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Read a French recipe card: crêpes for twelve

A handwritten-style French recipe for crêpes: ingredients with grams and centilitres, numbered steps, resting time and the verbs you need in the kitchen.

In short

French recipes give quantities in grams and centilitres (50 cl de lait = half a litre), use c. à s. (tablespoon) and c. à c. (teaspoon), and write steps with the infinitive: verser la farine, ajouter les œufs, laisser reposer.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A thin folded crêpe served with chocolate sauce, ice cream and whipped cream in Paris.
A cooked crêpe is thin enough to fold before adding toppings. Photo: Austin P, Unsplash License via Unsplash

Le carnet de Mamie Jo

Crêpes · pour 12 crêpes

Ingrédients

Farine250 g

Œufs4

Lait50 cl

Beurre fondu50 g

Sucre1 c. à s.

Sel1 pincée

Préparation · 10 min · Repos 1 h

1. Verser la farine dans un saladier et creuser un puits.

2. Ajouter les œufs, le sucre et le sel. Mélanger.

3. Verser le lait petit à petit en fouettant pour éviter les grumeaux.

4. Ajouter le beurre fondu. Laisser reposer la pâte 1 heure.

5. Cuire dans une poêle chaude et légèrement beurrée, 1 minute de chaque côté.

Bonne Chandeleur !

Question 1No account needed
How much milk?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

half a litre. 50 cl = 500 ml. Check it in the text above.

Question 2No account needed
How long does the batter rest?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

1 hour. Laisser reposer la pâte 1 heure.

Question 3No account needed
Why add the milk little by little?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

to avoid lumps. Pour éviter les grumeaux.

Question 4No account needed
1 c. à s. means…

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

1 tablespoon. Cuillère à soupe. Check it in the text above.

Question 5No account needed
How long does each side cook?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

about 1 minute. 1 minute de chaque côté.

Words from the document

Vocabulary
FrenchEnglish
verserto pour
mélanger / fouetterto mix / to whisk
un saladiera mixing bowl
les grumeauxlumps
une pincéea pinch
une poêlea frying pan

Recipes use the infinitive as a polite, neutral instruction: verser, ajouter, cuire. Some cookbooks use vous (versez), which means the same. Crêpes are eaten on la Chandeleur (2 February), and in Brittany savoury buckwheat galettes are the main course.

  • 50 cl = 50 ml50 cl = 500 ml

    A centilitre is 10 ml.

  • la poêle (the stove)la poêle = the frying pan

    The stove is la cuisinière or les plaques.