Sweet Orange Crêpes Provençal
Do not let the intimidation of cooking crêpes deter you from this trying the very simple recipe. Light and airy yet packed full of zesty orange flavour, it's a recipe to be proud of conquering!
Equipment
- blender or whisk, 12-inch stainless steel
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 200 g flour
- 35 g sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 orange for the zest avoid the white bitter pith
- pinch saffron
Wet Ingredients (at room temperature to prevent lumpy batter)
- 350 g milk preferably skim; the crêpes hold together better
- 2 large eggs
- 50 g orange juice 1 orange is usually enough
- 50 g butter melted
Instructions
Prepare batter
- In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, orange zest, and saffron.
- Make a well in the centre and add wet ingredients: Milk, eggs, orange juice, and melted butter.
- Using a whisk, mix well until all lumps have disappeared.
- Alternatively, you can add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and pulse for about 10 seconds.
- Evaluate the consistency, which should be that of thick cream, fluid and liquid, but not watery.
- Proper consistency is the key to making perfect crêpes, and the most common mistake beginners make is a batter that is too thick. If needed, add up to 50 g (1/4 cup) of water to thin.
- Cover the batter with plastic film and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (4 hours if using saffron), or overnight to 48 hours.
For Frying the Crêpes
- Butter and heat your crêpe pan or sloped-sided non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
- Once the butter is sizzling but not browning (proper temperature is important), pour about 1/4 cup of batter directly into the centre of the pan.
- I like to just add the batter back to my measuring cup after mixing for easy pouring into the pan. (It’s already dirty anyway.)
- Immediately tilt the pan around until the batter spreads out evenly to the edges (or as evenly as you can).
- Don’t worry if your crêpe is lopsided; that doesn’t change the taste.
- Cook the crêpe until the surface has dried and the edges begin to lift and brown lightly.
- Just make sure to spread out the batter thinly by swirling to the edges, and let the edges dry on the first side before flipping.
- The second side cooks much faster than the first. If you notice tiny holes in the crêpe after flipping the first side, that’s because your pan is too hot.
- The “hardest” part is flipping the crêpe. You have a few choices. Just grab the crêpe by the edge with your fingers and flip it over. Use a spatula to flip it over just like you would a pancake. (That’s what I usually do.) Flip it up in the air, which is actually easier than it seems. Just launch it into the air in a circular motion so it lands back in the skillet, not on your wrist like a funny-looking corsage.
- Once you get them all fried up, then get ready to eat! Try these crêpes with butter and orange marmalade, honey, just a bit of sugar, or marinated strawberries and whipped cream. Oh so yummy!!!
- I like to sprinkle sugar lightly on mine and then roll them up; that’s how we always did it in our family. Most people, though, fold them in half, then in half again to form a triangle. Street vendors fold them around a paper plate for easy eating!
Notes
A pinch of saffron adds an unexpected, interesting flavour and deepens colour. I highly recommend you try it, but it is optional if you do not have it on hand.
For some reason, cooks across the globe quake in their boots at the idea of frying basic crêpes. Why all the fear surrounding such a humble assembly of flour, milk, and egg? I even searched the internet for a good video, but found what was available either overly complicated or not quite up to standards. The process is the same for any crêpe recipe, so here’s my quick “how to make crepes” video to ease your mind on the process.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!