It’s PANCAKE DAY on Tuesday and of course homemade pancakes are the best, but they shouldn’t be complicated. It doesn’t matter if they come out wonky or with a splotchy surface instead of being a beautiful, even golden brown – after all, they’ll get smothered in toppings.
There are thousands of recipes out there, so deciding on the simple could have been a challenge. The team at CÔTE BRASSERIE have saved us all the trouble.Executive Chef Steve Allen shares his fail-safe recipe for these thin, French-style pancakes along with a host of delicious toppings.
Ingredients & Method
Makes about 8 large crêpes
Ingredients:
180g plain flour
3 large eggs
500ml milk
1 pinch salt
30g unsalted butter, melted
Neutral oil for frying (vegetable/sunflower)
Method:
Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, then sift in the flour and whisk lightly until you have a smooth paste.
Add your salt, and then slowly whisk in the milk until your batter has the consistency of double cream. Add the melted butter to the batter and mix, then leave to rest for 30 minutes before using.
If you have a crêpe pan then use this, but if not, a large flat non-stick frying pan will be fine. Pour a little oil into the pan then rub around the pan with some kitchen towel to remove the excess.
Heat the pan till it’s moderately hot then take off the heat and add enough crêpe batter to swirl around so it covers the whole of the pan. Place back on the heat and leave until the edges are browning, and there is no liquid crêpe mixture on top.
Flip the crêpe over and cook for about 30-60 seconds until lightly browned on both sides.
Remove from the pan and place on a warm plate and continue the process for the remaining batter.
Steve’s top crêpe toppings
Yoghurt, jam and granola
Take two crêpes per person and spread some jam inside, then fold them in half twice (you should have two triangle-shaped crêpes). Spoon over some natural yoghurt and sprinkle with your choice of granola.
Nutella, banana and ice cream
Take two crêpes per person and spread some Nutella inside, then fold them in half twice (you should have two triangle-shaped crêpes). Peel a banana and cut in half lengthways and sprinkle the cut side with sugar. Place under the grill until the sugar has caramelised and browned. Then place on top of the crêpes with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Cognac and raisin
Take some raisins and leave in a little Cognac overnight so that they absorb the liquid. Take two crêpe and fold them in half twice (you should have two triangle-shaped crêpes). Whip some double cream with a little icing sugar and vanilla (extract is fine if you don’t have vanilla pods). Warm the soaked raisins and pour over the crêpes, followed by a heaped spoon of the whipped cream.
Bacon and maple syrup
Take two crêpes and fold them in half twice (you should have two triangle-shaped crêpes). Cook a couple of slices of streaky bacon until crispy. Whip some double cream with a little icing sugar and vanilla (extract is fine if you don’t have vanilla pods). Spoon a good amount of the vanilla cream on top of the crêpes, lay your crispy bacon on top, then drizzle generously with maple syrup.
