BUTTERY CRÊPES
Active: 1 hour | Total: 1 hour 30 mins
24 servings
TO SAUCE or not to sauce crêpes is the question: If the filling is dry, sauce them, but if the filling is creamy, leave them alone. Bechamel and tomato sauces are natural savoury toppings. A simple chocolate drizzle will dress up sweet crêpes. Cook crêpes to order before filling. Store any leftover crêpes wrapped tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the crêpes at room temperature for 30 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups half-and-half (milk and cream mix)
4 large eggs
1½ cups (188 grams) flour
¼ tsp fine sea salt
2 tbs clarified butter or ghee, plus more for cooking
METHOD
Whisk together half-and-half and eggs. Slowly sift in the flour and salt. Whisk in the clarified butter. Cover and let the batter sit for 30 minutes at room temperature. (You can let it rest for up to 4 hours in the fridge, but bring it back to room temperature for 30 minutes before using.)
Heat a 15cm non-stick sauté pan over medium heat. Brush lightly with clarified butter. Ladle 3 tablespoons of the batter into the heated pan and quickly swirl the pan to form a round crêpe, swirling until the batter settles. Cook for about 1 minute, until the edges of the crêpe start to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Flip the crêpe with an offset spatula and cook for 15 seconds; then transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter, separating the crêpes with pieces of parchment or wax paper, so they don’t stick to each another. (Crêpes shouldn’t take any colour, so look for slightly golden flecks on the first side. Don’t be tempted to raise the temperature; medium is perfect, so they won’t burn as they cook through.)
NOTE: To clarify butter, place it in a saucepan over low heat. Cook without stirring until it has liquefied, then skim the foam off the top (discarding the foam) until the butter is clear enough to see through to the milky solids at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and strain the clear butter into a separate container; discard the solids.