Recipe: How to make crêpes

A crêpe is a thin pancake that can be eaten on its own, or with a sweet (sucré) or savoury (salé) filling.

In France, they’re served on 2 February at Candlemas (La Chandeleur), which is also called Pancake Day (Le Jour des Crêpes).

They are sold in crêperies – takeaway restaurants or stalls – in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada.

• 140g plain flour (de la farine)

• 2 eggs (des œufs)

• 200ml whole milk (du lait)

• a pinch of salt (du sel) for seasoning

• 25g butter (du beurre)

• toppings of your choice – these could include:

  • cheese (du fromage)
  • mushrooms (des champignons)
  • ham (du jambon)
  • lemon juice (du jus de citron)
  • fruit (des fruits)

Important note

This recipe uses a hot frying pan so make sure you ask an adult to help you.

1. Mix (mélange) the flour and salt in a bowl (un bol).
2. Make (fais) a hole in the middle of this and break the two eggs into it.
3. Add a quarter (un quart) of the milk and whisk (fouette) this together to make a thick batter (une pâte).
4. Gradually pour (verse) in the rest of the milk until the batter becomes thin.
5. Get an adult to melt (fondre) the butter in a pan (une poêle) and add this to your mixture.
6. Get an adult to add some batter to the frying pan, tilt it to cover the surface, and cook (faire cuire) until it’s golden brown.
7. Flip (retourne) the crêpe to cook the other side.
8. For savoury crêpes, try ham, cheese or mushrooms and for sweet crêpes, try lemon juice and sugar or fruit.