Parisian Crepes with Mandarin

These Parisian crepes are French street food at it's finest. Make them at home with a twist, by adding mandarin flavours for Suzette style pancakes.

When I lived in Paris many years ago, a crepe in my quartier (neighbourhood) from one of the many street vendors would be a cheap and quick lunch. The rich batter and the crepe being folded many times, felt like I was holding a sandwich in my hand!

While traditionally you would need an electric crepe maker, the ones made in a pan are equally good. Crepes are versatile and can be eaten for breakfast, dessert or as a snack, plus you can stuff them or top them with almost anything!

If you are a fan of crepes and marmalade, then you will love these Parisian crepes, topped with my homemade mandarin marmalade - it's truly a match made in heaven!

Jump to:

• What are Parisian crepes?
• Ingredients for crepes
• How to make crepes
• the cook's bonus
• making the mandarin garnish
• FAQ's
• Filling & topping ideas
• Parisian Crepes with Mandarin

What are Parisian crepes?

Crepes are very thin pancakes usually cooked on a hot plate with a bit of butter. They originated in France and can either be made sweet or savory.

Another famous version are crepe suzette, which are basically crepes flambeed with orange liquor.

Parisian crepes however refer to the large crepes sold by street vendors in Paris.

Ingredients for crepes

Crepes are made with 7 simple pantry ingredients, well, 6 if you will, the mandarins are my twist to crepes.

Eggs are an essential ingredient in crepes, but not always, buckwheat crepes for example can be made with flour and water only.

Milk to make the batter runny. Full fat or low fat are both fine.

Sugar for sweet crepes. Use only a pinch if you make savoury ones with this recipe.

All purpose flour for structure and to bind the batter.

Butter is used in the batter and for cooking. Use unsalted butter.

Salt a pinch of

Mandarin and mandarin marmalade this is optional but adds a lovely flavour to the crepes.

How to make crepes

Crepes are fairly easy to make, important is to rest the batter for an hour or longer. Always start with wet ingredients first and then add the flour. This is how it's done:

making the batter

In a bowl whisk the eggs and caster sugar together.

Add the milk and combine well.

Sift the flour into the egg mixture, whisking continuously until the batter resembles thick cream.

Melt the butter in a small pot and add 1 tablespoon to the crepe batter along with a pinch of salt.

Whisk well to combine and use a micro grater to add mandarin zest to the batter.

Cover the crepe batter with a towel and leave at a cool spot for at least an hour.

cooking the crepes

Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat. Brush the surface of the pan with melted butter.

Add a ladle of crepe batter to the side of the pan. Turn the pan until the base is coated completely with a thin layer of crepe batter.

Cook the crepe until you see the edges are beginning to crisp and loosen from the sides. The base should be light golden.

Turn over and cook the other side for 20-30 seconds. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter.

the cook's bonus

Everyone who has worked in a professional kitchen and has had crepes on the menu knows, the first one always turns out bad. It could be heat or science in general, but it is a great way to tell if the pan is properly heated and buttered well.

So don't get frustrated as trained chefs go through the same. That's why they call it the cook's bonus, even though it is not really a bonus to eat that crepe!

Maybe just make a smaller crepe first, without wasting too much batter!

making the mandarin garnish

For the garnish, I used fresh mandarins and the mandarin marmalade I had made the week before.

Cut the top and bottom form the mandarins and slice the the peel away from the flesh.

Cut the mandarin in slices and garnish the crepes with the mandarin marmalade and mandarin slices.

I've never come across anyone who doesn't love French crepes so go ahead and serve these soft, butte ry, delicious crepes for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, or dessert!

FAQ's

Filling & topping ideas

We all have our own way of eating crepes. Banana and nutella is an all time favourite, so is honey and toasted almonds. Fresh berries and whipped cream..oooh la la!

Here are some more suggestions for you to try from my Chef's Pantry:

• with lemon curd
• sprinkled with macadamia brittle
• filled with salted apple sauce
• served with poached peaches
• rolled with a layer of ricotta and drizzled with honey

So, while you might not be able to travel to Paris, you can still recreate Paris in your own kitchen by making these mouth-watering Parisian Crepes or next time try these french toasts made from our homemade brioche!

They look fancy but are simple and easy so don't be afraid to give these a go!