Crêpes with Sugar and Lemon


SERVES 4

The crêpes will give off steam as they cook, but if at any point the skillet begins to smoke, remove it from the heat immediately and turn down the heat. Stacking the crêpes on a wire rack allows excess steam to escape so they won’t stick together. To allow for practice, the recipe yields 10 crêpes; only eight are needed for the filling.

½

teaspoon vegetable oil

1

cup (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1

teaspoon sugar, plus 8 teaspoons for sprinkling

¼

teaspoon table salt

cups whole milk

3

large eggs

2

tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Lemon wedges, for serving

1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over low heat for at least 10 minutes.

2. While the skillet is heating, whisk the flour, 1 teaspoon of the sugar, and the salt together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs. Add half of the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Add the butter and whisk until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining milk mixture until smooth.

3. Using a paper towel, wipe out the skillet, leaving a thin film of oil on the bottom and sides of the pan. Increase the heat to medium and let the skillet heat for 1 minute. After 1 minute, test the heat of the skillet by placing 1 teaspoon of the batter in the center; cook for 20 seconds. If the mini crêpe is golden brown on the bottom, the skillet is properly heated; if it is too light or too dark, adjust the heat accordingly and retest.

4. Pour ¼ cup batter into the far side of pan and tilt and shake gently until the batter evenly covers the bottom of the pan. Cook the crêpe without moving until the top surface is dry and the edges are starting to brown, loosening the crêpe from the side of the pan with a rubber spatula, about 25 seconds. Gently slide the spatula underneath the edge of the crêpe, grasp the edge with your fingertips, and flip the crêpe. Cook until the second side is lightly spotted, about 20 seconds. Transfer the cooked crêpe to a wire rack, inverting so the spotted side is facing up. Return the pan to the heat and heat for 10 seconds before repeating with the remaining batter. As the crêpes are done, stack on the wire rack.

5. Transfer the stack of crêpes to a large plate and invert a second plate over the crêpes. Microwave until the crêpes are warm, 30 to 45 seconds (45 to 60 seconds if the crêpes have cooled completely). Remove the top plate and wipe dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle half of the top crêpe with 1 teaspoon sugar. Fold the unsugared bottom half over the sugared half, then fold into quarters. Transfer the sugared crêpe to a second plate. Continue with the remaining crêpes. Serve immediately, passing the lemon wedges separately.