Crêpes de la Chandeleur
La Chandeleur (Candlemas), on February 2nd, is a very popular Holiday in France. The main reason? You've guessed it, food, once again! More precisely, in this case, crêpes. Candlemas is a religious Holiday (it celebrates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple) and it's also based on older, Roman and Celtic traditions, but to everybody in France, it's mostly known as Crêpes Day.
If you want to know more about la Chandeleur and its origins, you can check the videos we watched last year on my previous Chandeleur blogpost. (Note: for the second video, you can find a transcript at the end of the handout.)
Since we didn't have time to talk much about crêpes last year, I decided to focus on them this year. The following video explains how to make a very famous recipe: the Crêpes Suzette, which are cooked in citrus sauce and flambéed. The chef in the video uses lemons, but more traditional versions call for oranges, or sometimes tangerines. The alcohol used can be cointreau, Grand-Marnier or curaçao.
Here is a handout with the recipe. I've also written a transcript and translation of the video.
As for making the crêpes, several of you have asked me for my recipe, which I'm happy to share. It's a bit of a challenge for me because I tend to eyeball everything and I never do things the same way twice, but this time I'll try to be as precise as possible.
Note: you'll notice that I don't add sugar to my batter. Many recipes do, but I prefer not to because I like to have the possibility of making either sweet or savory crêpes with the same batch of batter. Besides, the filling is usually sweet enough, so I don't find it necessary to sweeten the batter, too. It's a question of taste, though, so feel free to add some sugar to your batter if you prefer.
Preparation:
Put the flour and the salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs and a little milk. Mix (preferably with a whisk), starting in the center, until you get a smooth, thick batter, then add slowly the rest of the milk. Add the melted butter and the flavoring(s). Let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes (and preferably 1 hour) before cooking the crêpes. If the batter has thickened, you can add 1/2 cup of water (not milk, it makes the batter sticky) before making the crêpes.
Note: avoid overworking the batter, because it makes the crêpes rubbery. For the same reason, my advice is to not use a blender to make your batter, even though many recipes will tell you to do so.
Cooking:
Pre-heat a frying pan. Brush it with oil or melted butter (you can use a silicon pastry brush or a paper towel). Pour a little bit of batter in the pan while you keep tilting the pan in all directions to coat it evenly. Try making the crêpe as thin as possible. Let it cook for a couple of minute on medium heat until the edges start to lift from the pan. Turn the crêpe with a silicon or wooden spatula (or flip it in the air for extra credit!) and cook the other side for one more minute. Place the crêpe on a plate, oil the pan again and keep going until you use all the batter.
I use two carbon steel crêpe pans to make crêpes. They work great but they need to be cared for like cast iron pans (season them before use, never clean them with soap, dry them immediately after washing). A non-stick frying pan will work fine, too.
I found a couple of websites in English that explain what the Chandeleur is and how to make crêpes. I highly recommend their videos.
Celebrate the French Chandeleur and Mardi-gras by Eating Crêpes
I like the recipe in the video because it's very similar to mine, both for the ingredients and the preparation.
Les crêpes de la Chandeleur - Recipe & Vocabulary
This is a very comprehensive blog about the Chandeleur, crêpes and how to make them. Be sure to check out the 3 videos about the crêpe-making technique, they're great.
Bon appétit !
If you want to know more about la Chandeleur and its origins, you can check the videos we watched last year on my previous Chandeleur blogpost. (Note: for the second video, you can find a transcript at the end of the handout.)
Since we didn't have time to talk much about crêpes last year, I decided to focus on them this year. The following video explains how to make a very famous recipe: the Crêpes Suzette, which are cooked in citrus sauce and flambéed. The chef in the video uses lemons, but more traditional versions call for oranges, or sometimes tangerines. The alcohol used can be cointreau, Grand-Marnier or curaçao.
Here is a handout with the recipe. I've also written a transcript and translation of the video.
As for making the crêpes, several of you have asked me for my recipe, which I'm happy to share. It's a bit of a challenge for me because I tend to eyeball everything and I never do things the same way twice, but this time I'll try to be as precise as possible.
Flo's Crêpes
Ingredients:- 2 cups of flour. I used a mix of 1/2 cup buckwheat flour and 1 1/2 cups einkorn flour because that's what I had at home, but if you use regular white flour instead of einkorn you won't notice any difference. Actually, French crêpes would be made with regular (wheat) flour, not einkorn flour. The buckwheat flour is optional, but I like its earthy taste.
- 3 large eggs
- 2 1/2 cups of milk (whole milk is best)
- a pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp of melted butter (or 1 tbsp vegetable oil, if you prefer, but I recommend butter)
- Your choice of flavoring. I used a tbsp of rhum and the grated zest of an orange, but you could also use cointreau, Grand-Marnier, orange blossom water, vanilla extract, lemon zest, etc.
Note: you'll notice that I don't add sugar to my batter. Many recipes do, but I prefer not to because I like to have the possibility of making either sweet or savory crêpes with the same batch of batter. Besides, the filling is usually sweet enough, so I don't find it necessary to sweeten the batter, too. It's a question of taste, though, so feel free to add some sugar to your batter if you prefer.
Preparation:
Put the flour and the salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs and a little milk. Mix (preferably with a whisk), starting in the center, until you get a smooth, thick batter, then add slowly the rest of the milk. Add the melted butter and the flavoring(s). Let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes (and preferably 1 hour) before cooking the crêpes. If the batter has thickened, you can add 1/2 cup of water (not milk, it makes the batter sticky) before making the crêpes.
Note: avoid overworking the batter, because it makes the crêpes rubbery. For the same reason, my advice is to not use a blender to make your batter, even though many recipes will tell you to do so.
Cooking:
Pre-heat a frying pan. Brush it with oil or melted butter (you can use a silicon pastry brush or a paper towel). Pour a little bit of batter in the pan while you keep tilting the pan in all directions to coat it evenly. Try making the crêpe as thin as possible. Let it cook for a couple of minute on medium heat until the edges start to lift from the pan. Turn the crêpe with a silicon or wooden spatula (or flip it in the air for extra credit!) and cook the other side for one more minute. Place the crêpe on a plate, oil the pan again and keep going until you use all the batter.
I use two carbon steel crêpe pans to make crêpes. They work great but they need to be cared for like cast iron pans (season them before use, never clean them with soap, dry them immediately after washing). A non-stick frying pan will work fine, too.
I found a couple of websites in English that explain what the Chandeleur is and how to make crêpes. I highly recommend their videos.
Celebrate the French Chandeleur and Mardi-gras by Eating Crêpes
I like the recipe in the video because it's very similar to mine, both for the ingredients and the preparation.
Les crêpes de la Chandeleur - Recipe & Vocabulary
This is a very comprehensive blog about the Chandeleur, crêpes and how to make them. Be sure to check out the 3 videos about the crêpe-making technique, they're great.
Bon appétit !
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