French Crepes Recipe

French crepes is one of the traditional dishes of France. Later, it became popular in Canada and Brazil. In these two countries, these are known as pancakes, instead of crepes. The main ingredients of a crepe base are made from the flour, milk and eggs. The crepe is usually thin and soft. French crepes could have any kind of filling - sweet, or spice. In Brazil, the filling of French crepes is usually ground meat. It could be eaten at anytime of the day - breakfast, lunch or dinner.

History of French Crepes

Traditional French crepes are known as "Galettes". These were made from buckwheat (which the Bretons called black wheat). Galettes were the substitute for bread. Galletes were not golden in color, but had a grayish tint; this is why buckwheat was known as black wheat. With time, the Galette has been refined and today, it is known as "Crepe". Young and the old savor French food such as crepes, cakes and bread.

French Crepe Batter - A Simple Recipe

Here is a recipe for preparing the batter for making French crepes. This is a basic recipe. You could add the ingredients of your choice, if required.

Ingredients
2 Cups Flour
1 Egg
½ Liter milk
4 Tbsp melted butter
2 Pinches of salt
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp rum

Method to Make the Batter
Sieve the flour with salt twice. Beat the egg. In a bowl, put the sieved flour, rum, sugar and the beaten egg. Mix slowly, adding milk gently, to avoid any lumps in the batter. Leave the batter for an hour to liven before cooking. To loosen the batter, you can use use beer, French wine or milk.

Preparation
After an hour, heat a non-stick pan. Add a small quantity of butter and wait till you hear the sizzle sound. Pour a small ladle of the batter and swirl the pan to spread the batter evenly in the pan. Reduce the flame and allow one side to cook. Now, flip the other side and cook for couple of minutes. If you have a stuffing, you can put it on the crepe and fold it into four. Else, you can roll it. Continue the same procedure to make crepes from the remaining batter.

Strawberry and Cream Cheese French Crepe Filling

Ingredients
½ Cup cream cheese
½ Cup strawberry jam

Preparation
Arrange the crepes on a rectangular tray. Spread cream cheese on one of the crepes. In the center, put a spoon of strawberry jam. You can either roll it into a cylinder or fold it into four. Repeat the same for the other crepes. Garnish the crepes with whipped cream and a sugared cherry.

Minced Meat as French Crepe Filling

Ingredients
1 Cup minced meat (preferably cooked beef or mutton)
1 Green chili minced
1 Tsp garlic (minced)
1 Tsp ginger (minced)
1 Onion chopped
2 Tbsp cooking oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
Heat the oil in a skillet. Add onion and sauté it, till it becomes tender. Now add garlic and ginger and sauté on low flame, for couple of minutes. Add minced meat and mix well. To this mixture, add green chili, pepper and salt. Mix well for couple of minutes, so the salt is evenly distributed. On a tray, arrange the French crepes you have made. Put a spoonful of minced meat in each crepe and fold it into four. Garnish with minced mint leaves. This French crepe could be served as a whole meal with lettuce salad.