Crêpes are thin pancakes.
They belong to the pastry- breads category. They are made by cooking a thin batter sparingly in a very thin layer. Crêpes are cooked in a frying pan or a special Crêpes pan. The batter is usually prepared in advance, and left to rest so that the flour swells and any air bubbles created during preparation have time to dissipate. After standing a little liquid can be added if batter has become too thick. This ‘Standing & Thinning’ Procedure ensure the batter doesn’t rise, and is instead cooked into a perfect even thin layer.
Crêpes are usually made using Wheat or Buckwheat flour. Liquids are usually water, milk or beer. Just bear in mind that beer makes Crêpes rise slightly. Also the use of eggs, lends itself to the liquefying process. As a general rule, Crêpes batter must always be of pouring consistency. They are usually fried in oil or butter, and can be made either savoury or sweet.
A crêpe Suzette is a sweet crêpe flavoured with tangerine and coated with a tangerine-flavoured sauce. The sauce is used to mask the Crêpes and is made using tangerine juice and Curaçao in addition to melted butter & sugar.