The day of the crepe

In many parts of the world there is a beautiful tradition of going in a procession from a church to home with a lit candle on February 2 (which falls very close already!). That day is known as Día de la Candelaria or Day of the Candles .

The reason for Candlemas Day is the celebration of the presentation of Jesus in the temple 40 days after his birth. Now, in France, the Candelaria festival is now better known as the Crêpe Festival .

The fact is that, although Candlemas is celebrated in different ways in different parts of the world, in France the custom of preparing crêpes was established on that day to ensure that the wheat crops did not rot. Long live the beliefs! Thus, February 2 has become known as Crêpe Day.

The day of the Crêpe

French tradition says that crêpes should be prepared on February 2. They can be sweet or salty, but when making them, the crêpes must be turned over with one hand, while holding 2 coins with the other. Those two coins will be wrapped in the crêpe and kept like that for a whole year, and the following year those coins will be given to the poor.

These are currently the vast majority of French households where crêpes are prepared on that day!

It is a curious tradition, and without a doubt very appetizing! For this reason , we encourage you to join this tradition, and prepare some delicious crêpes for the people who surround you and matter to you. Surely you will get a good smile.

De Buyer iron crepe maker

Easy recipe to prepare crêpes

Preparing crêpes is really easy . It is about mixing a few ingredients and letting the mixture that you get rest for half an hour. It is the only thing you should keep in mind, because the rest comes out alone.

We leave you the basic recipe to make some delicious crêpes:

Ingredients:

• 3 medium eggs
• 250ml of whole milk
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 pinch of salt
• 130g of pastry flour
• 1 spoon of sugar
• ½ tablespoon of matcha tea (optional)

Preparation:

• Put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat until everything is well mixed. Cover with film and let the dough rest for at least half an hour, so that the flour (and the tea if you have added it) is well hydrated.

After the rest time, we are going to prepare the crêpes (work on medium-low heat).

1. Pour a ladle of the batter into the crepe maker and immediately tilt it as you turn it, so that the batter covers the entire bottom (if you have a crêpe rake , use it for this task).
2. Cook the crêpe on the first side and turn it over with a spatula when you see the edges start to rise; With a few seconds you will also have the second side of the crêpe ready.
3. Remove the crêpe from the crepe maker and put it on a plate. Continue making more crêpes, each time adding a ladleful of batter into the crêpe. As you get them ready, stack the crêpes on a plate and keep them covered with a clean cotton cloth.

Tricks and considerations when making crêpes at home

• You can prepare the dough in the morning and enjoy the crêpes in the afternoon (half an hour of rest is the minimum time required). And if you have leftover dough, you can finish it even the next day.
• No need to add butter or oil to the crepe to make crêpes! Add the dough directly.
• The first crêpe is usually not perfect. Don't worry because it's normal: it's always thicker or smaller than normal, unless you find the right ladle size for the pan or crepe you use. The second crêpe always comes out better, and the third is already from an expert chef.
• To prepare crêpes you can use a non-stick pan, but ideally use a crepe maker : it has lower edges and you gain a lot when it comes to turning the crêpes. There are several kinds of crepe makers (iron and non-stick), you can see them here .

Le Creuset non-stick crepe maker and iron crepe maker , olive wood rake and spatula for turning crêpes by Bérard

Ideas to prepare varied crêpes

The good thing about crêpes is that they are very easy to prepare and accept a multitude of ingredients to accompany them.

You can choose to make sweet crêpes , which you can simply accompany:

• of sugar
• fruit (or fruit with cocoa cream...)
• candied orange, with a touch of chocolate syrup
• jam (and any flavor)
• lemon curd
• of chocolate cream and hazelnuts
• of cream (cream with chocolate, cream with nuts...)
• etc

Or you can prepare savory crêpes , which will suit you both for a snack and for dinner. Some combinations that are very rich:

• The classic ham and cheese
• cheese with mushrooms
• Tuna, cheese and tomato
• assorted sautéed vegetables
• Salmon and mushrooms (and a touch of melted cheese... yum!)
• Spinach with raisins and pine nuts
• Another classic, chicken with cheese
• spinach and chicken
• Roquefort cheese with walnuts
• Chicken with roasted vegetables, with a drizzle of Modena vinegar
• etc

I also leave you with some recipes to continue inspiring you (click to see it):

• Cheese and walnut crepe
• crêpe caprese
• Salty cheese crêpes, accompanied by mushrooms
• Crepe cake and lemon cream

I assure you that if you dare to prepare crêpes one day at home, you will want to repeat it, because you will confirm how easy it is to make them. Apart from being a perfect option for snacks and dinners where you don't want complications, but you do want to enjoy delicious combinations!