I’m not telling you anything new: Candlemas is on Tuesday! But a rainy weekend is often synonymous with an indulgent weekend, isn’t it? (at my place, at least ^^). In short, I fancied crêpes!
I wanted a change from my traditional grandmother’s recipe (careful now, our grandmothers’ recipes are very good!) but I don’t know, whenever I start on a recipe, I always check whether a great chef hasn’t come up with one first! So I simply typed “crêpes Christophe Michalak” into Google (er, yes, I always think of Christophe Michalak first, then Philippe Conticini :P) and I realised that he had indeed made a recipe for Candlemas. So, without further ado, off I went!
I’d say the big difference lies in the fat. I’ve always added sunflower oil to my crêpes. Christophe Michalak, on the other hand, uses brown butter. I replaced the Grand Marnier with rum and added a little liquid vanilla extract. You can of course flavour your crêpes however you like (and even add citrus zest)! My man and I had a feast! Can’t wait for tomorrow — I’m bringing the crêpes to school 🙂
Ingredients & Method
1 component · Full recipe
Crêpes
Ingredients
- 160 g (5.6 oz) butter
- 400 g (14.1 oz) plain flour
- 120 g (4.2 oz) icing sugar
- 2 pinches of salt
- 1 litre whole milk
- 4 whole eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons rum (or Grand Marnier)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Method
1
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it turns a beautiful golden-hazelnut colour. The butter will “sing” as it foams and a lovely nutty aroma will fill the kitchen. Watch it carefully — don’t let it burn! It’s ready when it’s lightly coloured and the sizzling subsides. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any dark particles. Leave to cool to room temperature.
2
In a large bowl, sift together the flour and icing sugar. Add the 2 pinches of salt and give it a quick stir.
3
In another large bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks and milk.
4
Make a well in the flour-sugar mixture and gradually pour in the egg-milk mixture, whisking from the centre outwards. Adding it gradually means the batter stays perfectly smooth — no lumps!
5
Stir in the rum (or your chosen spirit) and the browned butter. Add the vanilla extract.
6
Blitz the batter with a stick blender (or in a countertop blender) for a few seconds.
7
There’s no need to rest the batter before cooking.
8
Cook the crêpes in a lightly oiled crêpe pan, re-oiling briefly every 2–3 crêpes.
9
Serve plain, with sugar, Nutella, or any topping you fancy!
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