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crêpes


mint

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There, I've started this thread so as not to keep on hijacking the ratatouille thread.

Today, I used:

4 oz plain flour, pinch salt, half-and-half milk and water 10 fluid oz, teapoonful of groundnut oil.  These proportions take into account all the tips from the ratatouille thread.

Got the pan really hot, just wiped with oil on a sheet of kitchen paper, paying special attention to the edges as per Pierre ZPF's instructions.

Out of that amount of mixture, got 12 crêpes.  Could have been more if the earlier ones weren't so thick!

Better results than normal but edges were burnt and I don't think I cooked the underside enough as the pancakes were a bit anaemic looking when rolled up.

Still, lighter and better than normal, not so greasy and easy to roll up into thin, cigar shapes.

However, NOTHING like the ones the women from my Rando Club produce!

And, how do I get the edges NOT burnt?

Edit:  oops, forgot to say 2 nice large brown free-range oeufs! 

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The way my old Nan used to make them was:

  • 1 x egg / 4 pancakes - beat it / them & season
  • add enough flour to make a quite stiff almost doughlike mixture, then .....
  • add milk to loosen to a creamy batter
  • leave to stand for half an hour
  • a knob of butter in the pan (preferably a crepe pan) & away you go.

 

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As someone said, don't use too much oil, just a wipe with a tissue.

Have you tried cheese blintzes? You make a mixture of cream cheese, a little icing sugar and lemon juice. Put a spoonful in the centre of each pancake, fold edges in like a parcel. Then fry again briefly on both sides, the sealed side first.

Rather unhealthy but delicious.

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Crepes are much thinner but larger in diameter.

And the ingredients you ve quoted are rarely used for fillings.

Basically crêpes are flour, milk, water, eggs+ maybe, according to the taste, a bit of vanilla or rhum ..

then ok, the filling can be different things, the most common in France being,

Sugar, 

chocolate,

butter

Nutella

Flambée au rhum

Banana

Etc

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So, do you think I should get one of those special crêpe pans with the T-shaped wooden "spreader" to get the batter all round the pan?

Mind you, when I used my le Creuset omelette pan, the pancakes were the size I like.  That's to say, they were easily rolled up without breaking apart.

And please don't start me off on the rhum or I'll tell my story again about crêpes enrhumées which so amused 5-e the first time I mentioned it.[:D]

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Oh, Swissie, I know it's childish humour but I quite like childish humour because there's no nudge, nudge, wink, wink or anything nasty.

It's just innocent and it sort of expects you to laugh!  And you'd be a very ill-tempered adult if you refuse to laugh at a childish joke, don't you think?

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[quote user="sweet 17"]

I quite like childish humour because there's no nudge, nudge, wink, wink or anything nasty.

[/quote]

Yes, yes, and yes. Nobody gets hurt, it spreads goodwill.

Talking of spreading, Sweet, I must have missed or forgotten some of the crepe discussion (I am no expert by the way). But I do make crepes and/or pancakes with 3 different implements - each of them produces some very different results. One of those 3 is, I am told,  a proper crepe pan, all flat, heavy cast iron, and it seems to be the one that heats the whole crepe evenly, and they end up quite thin too.

Could it be that your burnt edges and undercooked under-middles are caused by a slightly unsuitable pan?

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[quote user="5-element"]Talking of spreading, Sweet, I must have missed or forgotten some of the crepe discussion (I am no expert by the way). But I do make crepes and/or pancakes with 3 different implements - each of them produces some very different results. One of those 3 is, I am told,  a proper crepe pan, all flat, heavy cast iron, and it seems to be the one that heats the whole crepe evenly, and they end up quite thin too.

Could it be that your burnt edges and undercooked under-middles are caused by a slightly unsuitable pan?

[/quote]

I have one of those too (in fact, I have two): http://www.lecreuset.fr/Les-Gammes/Fonte/Poeles-Sauteuses-Crepieres/Crepiere--Rateau-27cm/

No tossing with these heavy babies!

Recipes: http://www.lecreuset.fr/Recettes/Crepieres/

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[quote user="sweet 17"]

So, 5-e, how come Clair's got TWO!

Do you think there are two Mr Clairs or there is only one Mr Clair but he came with two trousseaux?[8-)]

[/quote]

I wouldn't care to speculate about Clair's personal life - actually, could have been 2 Mr. Clairs, one crepe pan each.

But a myriad of other possibilities. Maybe Clair is a crepe professional. Maybe she collects crepe pans. Maybe she inherited them. Who knows?[:D]

Lucky Clair, that's all I say!

 

 

As for you, Coops, you are usually much more sensible than that! As if there was any comparison between shop-bought crepes, and homemade ones!

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[quote user="cooperlola"]Buy them in a packet from the supermarket like a normal person![Www][/quote]

[:D][:D][:D]

You, as always, dear Coops, can be relied on not to faff about and solve any problem at a stroke!

I'm not too keen, however, not to be classed as a "normal person"!  OTOH, I suppose you do have grounds for thinking what you so clearly do![:-))]

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[quote user="5-element"][quote user="sweet 17"]

So, 5-e, how come Clair's got TWO!

Do you think there are two Mr Clairs or there is only one Mr Clair but he came with two trousseaux?[8-)]

[/quote]

I wouldn't care to speculate about Clair's personal life - actually, could have been 2 Mr. Clairs, one crepe pan each.

But a myriad of other possibilities. Maybe Clair is a crepe professional. Maybe she collects crepe pans. Maybe she inherited them. Who knows?[:D]

Lucky Clair, that's all I say![/quote]

Just to clarify and put an end to your wild speculations (Mmmm, speculoos...[:D]), there is only one Mr Clair, but I do have two cast iron pancake pans. I bought one in Brittany a few years back when I couldn't locate the one I knew I had somewhere.

As is to be expected, I found it shortly afterwards...

As an aside, they are very good alternatives to pizza stones [:)].

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Speculoos.....yes, I love them too!   aaarrrggghhhh.........love too many things that are très mauvais pour la ligne [:(]

Le Creuset sale anywhere?  I might just stretch to one of these pans as, besides crêpes, I could then use it for pizzas AND quiches!

Marvellous how you always have to spend money in order to save some!

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