Mari’s Mom’s Crepes, She Calls Pancakes
Recipe & Food Styling Mari Loewen, Photography Ross Cornish
My mother used to make amazing little crepe-like pancakes and we used to hang around the kitchen while she made them so we could eat them hot – right out of the pan. She would sprinkle them with sugar and serve them folded into triangles. I loved their soft delicate texture and can still remember their yummy aroma. They were ultrathin, delicate, and perfectly golden, buttery, and sugary. I could never have only a few and I can almost taste them just thinking about them. The moment I melt butter in a pan, I think of my mom!
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups whole milk
5 eggs
½ teaspoon good vanilla (I use Mexican vanilla)
¼ cup salted butter (melted)
¼ cup ice cold water (this thins the batter and adds that magical crispy edge)
Cinnamon sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
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Preparation
Combine flour, salt, and sugar in mixing bowl, mix to combine.
In the bowl of electric stand mixer, combine milk, eggs, and vanilla, using the whisk attachment. Mix until well incorporated about 5 minutes.
Gradually add dry ingredients into bowl of wet ingredients, mixing in between additions to avoid lumps. Then mix on low until well incorporated, then increase speed to medium, then high until smooth, about 5 minutes.
Cover stand mixing bowl with plastic and place covered batter in fridge to chill for 20 minutes. This is a very important step as it allows the batter to congeal, and this gives the crepe structure.
Remove batter from fridge, allow to come to room temperature, now add melted butter, again very important that melted butter goes into room temp batter, otherwise if you add it to cold batter it will harden into tiny particles and not incorporate with the batter. Then whisk by hand to incorporate the separated eggs—that happens during this stage—into batter with melted butter. Once all is well incorporated, add the cold water and mix well again. Now you’re ready to cook!
To cook crepes, heat a crepe pan (my mother used a cast iron skillet; we use the French-style crepe pan as shown above) over medium heat; lightly butter the surface. Pour ¼-½ cup mixture onto pan; gently tip pan to spread batter. Cook 1-1 ½ minutes each side or until golden and cooked through.
Repeat with the remaining mixture until all crepes are cooked. At this stage my mom would sprinkle them with white granulated sugar—this is how I love my crepes to this day!
If you prefer the cinnamon sugar, in small bowl combine cinnamon and sugar. You can keep the crepes soft at this stage and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, or add fruit or chocolate or anything else you like.
Note: If you wish to caramelize the crepe, they will get a slightly crispy edge like the photo above; brush each crepe with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Return to pan and cook for a few seconds each side or until caramelized and crispy.
