or at least low-gluten. I admire the food-conscious decisions friends are making and resolve to constantly think about and revamp what we do around here to make healthy decisions. Can I just say, however, that while I'm certainly motivated to consume nutrients and whole foods at this point, that slab of chocolate cake has become even more irresistible to this already-subject-to-exclusively-eating-baked-goods gal? Maybe I just feel a little more guilty about it these days ("what am i feeding you?! meh, we'll eat brussel sprouts tomorrow").

In the meantime, this crepe recipe & tips helped to bring some variety to thick slices of bread for sandwich-type things and to add some variety to the boring scrambled eggs in the morning (i scramble them flat and throw them into a crepe with some avocado). Because I was going savory and sweet with the fillings, I left out the small amount of sugar in the batter. I made up a batch with no other changes to the recipe and kept the folded leftovers into a tupperware in the fridge for a few days. And when faced with a sudden sweet craving, a dash of lemon juice and sprinkle of powdered sugar on a reheated crepe seemed to do the trick without having to whip up a huge batch of cupcakes. 

On that note, mmmmmm....cupcakes.....

From America's Test Kitchen Season 12: Crepes and Croissants
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

A crêpe is nothing but a thin pancake cooked quickly on each side and wrapped around a sweet or savory filling, but it has a reputation for being difficult. We wanted an easy method for crêpes that were thin and delicate yet rich and flavorfully browned in spots. Finding the perfect ratio of milk to flour and sugar gave us rich-tasting, lightly sweet pancakes. We were surprised to find that neither the type of flour nor the mixing method seemed to matter, and a plain old 12-inch nonstick skillet worked as well as a specialty crêpe pan. What does matter is heating the pan properly (over low heat for at least 10 minutes), using the right amount of batter (we settled on 1/4 cup), and flipping the crêpe at precisely the right moment, when the edges appear dry, matte, and lacy. 

WATCH THIS RECIPE

These thin French pancakes have a reputation for being temperamental divas demanding pampered batter, a specialized pan, and supremely delicate handling. Oh, really?

Watch the Video

Serves 4

Crêpes will give off steam as they cook, but if at any point the skillet begins to smoke, remove it from the heat immediately and turn down the heat. Stacking the crêpes on a wire rack allows excess steam to escape so they won’t stick together. To allow for practice, the recipe yields 10 crêpes; only eight are needed for the filling.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1cup (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1teaspoon sugar, plus 8 teaspoons sugar for sprinkling
• 1/4teaspoon table salt
• 1 1/2cups whole milk
• 3large eggs
• 2tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1lemon, cut into wedges

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Place oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet and heat over low heat for at least 10 minutes.
• 2. While skillet is heating, whisk together flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, and salt in medium bowl. In separate bowl, whisk together milk and eggs. Add half of milk mixture to dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Add butter and whisk until incorporated. Whisk in remaining milk mixture until smooth.
• 3. Using paper towel, wipe out skillet, leaving thin film of oil on bottom and sides. Increase heat to medium and let skillet heat for 1 minute. After 1 minute, test heat of skillet by placing 1 teaspoon batter in center and cook for 20 seconds. If mini crêpe is golden brown on bottom, skillet is properly heated; if it is too light or too dark, adjust heat accordingly and retest.
• 4. Pour ¼ cup batter into far side of pan and tilt and shake gently until batter evenly covers bottom of pan. Cook crêpe without moving it until top surface is dry and crêpe starts to brown at edges, loosening crêpe from side of pan with rubber spatula, about 25 seconds. Gently slide spatula underneath edge of crêpe, grasp edge with fingertips, and flip crêpe. Cook until second side is lightly spotted, about 20 seconds. Transfer cooked crêpe to wire rack, inverting so spotted side is facing up. Return pan to heat and heat for 10 seconds before repeating with remaining batter. As crêpes are done, stack on wire rack.
• 5. Transfer stack of crêpes to large microwave-safe plate and invert second plate over crêpes. Microwave on high power until crêpes are warm, 30 to 45 seconds (45 to 60 seconds if crêpes have cooled completely). Remove top plate and wipe dry with paper towel. Sprinkle upper half of top crêpe with 1 teaspoon sugar. Fold unsugared bottom half over sugared half, then fold into quarters. Transfer sugared crêpe to second plate. Continue with remaining crêpes. Serve immediately, passing lemon wedges separately.

TECHNIQUE

• WHISK AWAY

  Most recipes for traditional American pancakes caution against overmixing the batter; doing so activates the formation of gluten and will render the results tough and dense. In theory, the same logic would apply to crêpes, but our mixing tests showed that all that worry was for naught. Why? It all comes down to the liquid-to-flour ratio. The high proportion of liquid in crêpe batter makes it so dilute that gluten development—that is, the network of proteins that give baked goods their chew—is not actually a factor. This also means that you can use anything from low-protein cake flour to high-protein bread flour and get a similarly tender crêpe.

TECHNIQUE

• IS THE PAN READY?

  Here's a test to make sure that the pan is hot enough: Drop a teaspoon of batter into its center. If this mini crêpe is golden brown on the bottom after 20 seconds, the pan is ready. If it's blond—or burned—adjust the heat accordingly.

TECHNIQUE

• TROUBLESHOOTING CRÊPES

  
  PROBLEM: Splotchy browning
  SOLUTION: Preheat pan 10 minutes
  
  
  PROBLEM: Batter spreads unevenly
  SOLUTION: Tilt and shake
  
  
  PROBLEM: Crêpe tears when flipped
  SOLUTION: Wait, then try again