French Crepe / Pancake

Classic French crêpes in a rich orange-butter sauce

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Servings 4

Difficulty Medium

pancake in a pan with oranges and a jar of honey on a wooden table

Ingredients

Plain flour – 125 g
Caster sugar – 110 g (10 g batter + 100 g sauce)
Fine salt – 1 g
Eggs – 2 large
Milk – 300 g
Unsalted butter – 130 g (30 g in batter + 100 g sauce)
Oranges – 3 (zest of 2 + ~200 g juice)
Lemon – 1 (30 g juice)
Orange liqueur (Grand Marnier/Cointreau) – 60 g
Neutral oil (or extra butter) – a little for the pan

Equipment

De Buyer Mineral B Crêpe Pan (24–30cm)
De Buyer Alchimy Straight Saute Pan (24cm)
De Buyer FK Officium Flexible Turner (31cm)
De Buyer B Bois Crêpe Dough Scraper (20cm)
De Buyer Goma Whisk (20–30cm)
De Buyer B Bois Wooden Crêpe Dough Spreader

Instructions

Make batter: Whisk flour, 10 g sugar, salt; whisk in eggs to a paste, then whisk in milk; whisk in 30 g melted butter + 1 tsp orange zest (from your oranges). Rest 30 mins.

Cook crêpes: Heat non-stick pan medium, wipe with a little oil; cook thin crêpes using ~60 g batter each: 45–60 sec first side, 20–30 sec second side. Stack.

Start sauce: In a wide pan, melt 100 g butter with 100 g sugar on medium until dissolved (don’t brown).

Add citrus: Stir in zest of 2 oranges, then add ~200 g orange juice + 30 g lemon juice.

Reduce: Simmer 3–5 mins until lightly syrupy (coats a spoon).

Add liqueur: Stir in 60 g orange liqueur and simmer 30–60 sec.

Warm crêpes in sauce: Fold crêpes into quarters; add to pan in batches, spooning sauce over, warming 30–60 sec per side.

Serve: Plate crêpes and spoon over plenty of orange sauce (keep pan warm if serving in batches).