There wasn’t a Sunday morning that went by without begging my dad to make crêpes for breakfast. My dad would roll sweet, delicate crêpes into perfect spirals doused with butter and maple syrup. My sister Mary and I would make a scorecard and keep count of how many crêpes we could stuff into our bellies. Usually we’d make it to a dozen or so each before reaching our limit. They were just so good; it was hard to stop!
My dad mastered the art of making crêpes. I think he’d channel his strong French Canadian roots! He’d know the exact amount of batter to pour to change the crêpe from extra thin and crispy, to thick and doughy. Mary and I would call out our requests: “extra crispy, please!” or “thick!” or “chef’s choice!” Those were the days…
I didn’t know if I ever wanted to put this family recipe up on my blog. In some ways, I never wanted to make this recipe myself. I could never make it as well as my dad!
I decided I had to share these crêpes with you because it’s truly one of the best recipes of my childhood!
Don’t forget to wear your stretchy pants!
My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!
Makes: 10-12 crêpes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes per crêpe (50 minutes for all crêpes)
Total time: 1 hour to make full batch
The Ingredients
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup whole milk
½ cup water
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
Butter, to grease pan and to top
Maple syrup, to top
Optional: powdered sugar, jam or other toppings of your choice!
Equipment: 5-8” skillet: I use an 8-inch pan, which works perfectly. Too large of a skillet will be difficult to work with since the batter is super loose.
The Steps
Sift or whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, salt, baking powder and powdered sugar – in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients by pushing dry ingredients to the sides of the bowl, leaving a bare spot in the center of the bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, whole milk, water and vanilla extract.
Pour wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredient bowl. Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using a whisk. Use the whisk to crush any large lumps in the batter. The batter should be very loose and have small lumps in it.
Place your 8” skillet on the stove over medium/low heat. If you don’t have that size skillet, you can use a smaller skillet! A larger one will be difficult to work with since the batter is so loose.
Add a teaspoon or so of butter to the hot skillet. Use a large spoon to add just enough batter to the pan so that the bottom is just covered in a thin layer of batter.
After 1-2 minutes, use a spatula to lift the corner of the crêpe to see if the bottom is golden brown. If not, let cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until the bottom turns golden. When golden, flip the crêpe and cook the other side until golden brown, about 1-3 minutes.
Transfer the crepe to a plate.
How I like to serve! Slather with butter. Use 2 forks to roll the crepe into a spiral. Drizzle with maple syrup.
TIP: experiment with crêpe thickness by adding a little less or more batter to the pan. Also experiment with doneness (light golden vs. dark golden crêpes taste different!).
The Steps with Video
My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!
