Crepes

A while ago I posted a recipe for Apple Crepes.  It was a two parter, involving the basic crepes recipe and the apple sauce.

Well, I have an improvement on that offering.  I know.  I didn't think I'd find a better recipe, but I have.
This little gem came from one of my lovely birthday presents and provided for a yummy weekend breakfast.

Source: James Martin Desserts

Crêpes

Ingredients:

125g plain flour
2 good pinches of salt (optional)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon melted butter, plus extra for frying
300 mls milk

Method:

1. Place the flour and salt in a bowl and add the egg, melted butter and half the milk.  Whisk until smooth and creamy, then mix in the remaining milk.


2. Leave the batter to rest for 10 minutes if you wish, although this is no longer deemed to be necessary as flours are now so thoroughly refined.


3. Heat a pancake pan (approximately 20cm) over a high heat and grease with a knob of butter.  Ladle the batter in, swirling to coat the base of the pan and cook the crêpes fro 1-2 minutes on each side, until golden.


4. You should get about 12-16 if you make thin ones.  Add you choice of filling and cream, ice cream or sauce and serve.


5. If you are making these in advance, layer them with squares of greaseproof and place in the freezer.  To serve, defrost and reheat either by placing in a pan with a touch of butter, microwaving for a couple of seconds or heating in the oven for 1 minute at 200C/400F/Gas mark 6.

James' Notes:
I've worked with some chefs who say you should rest the batter after mixing, while others say the opposite.  For me, the real secret of a good pancake or crêpe is, firstly, not to make the batter too eggy.  Secondly, make it quite liquid and not too thick as this will enable the mixture to spread more quickly and thinly into the pan.  Always fry in butter too (never olive oil or other oils) as it adds to the flavour, and because the quick cooking the butter will also add colour to the crêpe.

Ms OWW's Notes:
Our batch made about 7 or 8 using the stated quantities.  Our pan was probably larger than 20cm, but I think our flour may have been thirstier too.  And I whole-heartedly agree about the batter not being eggy.  It made a huge difference to the taste of these crêpes.  For the record, I made a bit of a mixed berry sauce to go with them and it was very loosely based on one of James's  recipes.