Sweet Crepe Recipe

A plate of cream-filled crepes layered with fresh strawberries and golden folds.

5 from 1 ratings

A thin, buttery sweet crêpe recipe along with all my professional tips for making paper-thin crepes with crispy edges. Use this 6-ingredient crêpes recipe for dessert crepes, breakfast crepes, or mille crepe cake!

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Chill1

Total Time1 18

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: French

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: 10-inch crepes

Author: Chef Lindsey

Ingredients

For the crepe batter

1 ½ cups whole milk
4 large eggs
½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons butter melted
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour
1 cup water

For optional toppings

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the crêpe batter:

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, salt, milk, and melted butter.
Slowly whisk in the flours, adding a little at a time like popovers. Whisk in the water last.
Let the batter sit refrigerated overnight or for at least an hour at room temperature. This allows the flour to hydrate properly and any gluten to relax (a wet batter also helps reduce gluten formation even while sitting overnight).

How to cook crêpes:

If you refrigerated your batter, remove it from the fridge about an hour before you plan to start cooking. Preheat a crêpe pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Slow and steady wins the race here.
Using a fork, stab a piece of butter and quickly butter the pan. You only need to do this for the first crepe.
Pour in a ladle (just shy of 4 ounces) to the center of the pan with one hand and swirl the pan using the other to distribute the batter around evenly.
Cook over medium-low heat on the first side until the edges begin to brown and you can see some browner spots showing through near the center. The outer edge is an excellent barometer for readiness. For me, it took 6 minutes for a 12-inch crepe.
Flip by sliding the spatula underneath the center of the crepe and flipping it over like a pancake. If it folds, just unfold it. If you flip it too early and it’s blonde, flip it back. Don’t stress.
Continue to cook on the second side for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Remove the crepe and transfer to a wire rack to cool, or add the toppings and serve warm!
Repeat with the remaining batter and stack the crepes once they cool completely.

To assemble & plate sweet crêpes:

To prepare butter sugar crêpes: You will want to prepare them hot in the pan. After flipping the crêpe, rub a bit of butter (the same one you put on the fork before the first crêpe) over the surface, sprinkle half with a dusting of granulated sugar, fold the crêpe in half, and continue to cook for an additional minute or two. Fold in half once more and serve hot. And maybe serve with some maple syrup.
To prepare Nutella crêpes: You can serve them fresh from the pan or assemble them later. Spread half the crêpe with Nutella or another chocolate hazelnut spread, fold in half, and then half again.
To prepare berries and cream crêpes: Let these crepes cool, or your cream will melt. When you prepare your crêpe batter, toss 2 cups of chopped strawberries and other fruit with about ¼ cup granulated sugar and a squeeze of lemon. Stir and cover until you are ready to serve. This can be done up to 3 days in advance. Whisk together heavy cream, a little powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to taste until soft peaks form. You can add vanilla bean paste for a visual effect. If you want to serve these hot, I suggest using vanilla bean ice cream instead of whipped cream.

Notes

Yield – 13, 10-inch crepes

Presentation – If the first side is pale, cook the second side longer. Crêpe timing is an art.

Technique – A crêpe flipper works best since it won’t tear crêpes or damage your pan. An offset spatula also works.

Storage – Cool, stack, wrap well, then refrigerate or freeze up to a month in a ziploc bag.

Nutrition