The perfect crêpe batter

Crêpes are the kinds of desserts that you order when eating out. Few cooks bother to make

them in their kitchens, though they are not particularly difficult with the right crêpe pans and just 15

minutes of mastering the technique. There is little consensus among cooks on how to prepare

crêpes. Ten different cookbooks offers ten recipe versions for the basic crêpes and ten different

preparation techniques. Some recipes call for extra egg yolks, some use a mixture of milk and water

for the liquid, some call for milk and light cream, and some use milk only. The fat is melted butter

in one, oil or a combination of butter and oil in others. Flour also varies from all-purpose to a blend

of cake and bread flours. Some call for additional flavorings, like brandy or cognac, too. Some

recipes tell you to separate the eggs and fold the beaten whites into the batter for extra-light crêpes.

Finally, the ratio of the three principal ingredients—liquid, eggs and flour—differs considerably.

I decided to test many different recipes and compare the results—in their flavor, how they

behave in the pan, how they handle out of the pan and their shelf life. I narrowed the choice down to

seven of the most varied recipes I could find and prepared all the crêpes the same way, then offered

them to a select crêpe fans. My conclusion is the same as theirs—the simpler the ingredients the

best, and most workable the crêpes are.

The recipe that produced the best crêpes calls for very little egg and just a touch of oil. This

is fortunate because a crêpe fillings are not always light—so you want at least the wrap to be modest

in calories. The small amount of oil not only helps to avoid sticking but also keeps the crêpes pliable

for folding or rolling and reduces the chances of drying out.

To prepare the batter, mix all ingredients until you have a smooth paste. Overworking is not

critical so you can use a blender or food processor. To make sure the batter is lump-free without

using a machine, add the water slowly and work in each addition thoroughly. Lumps are easier to

get rid of in a thick batter, so keep it smooth before you thin the batter. If you use a machine, let it

work until all lumps disappear. If all fails and you cannot remove lumps, press the batter through a

sieve.

When the batter is the consistency of heavy cream, let it rest covered for between one and

two hours so the flour grains have a chance to absorb moisture and swell slightly.

The crucial step is to learn how thin your batter should be. Because the moisture content of

the flour, size of the eggs and humidity in the air vary, no recipe can prescribe an exact amount of

water to assure the right viscosity. If it is too thick, the batter will not quickly coat the bottom of the

hot pan and you will end up with a small, thick, pancake-like crêpe that is nearly impossible to

neatly roll or fold. If you thin the batter too much, there is not enough egg in each crêpe to produce a

strong structure.

A good batter is very thin, almost like a thick puréed soup or a thick cream, and runs readily.

Begin with a batter that is a little too thick, test it in the pan and gradually thin it with water if

necessary. Keep thinning it until you can swirl the batter around to coat the bottom of the hot pan in

seconds. Once you have the feel for the correct consistency, next time it will be easier to judge the

correct dilution. Discard the first few crêpes until you get it right.

When crêpes became popular in America. in the 1970s, crêpe-cooking gadgetry flooded

kitchen stores, including up-side-down pans that heat from below while you cook the batter on the

hot dome-shaped upper side, and including a number of electric crêpe makers. I haven't

experimented with many of these—to me the old-fashioned crêpe or omelet pan works very well.

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