Crêpe Batter
Lumps form when a lot of liquid hits the flour at once: the outside of each clump swells and seals a dry core inside. Make a thick paste first and a whisk breaks it up in seconds. Then comes the rest: the flour finishes absorbing liquid, the gluten relaxes, and the crêpes turn out tender.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 h 25 min
- Servings
- 14
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 110 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: about 14 crêpes, 24 cm each
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Start with a thick paste
Whisk the flour, sugar and salt with 150 ml of the milk until perfectly smooth. In a thick paste the lumps break up in a few strokes; in a thin one they never do.
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Step 2: Add the eggs
Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing until smooth after each. The batter turns glossy and loosens slightly.
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Step 3: Let it down with milk
Add the remaining 350 ml of milk gradually. The finished batter should run off the whisk in an unbroken ribbon, like thin cream.
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Step 4: Whisk in the butter
Stir in the melted, slightly cooled butter. It softens the edges of the crêpes and means the pan barely needs greasing.
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Step 5: Rest for 45 minutes
Cover and leave at room temperature. The flour hydrates fully and the gluten relaxes, which is the difference between tender crêpes and rubbery ones.
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Step 6: Strain it
Pass the batter through a sieve. It is insurance against the last lumps and against strands of egg white, which show up as yellow specks.
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Step 7: The first one is a test
Heat the pan over medium. The first crêpe reads the temperature: pale and limp means too cool, dark spots within 20 seconds means too hot. Aim for a minute on the first side and thirty seconds on the second.
Tips & variations
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Tip
An easy ratio to scale from: about two and a half times as much liquid as flour by weight. For thinner crêpes add another 50 ml of milk after the rest.
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Tip
The batter thickens as it rests, so do not add flour at the start to make it thicker — thin it with milk later instead.
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Variation
Replace 100 ml of the milk with sparkling water just before cooking: the crêpes come out lacier and lighter.
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Storage
The batter keeps 2 days in the fridge; stir it before use, as the flour settles. Cooked crêpes keep in a covered stack for 2 days.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 14 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 110 kcal | 1,540 kcal |
| Protein | 4 g | 56 g |
| Fat | 5 g | 70 g |
| Carbohydrates | 13 g | 182 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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