The term crêpe comes from the Greek krispos (rolled up). In the Middle Ages, it was very common to make them with water and cooked wine instead of milk in Italy.
French pilgrims learned this recipe when they arrived on their pilgrimage to pay homage to Pope Gelasius I during Candlemas. This tradition has remained so long that the crêpe was served on the occasion of Candlemas on February 2nd.
The recipe has subsequently undergone several changes and is common in many European countries: the palacsinka, the waffle, or the cryspe.
The most common snacks at Grandma Irene’s house were the crêpes filled with custard and sprinkled with lots of vanilla sugar. Grandma rolled them as if forming a cannoli and they were very sweet.
I – unrepentant, greedy person that I am – always ate the two ends first to leave the central part for the end: the bit richer in cream!

Granny Sweet crêpes

  • Preparation time: 60 minutes
  • Ingredients for 6 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy recipe

  • Ingredients
  • For the custard:
  • 4 yolks
  • 90 g  of sugar
  • 20 g of cornstarch
  • 350 g of milk
  • Peel of one lemon
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • For the crêpes:
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ l or 2 cups of milk
  • 200 g or 2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar
  • A pinch of salt
  • Butter to taste
  1. Instructions
  2. Prepare the crêpe dough. Blend all the ingredients with an immersion blender until smooth. Cover the mixture with cellophane and put it to rest in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the custard.
  4. In a saucepan, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and then add the cornstarch. Combine the mixture with the milk and the lemon peel, beating it well with a whisk and cooking over a gentle heat until the cream thickens, always stirring. As soon as the custard is cooked, remove the lemon peel.
  5. Cook the crêpes at this point.
  6. Melt a little butter in a non-stick pan. Pour the crêpe batter into the center of the pan, tilting the skillet around to spread the batter evenly across the bottom in a very thin layer (it must be a veil).
  7. Cook briefly until the crêpe batter doesn’t look shiny anymore. Flip the crêpe and cook for another minute or so on the other side. Remove from the pan.
  8. As soon as all the crêpes are ready, they must be filled with a couple of tablespoons of custard and rolled up.
  9. Serve still warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  • It is important to rest the batter. If prepared the day before and left to rest in the refrigerator overnight, it’s even better.
  •  I don’t know why, but the first crêpe always come out bad.
  • Clean the pan with absorbent paper before adding the batter.

 Granny Irene with me