French · Free recipe
Paper-Thin French Crepes
A rested, heavy-cream-thin batter swirls across a hot pan into lacy crepes with speckled, buttery edges. Fill them with lemon and sugar, jam, or ham and cheese, and fold them into triangles while they are still warm and supple.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 1 hr 5 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Medium
Method
-
Blend the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, milk, water, melted butter, and vanilla in a blender for 20 seconds, scraping down once, until completely smooth.
-
Cover and refrigerate the batter for at least 30 minutes so the flour hydrates and any bubbles settle; it should have the consistency of heavy cream.
-
Heat an 8- or 9-inch nonstick or carbon-steel skillet over medium heat and wipe it with a little butter using a paper towel.
-
Pour about 3 tablespoons of batter into the center while tilting and rotating the pan so the batter runs into a thin, even circle.
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Cook for 45 to 60 seconds, until the edges lift and turn lacy brown, then loosen with a thin spatula, flip with your fingers, and cook 15 to 20 seconds more.
-
Stack the crepes on a plate under a clean towel. Serve warm, squeezed with lemon, sprinkled with sugar, and folded into quarters.
Zest note from the test kitchen
Treat the first crepe as a test for heat and batter thickness; if it looks gummy or will not spread, whisk in a tablespoon of milk and adjust the flame before the next one.
