The Best Homemade Crepes

Before You Start...

1. Gather all the ingredients. It’s very important to let the milk and eggs come to room temperature. If you’re in a hurry, you can microwave the milk to room temperature and place the cold eggs in lukewarm water. I share a lot of tips and techniques in my blog post, and I encourage you to read them before you start making the crepes.
2. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. For weights, click the Metric button above. If you‘re using a cup measure, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more than you need.

To Make the Crepe Batter

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup cake flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, and ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. In a separate medium bowl, beat 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) with the whisk until smooth.
3. Add about one-third of the 1½ cups milk to the eggs and beat well. Add the remaining milk in two parts, whisking it all together.
4. Add one-third of the egg/milk mixture into the flour and gently whisk to form a smooth paste.
5. Add half of the remaining mixture and whisk until completely incorporated.
6. Add the rest of the mixture and whisk to combine until it becomes a smooth batter. Optional: If you’re making the crepe batter ahead of time, you can cover and refrigerate it at this point.
7. Add 3 Tbsp unsalted butter (melted) to the mixture and whisk to combine. Do not overmix the batter. Important: The batter must be at room temperature. If the batter is cold, the fat in the butter will solidify and make the batter grainy.

To Cook the Crepes

1. Heat a 10-inch (25-cm) crepe pan (or regular pan) over medium heat. When it’s warm, lightly grease the pan with some of the 1 Tbsp neutral oil using a silicone brush or paper towel. Make sure you don‘t see any oil streaks left on the pan. If you do, wipe off the excess oil with a paper towel. Tip: Splash a small amount of water into the pan to see if it makes a sizzling sound. If the water dances around, the pan is hot and ready!
2. Pour ⅓ cup batter into the center of the pan and swirl it around the pan to evenly coat the surface. Tilt the pan steeply so that most of the batter spreads from the center to the rim.
3. Then, rotate the pan to spread the batter around and distribute it evenly. If you see any small holes, shake the pan vigorously side to side to fill up the holes while the mixture is still runny.
4. Cook the crepe until the batter looks dry on top and the edges begin to brown, about 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Slide a long cooking chopstick (or a long, skinny metal spatula or an offset spatula) under all sides of the crepe, loosening it from the bottom of the pan. If you have a nonstick pan, your crepe may slide around.
6. After you slide the chopstick under the crepe, raise it up in the middle and flip it over. You can use your fingertips to flip it, but I use the chopstick and turn my wrist to flip the crepe (see the video).
7. Cook the other side for 15–20 seconds until golden brown.
8. Slide the chopstick under the crepe again, raise it up in the middle, and transfer it to a plate, with the bottom side (the pretty side) facing down.
9. Repeat with the remaining batter, adjusting the heat if the crepes are cooking or browning too fast. Important: Remove any crumbs in the pan and lightly grease the pan before you start another crepe. If the crepe gets stuck and burnt on the same spot, wash the pan and start over again.

To Serve

1. Use the crepe as desired (see below for some ideas) and serve immediately. To make fresh whipped cream: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream and 2 Tbsp sugar on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, about 3–4 minutes. Medium peaks are between soft peaks and stiff peaks and are the perfect consistency for topping and piping on desserts. Use immediately or cover tightly and chill in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. 
2. To Make a Lemon Sugar Crepe: Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar on a crepe and squeeze some juice from a lemon on top.
3. Fold the crepe into quarters, garnish with lemon slices, and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
4. To Make a Nutella Banana Crepe: Spread a crepe with Nutella and put some banana slices on top.
5. Fold the crepe into quarters, drizzle with chocolate syrup, and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
6. To Make a Japanese-Style Crepe: Put some freshly whipped cream on a quarter of a crepe and place some sliced strawberries and banana on top of the whipped cream.
7. Drizzle some chocolate syrup and fold the crepe in half.
8. Roll up the crepe into a cone shape starting from the filling side.
9. You can also wrap the crepe in a sheet of wax paper (here‘s a similar kind). Place the crepe on one corner.
10. Fold up the bottom corner and roll it up.

To Store

1. Cover the crepes with an inverted plate and store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can pop them in the microwave and reheat for 2 minutes until warmed through.