If you asked me to describe Paris in one word, I would answer without a split second’s hesitation, “Lemon.” And then you would back away slowly with that, Please don’t hurt me, crazy person look on your face, and I would have to chase after you to try to explain, and it would just get plain awkward. So don’t ask. But … Paris really does taste like lemon.
Perhaps that’s because every time I’ve been there, I’ve had a lemon crepe. Every. Time. So now, the word “Paris” conjures up the taste of lemon for me, and the taste of lemon conjures up the Eiffel Tower, because that’s where I had my last lemon crepe. Which is why, at the end of this post, I will simply have to share a quick video I shot of the Eiffel Tower at night.
Would you like to associate lemon with Paris? Try these crepes while watching Les Misérables, The Pink Panther, French Kiss, The Three Musketeers, Sabrina, An American Werewolf in Paris, From Paris with Love, Ratatouille, The Hunchback of Notre Dame or The Phantom of the Opera (best musical ever) AND wearing a beanie. With an attitude.
It helps to have a crepe pan that you brought home in your suitcase between your favorite brown sweater and the pair of pants you thought you’d wear but didn’t, but if you can’t do that, just make these in a pan that is crepe-make-able. Which is any pan big enough and able to release your crepe when you’re ready to flip.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 TBSP butter, melted
- 2 TBSP sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
- more butter for cooking
- fresh lemons for squeezing (about 3)
- sugar for sprinkling
- Optional: whipped cream for garnishing
Instructions
- Place ingredients in blender in order given. (Alternately, mix by hand) Pulse until blended. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. (If making a cooked fruit filling, this is a good time to get that going)
- Melt enough butter in your pan to coat. Heat over med-high until butter starts to bubble.
- Pour about 1/4 cup batter in pan (depending on size of pan) and swirl in a circle to spread it over the entire bottom of pan. If you can't quite cover the whole bottom, don't worry. But if you think the batter is too thick to swirl easily, add a little water and try again.
- Cook 30-40 seconds or until edges are starting to brown. You'll know it's ready to flip when you nudge the crepe with a spatula and it moves easily.
- Flip (with spatula if necessary) and cook the other side 10-15 seconds.
- Remove to a clean surface and sprinkle with about 1 TBSP sugar. Squeeze about the same amount of fresh lemon over the surface.
- Fold in half, then fold in half again.
- Place on a serving plate and dollop with a little whipped cream.
- If using a fruit filling, you can stack the crepes between waxed paper to hold. At that point, you can freeze them for up to three months.
Notes
There's a learning curve when it comes to making crepes. Expect to learn on the first few. Even after that, every crepe will be different. Once they're filled and sitting on the table, no one will take the time to analyze or compare them. I promise. 🙂
For raspberry filling, just cook 2-3 cups fresh or frozen raspberries with a little sugar (to taste) and a TBSP or so of lemon juice until the berries are broken down and the juices have reduced down.
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