Crepes were equivalent to street tacos in California and I was THERE for it!
If you didn’t know, a few months ago I planned a pretty impromptu trip to Paris. Other than a few work trips and a family wedding last year my travel calendar was pretty bare. The year was coming to a close and I was itching to get my passport stamped. I think you reach a ton of moments in life where you probably should ‘just go’ but the time never seems right. I’m really big on those ‘fight or flight’ moments, and I think they are meant to be taken.
Fast-forward a few weeks later and I was standing in line at LAX with my assistant ready to board our flight to Paris. I worked every last minute till we got there to make it happen but we did! There really is no ‘great’ time for anything but you have to just do it. While this happened to be a vacation it taught me a super valuable lesson that if I want to do something in life that I always need to just take the leap and go for it.
My other biggest takeaway from Paris… CREPES!
My goodness, I could not believe how obsessed I was with the crepes! We had crepes for breakfast, crepes for dinner, midnight snack crepes, hangover crepes, drunken crepes, sweet crepes, every kind of crepes!
Being from California, French crepes sort of reminded me of street tacos. Easy to eat, portable and tons of flavors! There were also crepe stands EVERYWHERE in Paris, which very much reminded me of Los Angeles and tacos stands. Some crepe flavors definitely stuck out more than others. There were two flavors that left me having glorious French dreams about these crepes.
The first flavors we had were Nutella and banana crepes right underneath the Eiffel Tower. These light crepes were filled with warm rich Nutella, and fresh banana slices wrapped up into a glorious crepes triangle. My second favorites were creamy strawberry crepes. Don’t get me wrong I loved the savory crepes but there was something so cozy about walking around with warm gooey Nutella in a fresh steamy crepe.
The first thing I brought back from Paris and recreated ‘recipe wise’ were these mini steak frites. We had steak frites probably every other day but nothing compared to the crepes. My first step to making French crepes at home was shopping for the perfect crepe pan! I love this crepe pan from Staub because it heats up like a dream and it comes with the spreader and spatula that you will need for making them. Some people use a nonstick pan but I really wanted to go with an authentic crepe pan, plus I didn’t have one and felt like it would be great to add to my kitchen arsenal.
Crepe batter is actually pretty simple to make and comes together easily in a blender. I decided to go with standard white flour and added in sugar because we’re making sweet crepes with today’s recipe but you can play around with different flours, I’ve heard whole grain has a great flavor!
Next up is spreading in a ladle full (about 1/3 cup) into your pan and using the handy dandy spreader tool to turn your crepe batter clockwise. I watched this Staub Crepe Pan video a few times before really going for it, it’s breaks down the process and technique for classic crepes!
The best part… topping those gorgeous triangles off with all your favorite toppings! My all time favorite is nutella and banana but I try a little bit of everything! You can’t go wrong! The basics for savory crepes are anything you would put in an omelet and for sweet crepes use the same type of toppings for pancakes. Bon appetit!
Classic Sweet French Crepes
INGREDIENTS
- 4 Large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 1/3 Cups of whole milk
- 2/3 Cup of sugar (omit if making savory crepes)
- 2 Teaspoon of vanilla extract (omit if making savory crepes)
- ½ Teaspoon of salt
- 2 1/3 Cups of all-purpose flour
- ½ Stick of butter, softened or melted
- Nutella
- Sliced Bananas
- Sliced Strawberries
Whipped Mascarpone Cream:
- 8 Ounces mascarpone cheese
- 1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract
- ½ Cup of powdered sugar
- 3-4 Tablespoons of cream or half & half
INSTRUCTIONS
In a small bowl whisk together mascarpone, vanilla extract, powdered sugar and cream until spreadable and smooth.
In a large blender, blend eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in flour and salt until just combined. Cover with lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Heat crepe pan on medium heat and evenly coat with butter. Ladle 1/3 cup or one ladle full of crepe batter onto crepe pan. Use crepe spreader to swirl and evenly coat batter onto pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes and use wooden spatula to flip crepe and cook for a remaining 30 seconds.
