My absolute first experience with crepes occurred in 2010 during my South America sojourn when fellow traveler [and now friend] Emilie offered to make some. Emilie was a former pastry chef in France so if anyone would know anything about crepes, it would be her. As those memories are now fuzzy and clouded by copious alcohol consumption, I sure they were delicious. Everything she made was delicious.
Fast forward a couple years and I am back in America, living and working in a small town called Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina. One of my fellow co-workers and RNs, had decided along with her husband to take an abandoned building is said town on open a creperie. Before the restaurant actually open, Kristin brings several varieties of crepes to work to allow us hungry health care workers to sample and give feedback as to whether this particular rendition should make it on the menu. A few months later, Tandem opens and 4 years after opening, it’s still going strong.
Fast forward again to 2018, and I’m in quite literally the middle of Africa, in southern Rwanda, and my closest stage-mate just happens to be a fantastic cook who just so happened to spend some time in France. Whether the two are related, I don’t know, but I digress. Anyway, said mate and I get together at regularly planned intervals for cooking and movie watching. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, can easily pass on chocolate and Nutella, but nearly go bananas for cinnamon apples, a recent addition into my food repertoire called Biscof cookie butter, and bananas foster. I also love savory crepes filled with bacon, eggs, and cheese. Needless to say I was excited to learn how to make this ‘fancy’ dish and was promised it was easy. It is. If I can do it, so can you.
What you will need [obviously adapt this to your surrounding. If you’re in America, you can probably find All-Purpose flour. In Rwanda, not so much]
Ingredients
- 2eggs
- 1/2 cup of milk or 1/4 cup of milk powder + 1/4 cup of water
- 2 tablespoons of butter [or butter-like substance]
- 1/2 cup of water
- dash or pinch of salt
- whatever you want to stuff your crepes with [fruit, meat, sweetness]
- cooking oil
Tools of the trade
- a true non-stick skillet
- a wire whisk
- a bowl
- spatula
Directions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
- Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
- Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.
See. Easy Peasy, and tasty AF.
