Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze shares her secrets to making thin French crepes with Psychologies readers.
“Mom, with her characteristic modesty, claims that she makes the best crepes in the world. I have to admit that she is really good at it. What is so special about them? They are incredibly thin and have a divine aroma: a mixture of rum, pastis, Grand Marnier liqueur, father’s Armagnac – the father, of course, growled with indignation at the sight of such sacrilege. It is impossible to give an exact recipe: my mother cooks, as they say, “on a whim”, she does not need scales. To me, my mother’s crepes smell like childhood. Today I continue this tradition with my girls, and I don’t have to wait for Maslenitsa. That’s why we have a recipe from Charlotte, my six year old daughter. On mature reflection, she agreed to share it with us! “I would really like you to pitch this idea to the chef at your restaurant,” she clarified, “but just tell him that you must definitely put oil in the pan. Also, I think it would be nice to add pears.” How pleased I am to see how she develops real culinary skills: perhaps my mother’s talent will continue to be passed on from generation to generation!
Mom’s pancakes
For 6 people
Preparation: 40 minutes
Pause: one night
Preparation: 15 minutes
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 290 g butter
- 1 liters of milk
- ½ lemon, ½ orange
- 430 g flour
- 90 g sugar
- 5 eggs
- Liquor Grand Marnier, rum, almond, anise liqueur
- Salt
For the filling:
- 120 g dates, 60 g raisins
- 325 g sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
- ½ l of milk
- 2 eggs
- 30 g flour
- 20 g of corn starch
- 25 g butter
- 3 articles l. Armenian
- ¾ cup whipped cream
- 6 dwarf bananas
Preparation
Dough. Pour half a glass of milk into a small bowl and dilute the butter in it. Cut the zest from citrus fruits with a grater. Mix flour, sugar and a pinch of salt. Add eggs and, while stirring, gradually pour in the remaining milk. When the mixture is smooth, add the melted butter and zest. Add liqueurs, rum and armagnac for flavor. Bake the pancakes in a non-stick pan greased with a little melted butter.
Filling. Remove the pits from the dates and cut them into narrow strips. Pour 1 glass of water into a ladle, add 200 g of granulated sugar and bring to a boil. Pour the resulting syrup into the dates and raisins. Leave overnight.
Split the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk. Throw in the pod and bring to a boil. While the milk is boiling, beat the eggs in a bowl with the remaining 125 g of granulated sugar. Add the flour and cornstarch to the bowl, then carefully pour in the milk. Pour the resulting mixture into a large saucepan, put on a slow fire and stir with a wooden spatula until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add butter. Cool, add armagnac for flavor and pour in whipped cream.
Cut bananas lengthwise. Melt a stick of butter in a non-stick skillet and fry the banana halves. Place a warm pancake, a ball of filling and a fried banana on each plate. Top with dates and raisins.
Pancakes with chocolate from Charlotte
For 6 people
Preparation: 20 minutes
Pause: 6 hours
Preparation: 10 minutes
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 35 g butter
- 3 eggs
- 300 ml of whole milk
- 100 ml corn oil
- 40 g flour
- 60 g of buckwheat flour
- 30 g cocoa powder
- Salt
For the filling:
- 3 pears
- 250 grams of powdered sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- half vanilla pod
- hazelnut chocolate spread (optional)
Preparation
Dough. Melt and then cool the butter. Crack the eggs into a deep bowl. Add milk, butter, corn oil, flour, cocoa and a pinch of salt. Mix well and leave in the cold for 6 hours.
Filling. Peel off the skin and cut the pears. Place pears, sugar and vanilla in cold water, add lemon juice. Bring to a boil, cover the pot with a lid and let cool. Drain the water.
Prepare pancakes. Serve them with pears. You can add chocolate paste.
Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze runs restaurants in Paris, London and Moscow (see her website helenedarroze.com for more details). Every month, she shares her favorite recipes with us and talks about what has been a source of culinary inspiration for her.