Happy Candlemas! Joyeuse Chandeleur! Candlemas is one of my favorite celebration. Every body in France dine of crêpes which can be sweet or savoury, even both. This event is known to be the candle feast, but also refers to a past tradition: the bear feast which was celebrating the awakening of the bear at the end of winter. It will probably remind you of your groundhog day!
According to the tradition, if you manage to flip a crêpe with your right hand while squeezing a coin in your left hand – it is easier than it sounds -, it is a good omen of a rich year to come.
You will find dozens of crêpes recipes, I always do the same, the one my mother used to do. I would say it is for 4 servings, but all depends of how many crêpes you eat. When my sister and I were in our teens, it was barely enough for 3.
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- 6 eggs
- 4 cup milk
- 3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp vegetal oil
- salt pinch
- 1/2 cup beer (not a strong one, choose a Heineken or Beck’s type)
- optional according to your taste: 1 tsp vanilla sugar or the zest of half an organic orange or 1 tbsp of rhum (I don’t really like the taste of alcohol in sweets, my heart definitely goes to vanilla sugar).
- There is no easiest recipe, no way you could miss that. In a mixing bowl, break the eggs and pour the milk. Whisk them together. Add the flour in three times, whisking well between each addition in order to avoid lumps. Once it is homogeneous, add the vegetal oil, salt pinch and your optional flavour. Pour in the beer. It may seem strange to you, but the crêpes will be lighter and thiner with this unexpected ingredient. Let stand for at least half an hour at room temperature.
- Here comes the most difficult step. Heat a crepe pan (or non-stick skillet) over medium/high heat. Oil it very lightly helping you with a paper towel to remove excess oil. Pour in the center of the pan a full ladle of batter and handling the pan, roll your wrist in order to spread the batter evenly onto a thin layer. I hope you understand the motion I’m describing. Maybe I should consider a video. Once the face of the crêpe you’re seeing is completely dry, flip it! Using a spatula is also ok. Now, let cook for less than one minute. It’s ready!
- A special bullet point dedicated to what you should absolutely spread in your crêpe. French people are the first Nutella consumers in the world. Nutella is the perfect match for a crêpe, and it is still better with additional whipped cream! The old-fashioned way would be to powder your crêpe with sugar (caster or light brown) and scatter with small pieces of butter that will melt with the heat of the crêpes. Absolutely divine!