Crepes (or “big pancakes” as my kids call them ;-)) are on our lunch time menu at least once a week. They are so easy to make and meet with success every time!
I started making crepes regularly years and years ago… My father’s second wife was from Normandy – an area in France well-known for its delicious crepes. She would make them at least once a week, and I guess I just followed her example for my own family. She gave me her recipe at the time, and I’ve remained faithful to it over the years – I find it easy and delicious – so why change a winning formula. Going gluten free just meant that I had to adapt the milk/flour ratio, because gluten free flour tends to thicken more than wheat flour. But it was easy to find the right proportions and I have stuck to this recipe for years.
You can put virtually any topping you want on crepes and, served with a salad, they make a healthy, easy meal. In our house the tradition is to start with cheese, or ham and cheese toppings; then we move on to sweet toppings… chocolate being a favourite, of course. Other popular toppings for us are spinach and ham, cheese and tomatoes or spinach and smoked salmon… followed by lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon, honey and lemon juice, homemade jam or sweet chestnut puree.
Here is what you need:
Ingredients – for four people:
- 320 g gluten free flour (by far the best choice here is Doves Farm plain gluten free flour – see products used; Schaer’s plain flour works well too, but it thickens fast so if you use that, make sure you cook your crepes straight away)
- 4 eggs
- 800 ml milk
Note: I gave you the quantities for four people, but I actually work on a “per person” basis, like my stepmother taught me. I count, per person: 80 g flour, 1 egg and 200 ml milk.
Method:
- Put the gluten free flour in a large bowl.
- Add the eggs.
- Add a little milk
- Using a hand mixer, start mixing and then gradually add milk until the mixture is all smooth and free of lumps.
- Then add the rest of the milk and mix well.
Note: if you have a food processor, just put all the ingredients and mix thoroughly – it’s really easy!!
- Heat a good non-stick frying pan.
- Pour a laddle full of batter into the pan. Spread the batter evenly and fry for about a minute.
- Turn the crepe over and cook the other side for another minute.
- Repeat… and repeat… and repeat… until there is no more batter!
A few notes about this…
The only “difficult” thing about crepes is that it takes time to cook them all. I usually make them ahead and keep them covered – they keep well like that and you can just put them back into the pan and heat them up if you want to, or put them in the microwave for 30 seconds. The ones with a cheese topping are nicest if you let the cheese melt a little, so I make those last; I cook one side, then flip the crepe over, put grated cheese on it and let it melt before serving – it’s delicious! You can do the same with chocolate…
Sometimes I make crepes ahead, spread topping on them, roll them and take them with us on a pic nic – it really works well.
Finally, it helps if you teach your children to cook the crepes 🙂 Mine love making them and as we are a big family, it gives me a welcome break when they take over for a while!
Hope you love them as much as we do 🙂
