French Crepes with Lemon & Sugar

I’ve been making this recipe from the original Margaret Fulton Cookbook, for longer than I care to remember. It’s an oldie but a goodie. Serve the crepes the classic way, simply warmed, and sprinkled with sugar and a drizzle of lemon juice, or add some Lemon Curd and whipped cream.

Ingredients

• 140g (1 1/4 cups), plain flour
• 2 tbs caster sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 330ml milk ( 1 1/2 cups)
• 20g butter, melted ( microwave on High 10 seconds)
• pinch salt
• butter, melted to grease the pan

To serve

• freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Caster sugar
• Lemon curd, optional
• whipped cream, optional

Method

Crepe Batter

1. Sift the flour and sugar into a bowl. Make a well in the centre.
2. Combine the eggs and milk, and stir into the dry ingredients. Stir until the batter is smooth
3. Stir in the melted butter and let stand for 2 hours.

Cook the Crepes

4. Heat a small frying pan over medium high heat, then turn down to medium, and do a test pancake first so you know exactly how much batter to use for your pan.
5. Heat a little butter in the pan and when bubbling, pour in sufficient of the crepe mix to cover the bottom of the pan. Rotate the pan quickly to spread the batter as thinly and evenly as possible. I find it easier to spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated.
6. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface, and the bottom of the crêpe is a nice even, golden brown, about one minute. You can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it’s tinged gold as it should be.
7. The easiest way to re-grease the pan is to use a sheet of paper towel dipped in the melted butter.
8. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the other side will need only a few seconds, and will not be as dark as the first side - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.
9. Stack the pancakes on a plate as you finish the rest. If you are using them at a later date, wrap in clingwrap and refrigerate.
10. These crepes freeze well, so make some extra to store. Defrost before re-heating.

To reheat the crepes

11. Preheat oven to 180°C. Place crepes in a stack on a large sheet of foil. Wrap securely. Place on a baking tray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.

To Serve

12. Sprinkle each warm crepe with freshly squeezed lemon juice and sugar, fold in half, then in half again to form triangles, or else simply roll them up.